The Happy Millions Show With Liz Benny

The Power of Netting Up and Prioritizing Bliss in Life and Business by Scaling Down - with a High-Level Entrepreneur, Nicholas Kusmich

Scaling up is not always the main goal when you have a business. Sometimes, what you need is scaling down. 
 
In this episode, the amazing Nicholas Kusmich, owner operator instantly turned CEO overnight, shared how his life and career shifted by scaling down and “netting up.”
 
What’s “netting up”? Listen to this episode as we talk about its definition, and about the importance of reevaluating your life, how to achieve bliss in business, how to realign and orchestrate your life around the true purpose and core values, and many many more!
 
Live and have a business that feeds your lifestyle rather than a lifestyle that feeds your business.
SHOW NOTES: 
 
0:00:00 Exploring Success and Happiness with Nicholas Kusmich
0:02:50 Riding the Wave of Success: From Owner Operator to CEO Overnight
0:04:55 The Power of Netting Up: How Nicholas Found Success by Scaling Down
0:07:31 Life at Home and Business Behind-The-Scenes
0:19:05 Alignment with True Self and Core Values for Business Success
0:22:00 Advice for Stepping Out from a Miserable Life
0:26:10 Winning is an Internal Game
0:31:49 Taking Micro Steps to Reach Your Goals
 
0:36:28 Nicholas’ Recommended Books 
0:40:22 Reflection on Reconnecting with Faith and Nature
0:45:27 Creating a Business That Feels Good
 
0:49:22 Understanding Intuition and Unresolved Trauma
0:53:53 Living a Fulfilled Life and Building a Business For You
 
QUOTES
 
“I encourage everybody to ride the wave when it serves one to you.”
 
“The problem with scaling up is, yes, your top line revenue number goes up, but your bottom line revenue goes down. And I'm like, that equation doesn't make sense to me . . . I'm trying to figure out this thing where I can continue to grow my bottom line revenue while reducing the craziness, the circus, all that other stuff that's attached to scaling up.”
 
“I make decisions through this lens of netting up.”
 
“What the hell am I actually doing? Isn't everything I'm doing supposed to be for my family? And yet I'm away from my family for the sake of profits?”
 
“Why are we working so hard for a future that one day maybe, when we can work hard and play hard right now?”
 
“When we prioritize bliss, and again, people will call it different things, but we prioritize self care and us and joy and bliss.”
 
“What I'm going to encourage you to do though is don't get addicted to the grind. That is a season to get you off the ground into where you need to be with the anticipation that you are building a lifestyle business and be okay with that. I want to give people permission to be okay with a lifestyle business because that took me a long time to do.“
 
“The moment you can orchestrate the entirety of your life around the value of autonomy, you will find joy. And that just hit me. And I said, I give myself permission to be in alignment with who I am. I know that that's not everybody, but I know that that's me. And so for me, I started to orchestrate a life around autonomy because that was a core value of mine, and hence I'm able to do this.” 
 
“Find the value that drives you and pushes you forward, that you feel the best, and when you're aligned and orchestrate your life and your business around that, and the amazing thing will happen.”
 
“It's important to be in alignment and be honest with yourself and be truthful . . . Be you. Be all of you.”
 
“Sometimes fun even starts by just being quiet in a quiet place and being alone and just like, centering in on yourself and be like, can I be quiet just for a moment, and just find myself here? And then you might start here.”
 
“Buy back your time. It's a beautiful alignment idea of understanding your value and understanding how you can live or have a business that feeds your lifestyle rather than a lifestyle that feeds your business.”
 
“Build a business. Not just a business, but build a life for you.”

Maintaining Your Peace Of Mind As A Serial Entrepreneur with Wilco De Kreij

At an early age of 16, Wilco De Kreij, a dad, a husband, and a serial entrepreneur, started his journey of being an entrepreneur. He is the founder of the ultimate Viral Referral Marketing platform, UpViral. And in this podcast episode, he shared his amazing journey from being the “whiz kid”, to selling his business, and then to structuring a new one that supports his lifestyle and happiness.
 
