#Clockedin with Jordan Edwards

#232 - A Bold Journey to Entrepreneurial Freedom

• Jordan Edwards • Season 5 • Episode 232

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Ever wondered what it takes to leave the corporate grind and truly transform your life? Maxwell Nee, Chief Revenue Officer at ScoreApp, shares his inspiring journey from a conventional career to the exhilarating world of entrepreneurship. He doesn't shy away from discussing the fears and challenges that come with such a leap, including the scarcity-minded support systems and the lack of guidance that often hinders new ventures. Maxwell's story takes a dramatic turn with his bold move to Canada, where he reinvented himself without a financial safety net. Discover how supportive mentors and personal growth outside traditional education played a crucial role in his journey.

Maxwell reveals the strategic and, sometimes, non-strategic choices that shaped his entrepreneurial path. Moving to Canada for its snowy charm and easy visa process, he navigated the tough transition from a stable corporate life. Maxwell passionately talks about maintaining mental and physical well-being amidst financial struggles and how prioritizing expenses, like a high-quality gym membership, contributes to a fulfilling life. His story is a testament to finding balance between frugality and indulgence, and the courage to shed old habits and relationships that no longer serve evolving personal goals. A men's group he formed became a pivotal part of aligning daily life with his true priorities.

Listen in as Maxwell shares tales of exponential growth, the power of community, and the joy of new experiences. From an eight-month transformative trip around the US to navigating business partnerships and compensation, his journey emphasizes the importance of ego-less collaboration and finding fulfillment beyond financial success. Learn about the innovative use of diagnostic software in coaching and the enriching experience of living abroad. Finally, explore the intersection of technology and networking with the Score app and LinkedIn, and discover how these tools can revolutionize your entrepreneurial journey.

How to reach Maxwell:

Linkedin: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/maxwellnee

To Reach Jordan:

Email: Jordan@Edwards.Consulting

Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ejFXH1_BjdnxG4J8u93Zw

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordan.edwards.7503

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanfedwards/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanedwards5/



Hope you find value in this. If so please provide a 5-star and drop a review.

Complimentary Edwards Consulting Session: https://calendly.com/jordan-555/intro-call

Speaker 1:

Hey, what's going on, guys? I got Maxwell Nee. He's the Chief Revenue Officer at ScoreApp, he's an investor and he's a global traveler. Maxwell, we're excited to have you on the podcast. And the first question is why do people struggle starting new things?

Speaker 2:

That's a good question. So you know, from my personal experience, I, you know, I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. You know, I started off in corporate and I worked really hard at that, convinced myself that I loved it, and then that just fizzled out and you realize, wow, is this? It Just coming to this desk every day forever. You get paid a bit more every year, but there was no deep fulfillment. You know, there was no like pride in the work, there was no like enjoyment, and so deep down there was always like that you know, what am I doing here? Right, I should. I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur.

Speaker 2:

My dad was, but I I sort of said, okay, I'll build a foundation plate, safe work on plan B. And then one day I realized, holy crap, like I put five years into plan B, what happened to plan A? And yeah, you know, it's fear. It's also, I think, a lack of guidance and direction. You know, I think that, like my dad, because my dad was an entrepreneur, he was always very like scarcity mindset because he wasn't a very good entrepreneur. So he always said I'll get into a good job and stay there. So I had to really fight against the tide of like a support structure that maybe another entrepreneur might have where they've got, you know, a partner or parents that are really supportive saying, yeah, go for it. You know you got nothing to lose. You know that didn't. Didn't have that, that support.

Speaker 1:

You know optimism, blue sky they were very much like yes oh my god, you got a job.

Speaker 2:

Maxwell, stay as long as you can, yeah, yeah, they're all about safety, right. So I had to go against the grain type of thing and, um, I look at my friends that are very, very successful entrepreneurs and they only got it started like four years before me. But like four years, when you're young, you know, um, and and having better mentors than what I had, and having those earlier, like in that 16, 17, 18 years old, they're just light years in front of me, right, because you know, your years compound, like they don't add up, they compound, right 100%.