We talked about not just the side that most people see in businesses, but also the OTHER side of being a business owner that most people don’t recognize. And more importantly, how do you keep being happy and maintain your peace of mind when things get tough in your business? 
 
You wouldn’t want to miss this awesome conversation!
SHOW NOTES: 
 
0:00:00 Conversation with Wilco De Kreij: Success and Entrepreneurship
0:06:24 The Benefits of Traveling for Entrepreneurs
0:09:28 Reflection on Business Growth and Going Through Changes
0:12:26 Selling a Business for Peace of Mind
0:16:39 Seeking Professional Help as an Entrepreneur
0:21:24 Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
0:26:59 Structuring a Business for a Lifestyle and Happiness
0:29:33 Exploring the Five and Ten Year Plan of Wilco De Kreij
0:33:48 Business’ New Challenges and Opportunities
0:37:25 Exploring UpViral Promotions for Digital Marketing Strategies
0:41:01 Fast Q&A
QUOTES
 
“Back in the day, success was definitely more money driven, even though it wasn't really about the money, but it's a way to keep track. And right now that's not as much.”
 
“Traveling for me, equals freedom. That's when I really feel alive, and it doesn't mean that I'm not feeling alive here. There's lots of pleasures in life at home.. But when you're somewhere else, especially when you're away for a longer period of time, that's when the magic happens.”
 
“For me, every time when I go away, it's actually another reset of letting go of stuff that I don't want to add back to my plate. So I can then do higher level things when I come back.”
 
“You identify yourself as this successful entrepreneur, and you're like, you don't want to give that up. But at the same time, it just did not light my fire anymore. And that's when I realized to answer that part of the question, that's when I realized that the only real way to fix that is to not have that business anymore. I was not the right person to move that along. And that's been a huge relief. I did not sell for the money. I did not sell for and it's all that I've been saying to my team as well. I sold it for peace of mind, and that's been worth it.”
 
“I personally think that having a therapist as an entrepreneur is one of the best things you can do because we're constantly on the bumpy road and it is a sensitive journey, and if we don't have momentum and if we don't know where we're going, it can be such a tumultuous journey.”
 
“I think part of what we want to do sometimes is we want to create something new because old is boring. Like, we like creating new things. So it's like we want to create new things within what we're doing so it grows what we are ultimately doing.”
 
“For me, I think my biggest motivation for growing my business I realized this a couple of years ago is not so much about the end result, but it's because when the business grows, my job changes along the like, I constantly have my my job constantly changes.”

Why Anik Singal Shut Down A $45-Million Dollar Business…. And What He’s Doing Now

How do you find the courage to quit on something that doesn’t serve you anymore, or worse, making your life miserable? In this episode, the amazing Anik Singal, a best-selling author and motivational speaker, talked about the importance of knowing when and how to quit.
 
We know that most people say “never quit” and “never give up”. But that’s not always the key to success. 
 
This episode will help entrepreneurs build businesses and lives they love, not at the cost of the things that matter most to them. Anik shared a lot about his ups and downs as an entrepreneur that will help you realign your purpose and find the right path to happy millions.
SHOW NOTES: 
 
0:00:00 How To Change Your Life From Being Miserable Into Being Happy
0:04:41 Cutting People Off Your Life And Quitting Things That Doesn’t Make You Happy
0:08:30 Exploring the Benefits of Establishing Boundaries for Entrepreneurs
0:13:26 In-depth Conversation About S.E.LF. and E.A.S.E
0:23:04 Scaling Your Business for Maximum Efficiency and Impact
0:26:46 Anik's Journey to Self-Discovery and Alignment
0:31:32 The ABCD Principle: A Conversation on Making Decisions and Getting Around Disharmony
0:41:13 The Real Power of Consistency
0:44:19 Conversation on Time and Health As An Entrepreneur
0:51:39 Anik’s Most Proud Moment as a Father and as a Husband
1:02:36 A Powerful Advice About Giving Space To Your Partner
 
1:03:05 Taking Control of Your Life
QUOTES
 
“You have to have courage to quit . . . We're always told “never quit.” Hustle, hustle, hustle. If you're miserable, quit. We got to change things. And that's what I did. I didn't quit being an entrepreneur. I didn't quit my message. I didn't quit me. I quit the way I was approaching it. And I added a lot of complexity. But I'm so much happier.”
 