Speaker 1:

And the funny thing is, I think, it's the different structures. So when you go from job to job to job, you have the same structures. It's like these are the rules. Here's how it's played when you're an entrepreneur, it's you create the rules and you're like oh, I didn't realize what that even entailed or what that meant, which is what throws a lot of people off, because they're used to hey, I'm used to being told something and I do it like school for so long, or even yeah, school.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know, in school, and that's also why I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, because I was just so bad at school and I just hated it like I. I I was just that asshole kid that would just question everything and say, why are we doing this assignment? And then they say, oh, because you, because it teaches you complex thinking and this, and that I'm like no, but you've given me a fictitious, imaginatory thing to do and I don't see the point in that. Why would I not just do the real, practical thing instead of? And I just didn't like it and just found reasons to support why I didn't like it, and just found reasons to support why I didn't like it. And I think, ultimately, I wasn't the only kid that doesn't like school. And isn't that so funny? Because every kid loves learning, but pretty much every kid hates school. So what's broken, right? And school's designed to put you in a box, and then you have to do a personal development, hire guys like Jordan to get you back out of the box, right?

Speaker 1:

A hundred percent, because it's super fascinating when you start looking at the different structures and even the amount of people I know who are like yeah, I wanted to get into this. Or I want to go work for this person, but they're like I have to get a master's. I want to go work for this person, but they're like I have to get a master's degree or a doctorate, and it's like why don't you go work for that person, see if you even like it, instead of wasting all the years of time? Because I feel like there's a way to expedite time and I think you're very good at that, maxwell. So how have you been able to do that?

Speaker 2:

yeah. So I, you know, unintentionally, quoting David Goggins, I actually unintentionally burnt the boats, so I totally burnt out. I was just like, well, I just can't walk into this place anymore. I need a break, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, you know. So usually when people quit to give, like this thing called entrepreneurship, like a Hail Mary throw and they've got no idea what they're doing, they've got, you know, they just sold a car, they just sold a house and they got 50, 100, 200k in the bank account to tie them over. I didn't have any of that. I just had a credit card, a few credit cards that I managed to get, and I was like I need to get out, I need to change my environment. Um, so I moved overseas to Canada.

Speaker 1:

Where were you?

Speaker 2:

originally I'm from Australia yeah, so I'm from Brisbane so I moved to Canada and then, um, still didn't know what I wanted to do and I was still a bit scared to go all in on this whole entrepreneurship thing because I had no idea how to make money and I needed to make money so.

Speaker 2:

I worked at, like Lululemon, part-time for like a holiday season, for a Christmas period, and then I tried, tried another job which was like a startup job, where there was like free food and bean bags and people walking around barefoot and fake grass and coffee. And then I, and then I this will make me happy because I was in suits and corporate tie and leather shoes for five years and then I realized, wow, that's not it, so I really have to go all in. I've got nowhere else to go. I cornered myself into having to go all in with no savings, just a bunch of credit cards, so that I just pretty much bought the first digital marketing course that I could find and learnt Facebook Ads, email marketing and you know how to acquire clients, online book calls, how to build a funnel, sales funnel and then started doing that for people.

Speaker 2:

And then I worked my ass off, totally petrified of not making any money. But then, deep down, you sort of know I could always just go back to Australia and start the job again. So there's really no. It feels like you're jumping out of a plane, right, but you're not, because you could just land the plane. You could just go back and land the plane right. And then I uh, uh, worked my ass off and got my first client in five weeks and I thought, wow, you know this whole, this whole high ticket, you know, client consulting, gig coaching consulting, gig service industry, where you get paid up front do a service, um, it's real. And I just got to duplicate this over and over and over again. So then, um, you know, the world just opened up.

Speaker 1:

It's like bang, like the world is mine, type of thing well, getting that first client is the validator, because going as as we've talked about in the pre-call going zero to one, like just getting the first client, is the validator. Because going as as we've talked about in the pre-call, going zero to one, like just getting the first client, is like the scariest thing. And then once you get the first client, you're like, okay, I've done it before. There's someone in this planet eight billion people that likes me and wants to work with me. And then you start to realize how do I get more and more and more of these to build better opportunities for yourself?

Speaker 2:

yeah, and when you, um, when I got that first client, uh, you know, I think a lot of people, they, they get sucked into thinking, oh, what if I'm not qualified? What if I can't help them, or this or that um, which I totally wasn't qualified, I didn't know if I could help them. But, like you, just gotta pop that cherry, you know, you just gotta sort of crack the crack, the ice open and um, and jump in the deep end and you know, and sort of struggle. But then you get there at the end and you know that first 100k per year is the worst, like it just, it's impossible. You know, like it's, it's, it's, it's almost like um, trying to that first 100k is a bit like when you're, you know, you're trying to get from white belt to like red belt, just before black, you know, and like it just, and you're totally new at this thing and you're getting your ass kicked and you're learning everything new and all your muscles are sore, it's like that. It's like that first sort of three months in the gym, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, because when you really think about it, you're sitting there going through this very challenging time, and it's only challenging because it's new and you don't have a basis on what you know is right or what you know is wrong. So you're constantly going through everything, you're making all the mistakes, but that's the journey, because I feel like and let me know how you feel after those five years in australia, verse the one year doing canada and entrepreneurship did you see more growth in that one year versus five years combined?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I saw more growth in like the first five weeks. Um, you know, because, because when you're working, you've got to remember the job system is designed so it goes like this You're born, then you go to school, then you go to higher education, then you go into a job, right, and that system was designed 200 years ago during the Industrial Revolution, when the world needed, realized that it needed, uh, like, factory workers. Yeah, so it's designed to make robots right. And uh, you know, when you're doing the robot job, uh, you're designed not to grow. You know it's designed to be very hard for you to grow and it's designed to be very hard for you to get out.

Speaker 2:

And, you know, robert Kiyosaki calls it the rat race. Because it is a rat race, right. So, like, right now, I grow and evolve myself, I'd say like every six months, ever since I've been. Because, you know, as an entrepreneur, like, if you want to stay at like a million bucks a year, then you could do that and you stop growing and you can make your role as an entrepreneur basically a job, like you fit yourself in your own little job box, yeah, um, but then if you want to get to two, then you gotta, you know, do something different rip, rip the muscle open, rebuild it um and then get to the next.

Speaker 1:

You know to rebuild yourself to the next level yeah, I love how you're pushing and connecting everything to like working out, because it's so true like each time we go there, it's you get scared and you're scared and then you kind of push through and you open up a lot of these opportunities for yourself and when you leave space for I don't even know what's going to happen next, but I know something's going to happen. Like the biggest thing for me is and I feel like this is very interesting for you did you even know the canada? Like tax rules or any of that, like you move over there.

Speaker 2:

You're trying to make money like do I make?

Speaker 1:

no, I didn't. Yeah, no, so I picked.

Speaker 2:

You know, everything I did was non-strategic, obviously like having no savings going. I didn't think that was strategic was when I moved to canada I picked somewhere. That's because I'd never seen snow before, so I wanted to pick somewhere where I could see snow and it's cold. And I thought North America like the land of opportunity. And then I also thought English they speak English there, compared to going to France, and then the visa situation between Australia and Canada is actually quite straightforward, it's not like complicated sort of thing. So, um, you know, the universe sort of funneled me. You know a filter of options, a very small options, and I just picked one.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's awesome. So what happened next in this? After this, you get the first client. Then what happens for you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I got the first client and then I sort of worked hard but didn't achieve a lot. For about a year and a half, you know, like I was earning six figures in my corporate job and then over the next you know 18 months I'd earned like 22K, like over 18 months as an entrepreneur. So I was really like I would go to the supermarket and I would calculate the cheapest minced beef per ounce, per 100 grams ounce, or whatever, and just buy that. I'm like this is the best bang for my buck. I buy the cheapest eggs, the cheapest tomato sauce, the cheapest chili you know chili seasoning uh and other seasonings and um, and eat that and I ate that for like and and a bag of you know pre-cut, uh carrots and then I'd eat that for like a year as I was trying to work this thing out. But it was very funny because while I was doing that there were certain things where I didn't lower my standards.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

You know. So, for example, I need to go to the gym every morning because it clears my head. It's more like a morning coffee, it's more like meditation. It's not so much about building muscle and looking good, it's more about feeling good. And I joined the most expensive gym in Canada because I really love the gym pros. It has sauna, steam room and stuff and I was like I can't downgrade this. I can downgrade my food and I can downgrade not drinking alcohol and partying and whatever, but my morning ritual. I can't downgrade that because then I'll break, type of thing. So I was paying. I'd pay like like one month's worth of food and a week's worth of gym, type of thing. Yeah, no, this is what.

Speaker 1:

Ramit Sethi talks about where it's how do you build your rich life and I think this is so important where there's things that you spend excessively on and then you cut things that you don't care about, mercifully, because everyone wants to have that same framework of I got the sick car, I got the sick house. That's what everyone thinks rich is, but real rich and real wealthy is no. This is something I really enjoy and I get a lot out of this, and if you actually go to the gym any regular cadence, it's a much, much better deal because it's basically like a country club, especially if you go to the nice ones. You can get around people and hear an idea and hear something different that completely changes your perspective, because you have the frequency of meeting people and it changes everything.