“Boundaries create and feed creativity and efficiency. We do not have boundaries. As entrepreneurs, when we're at work, we give ourselves boundaries because we do not want to be there from any second beyond earlier than nine and beyond five. Right? But as entrepreneurs, our boundaries are completely blended.”
 
“That's how our time works. That's how our decisions work. So right now, you think you're stuck in this butt situation because you got to do this. That's because you haven't defined boundaries.”
 
“We quite literally make sure and filter all of our decisions in our business through the self plan.”
 
“Just because I can doesn't mean I should.”
 
“Ease is what's allowing me to run literally five times as many companies and work half as much. Because they're all in my zone of genius . . . And they're all aligned with my message. That's why you're seeing that kind of energy change online.”
 
“Stop pushing your timelines onto other people and onto your business and onto everyone else in your life because ain't no one care. Your timelines aren't the timelines that are meant to be. If you focus on enjoying yourself, having fun, being present, defining the goals, and picking the best people to run those goals and trusting them, you're going to win.”
 
“Consistency is the name of the game. And actually, consistency trumps all. I think it trumps talent. I think it trumps money. I think it trumps network access because consistency brews all of that. If you're consistent, all of that other stuff comes. So consistency is super key.”
 
“You are responsible. You do have control. You have the most powerful weapon at your disposal right now. To build the life, the business, anything you want. And that is one word and that is choice.”

Reframing Financial Mindset For Growth And Success with Lisa Gilmore

In this episode, Lisa Gilmore, an amazing woman who has been in business for around ten years now, shared her inspiring experience on how she transformed her relationship with money in order to achieve the financial success that she has right now. 
 
We talked about how she was able to shift from a scarcity to abundance mindset, how she overcame financial struggles to achieve success, how she made uncomfortable decisions for her business’ growth, and many many more!
 
Buckle up for what I think is probably going to be one of the most powerful interviews you've ever heard because, this lady has walked THE journey especially over the last three years!
SHOW NOTES: 
 
0:00:00 Introducing Lisa Gilmore
0:02:28 Defining The Word “Rich”
0:04:01 Reflections on Business Struggles and Success
0:07:54 Reevaluating Relationship With Money
0:09:18 Biggest Internal Shifts And Transformation
0:12:46 The Book That Changed My Life And My Business
0:13:43 Benefits of Micromanaging Finances
0:16:47 The Power of Financial Literacy
0:21:39 Increasing Clientele and Prices 
0:24:12 Taking Action to Grow a Business
0:26:07 Conversation on Courage, Vision, and Making Uncomfortable Decisions
0:29:39 Achieving Visionary Leadership 
0:34:44 What Does Lisa Do For Fun
0:38:34 Fast Q&A with Lisa Gilmore
0:48:34 The Biggest Takeaway From Lisa Gilmore
QUOTES
 