Speaker 2:

That was definitely in the equation, right. It was like I'll pay more, but then it had like a co-working space and stuff and I could talk to anyone. You know they'd come in in a Porsche, a Ferrari, right. So you know, like the Toronto Raptors gym there, right. So but it was more about just I didn't want to downgrade that standard because I was like if I downgrade this standard, then I'm really tearing apart of myself. You know that I really value.

Speaker 2:

And then another thing I didn't downgrade was my apartment. So apartments, condos, are real expensive, they're expensive everywhere, but rent is really expensive in Toronto in particular. Because I think, like all this, this, you know, foreign investors came in and took up all the real estate, whatever, and I so I probably had like a place that was only like five, six years old yeah, you know, like a 28 story building five, six years old, had a pool and all that type of stuff, because I was like you know where I live and I was working from home, so I spend all the time 80, 82% of my time sitting on the couch right on my laptop.

Speaker 2:

So I was like, well, this is the office type of thing.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, it makes sense. And a lot of people don't think about these things logically because it's like where am I going to get the most value for where I'm spending my time and what am I doing? And that's why I ask people like, where does the joy come from? And you sit there and people are like like if I asked you maxwell, like what was the highlight of your last year? And it's going to be like. People are never like oh, that night out was amazing, unless it's your wedding day or something.

Speaker 1:

But most of the time it's not a lot of them's not super memorable, and it's like, hey, this is where I allocate my time and this is what I enjoy.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you might as well get the better things yeah, like, but I also think that, because you know I'm talking like this now, but there was 10, 12 years where I was just living all for the nights out, right. So, yeah, I think that when you hear people talk about this stuff, you have to really remember that it's hindsight, it's hindsight and it might not click for you yet, and that's fine. But where I think people could actually jump ahead is with a lot of self-awareness and realize, okay, this, you know this, going out night life, friday, saturday, sunday, every week has sort of lost its spark. There's also spark for like more than a year now. Should I, you know, take a look at this? So it's like, it's like just really being honest with yourself, right, like that, that self awareness to really be honest with yourself. Okay, this is what I'm starting to value more, this is what I'm not starting to value, and you know it's scary, right, because you you let it feels.

Speaker 2:

What people don't realize is that you're actually shedding layers of yourself as you start to go for what you want, because you shed the, the dry, crusty layers of of what you don't want. Uh, and everyone does it, and you know, the hardest one is where you start to lose friends. Right, because you know there's a different, there's a different vibration where nothing wrong, no, no one's, you know no one's supreme to anyone else, but it's just a different frequency, right, you got someone that's in the in the I just live for the weekend frequency. Then you got someone that that's like no, I want, I want every day to be a weekend. You know, I want every day to be, you know, 120% frequency and those people are going to repel each other.

Speaker 2:

So, you know, I had a big I've almost had like layers of cleansing of friends like every few years, and I probably had the biggest one last year that I knew that they were going to drop off but they were really good friends, we were friends for such a long time and stuff. I didn't want it to happen. But then they, you know, we had like a falling out and then they dropped off and then I was like that was just always going to happen. You know, we had like a falling out and then they dropped off and then I was like that was just always going to happen. You know, and I can't turn back now, right, like I'm not prepared to.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it's super important to realize that, and that's actually why I started the men's group, because it was more for me and it was this realizing that, hey, like there's things I prioritize and there's things that I don't and if I start allocating time here, then I'm going to want it forces you of your teaching people and even the podcast.

Speaker 1:

It's like I do it to get insights from other people, to learn you know what I mean and then share with the audience. But in a selfish way, it's really me sitting there going like I want to learn, because there's so many challenges we all face, and I think one of the biggest things that helped me realize and get in control of all the drinking and everything was in 2020 when COVID hit. I started traveling around the US and it was with my it wasn't even my girlfriend at the time. We ended up dating and now we're married. But we traveled around for eight months and we literally the first place we went, we bought a 12 pack of beer, just because we're like, oh, we're going to drink. That 12 pack was never drank and we're like wow that's awesome.