“It's funny because the word rich doesn't actually go into my mind. I think I always replace it with wealthy because to me, rich, it does have a negative connotation of people who are wasteful with money or didn't work hard for it.”
“I reevaluated my relationship with money and personally and how I was raised and how to talk about money and not talk about money. And I realized that I had to stop living in a scarcity mindset. And so in that year of being able to get really dirty, I took my business from 825,000 in revenue to 2.25 million in a year.”
“A lot of people will always go, ‘Oh my gosh, you made the money. Congrats on the final end result.’ The end result doesn't get there without Lisa Gilmore changing herself foundationally.”
“It's just like getting so uncomfortable with money to the point where you almost feel nauseous. To me, that's the beautiful part, because then you know you're finding the weak spot that you have to enhance.”
“It’s the courage it takes to do the hard things, to get the easy thing.”
“If you don't understand your profit margin, if you don't understand your taxing, if you don't understand where your costs are, you could literally be making all this money. And there is a big plug over here, and you need to plug that hole.”
“The hole is one of the fastest ways to make more money in your business, is to cut expenses that you no longer need.”
“There is such power in knowledge. There is such power in overcoming and having the courage to look at the hard things and do the hard things.”
“Did I make a mistake? But it just takes that first contract to be like, ‘no, I didn't make a mistake.’ Here we go. And so that was a challenge that I did. And then, additionally, I also really started paying attention to my team and my strengths and weaknesses and their strengths and weaknesses.”
“You were going to this area where you believed that there was a new version of life for you and a new version of business, a new version of profit, a new version of a new caliber of client, a higher caliber of client, and it required you to stay the course even when it was hard. So that takes courage.”
“That is the biggest takeaway for me, is I want my clients just to feel like they are worthy, they are valuable, they live hard, busy lives, and they deserve everything we're doing for them, because at the end of the day, that's important for design, too.”
“The biggest thing you can do for your business is identify your weaknesses, hire them, and watch them soar.”
“I am not going to let my business rule my life anymore. I am me. My business is designed to serve me, not the other way around.”
“Honing in your relationship with money will truly change and define the narrative, everything, the tone, everything, and you'll be able to go at it with such a different, clearer mind and not such an emotional mind.”
“The biggest advice I have for somebody is really taking your head out of the sand and having a true conversation with money and what you want from it. And then the rest will follow through, of course, with consistency and tenacity.”

Exploring The True Meaning of ’Rich’ And How To Create A Life of Meaningful Impact With Jim Edwards

“Don't let today be the day you look back on five years from now and say, I wish I would have started. Let today be the day you look back on five years from now and say, god damn, I'm glad I did that that day, because look at me now!” Beautiful and amazing words from Jim Edwards, our guest in this week’s episode of The Happy Millions Show.
 
He’s been in the internet marketing industry for many years now and in this episode, he shared his inspiring stories and all the things he learned throughout his journey to success.
 
This conversation is about the importance of using wealth to make a difference in the world. So listen as we talk about the TRUE meaning of “rich”, and how to positively affect the lives of people all around the world.
SHOW NOTES: 
0:00:00 Conversation With Jim Edwards on Building Businesses and Positively Affecting Lives 
0:03:55 How a Father-in-Law's Generosity Saved a Soldier's Life
0:12:13 Being Rich vs. Being Wealthy
0:16:20 The True Meaning Of Being Rich
0:19:00 How Jim Has Formed His Perspective About Being Rich
0:22:00 The Power of Rejection: How to Overcome Personal Rejection and Sell More Effectively
0:26:07 The Importance of Respect and Humility in Business
0:30:30 Simplifying Business and Treating People Like People
0:32:40 Reflection on What Makes Jim Happy
0:40:54 The Most Joyous Job In Life
0:45:03 Giving Away a Million Dollars to Foster Entrepreneurial Inner Selves
0:47:20 Powerful Message from Jim Edwards 
QUOTES
“You want to get rich so you can take care of people that you love, but also so you can make a difference in the world for people that you may not ever meet. And if you get rich for those reasons, then getting rich is easier. ”
“My opinion is that [being] rich means you are capable of being the rock. That the waves of life will not wash away. But you break the waves. The waves don't break you, the waves break on you.”
“Nobody can reject you personally because they don't know you. All they can do is reject an idea.”
“Marketers treat people like people. Master marketers treat people like an individual. Because if you treat everybody like they're part of a group, at least you're talking the group. But where you connect with people is when you treat people like a person, that's when you make a connection that lasts for decades.”
“What makes me happy is being the safety net for my family.”
“We're actually selling to one or two specific groups of people: We are selling to the damaged us we used to be, or we are selling to people who are like someone that we love.”
“Whatever it is you say you want to do, you can pretty much accomplish it in the next five years, like something big. And so don't let today be the day you look back on five years from now and say, I wish I would have started. Let today be the day you look back on five years from now and say, god damn, I'm glad I did that that day, because look at me now, motherfuckers.”