Speaker 1:

We don't really like drinking. So then and then, every place we lived, it was like a few miles away. So I would drive the car and I'm like I'm going to drive, like I might have a drink, but I'm not going to drink anymore. So there was literally an eight month period where I didn't really drink and I was like, oh, maybe I don't need to do this, maybe this isn't the friendship way, not saying I don't do it from time to time, but it was just a big awareness for me and it was a change of environment like you're talking about.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So for you, for you, how'd you so 18 months struggling? How'd you get over that hump and not like go back to australia because that can be very demeaning to someone's mental where it's like, hey, I'm doing so. Well, I identify as a six-figure earner and now I'm just trying to get. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

I think, you know, even though I was not earning any money, I wasn't internalizing that, you know, it was just like where I was at and, to be honest, I realized all those same things Like, yeah, you know, going out buying nice things, buying nice clothes or whatever. I had already sort of started to grow out of that before I left Australia. But, you know, could always enjoy, always, never hurts to have a splurge type of thing, and, you know, eat good food and whatever else. But it was like I how do I articulate this? I, it just really really hit me. It hit me like a truck, realizing how happy I feel every day having 100% of my time freedom compared to when I was selling it, even though I was at 100, 100% my time freedom and zero money.

Speaker 2:

Uh it, it was just so like like the world had color again. You know, it's like a breath of fresh air, the world color again. Um, and you know, like the just the thought of trying to sell my time again to someone else just to make money. And then there was also a humbling. It was like I don't really need that much, like your alcohol thing. I was like, yeah, so what? I've got a place to sleep, I can work on my business, and the business was really what was driving me, because I wasn't making money but I was learning, you know, and I love learning. I was in that, like that growth highway, and that kept me stimulated and fulfilled, just from being stimulated, you know A hundred percent.

Speaker 1:

And we also realize very quickly that we get paid in many different ways. So you can get paid in that ability to be like, hey, I'm getting self-validation from what I'm doing, or it's a progress day or it's a profit day, and sometimes they intertwine, sometimes they don't. But it's that realization that, hey, no matter what we do, we're pushing the ball forward, which is a very exciting dynamic, because there's so many times where you're like I don't feel, like I'm doing anything, like I'm just moving some paper around. So to really push your goals forward and be excited about that and know in the future like this won't be an issue because you have that optimism under you, I think it's super powerful yeah and yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

And also I think like by that point I'd let go of all ego, right, yes, you know, because your ego could beat you down and then 100 make you, you know, make you a bit upset about, upset at yourself, you're not where you want to be, and all that sort of stuff. But you know, I sort of sort of grew out of that by then.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely so what? So what led you? What actually hit the exponential growth? Like, what allowed you to? Because we're talking about the compounding, we're talking about the grinding, what allowed it to hit this next level? Was it a person idea like, where was it for you? Because I know a lot of people are probably at that edge of like, hey, I'm making some money, I can survive, but like, how do I get to the breakthrough point where it's like, oh, this is really exciting yeah, so it.

Speaker 2:

It sort of happened by by accident, um, where I met a guy, so so I bought remember, I bought a business program, right, so I bought a business program that was working. And then a guy reached out in the program and said, hey, I'm looking for an accountability partner. And at that point I was just like everything was cool and fun and shiny. I was like, yeah, sure, why not? So I jumped on a call, we sort of hit it off and then we he was living in Barcelona at the time. I was like, oh, I love Barcelona, I've been there before. He's like, oh well, you should come and we should like work on the business and accountability for like a few weeks. So I went there, stayed his place, um, and you know that could have easily ended badly, just going to a random person's house, um, but it was probably more risk on his side because he had, like, young kids we had a family and stuff.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, he had a family.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, just like some guy, that's just, you know, crashing some stranger. And then we like just became best friends. So we became best friends. That's awesome, you know. And then he said oh, why don't we work on a business? Because we're working on two different businesses to keep each other accountable. He said well, we basically do the same thing. He's like you're better at sales than me and you know I'm better at the back end. Why don't you do the sales? I'll do the back end. So we started to do that. And then that that worked like 30. Well, and then we met another business partner that was like the cherry on top.

Speaker 1:

And then we got into full gear, started doing you know, 20, 50 than oh wow, so now it's the three of you working together, instead of it just being this one person trying to push the needle forward.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there's a few discoveries in that moment. Like, one of the discoveries was when the business was working 30%. Well, we were a service-based company, so we're an agency. So we basically said you pay us $2,000 a month and we'll do all this work for you. So we're basically like outsource employees and then. But I really didn't like that because, as an agency, when you help someone to get clients, if you help them exactly, if you do too well, they't have them exactly.

Speaker 2:

If you do too well, they want to drop you because they're like oh, I'm flying now, I'm about cutting costs. If you don't do well enough, they'll drop you anyway because they haven't made enough money so there's no real retention there yeah, there's no real retention, and also also because we focus on a really crap part of the market. We focused on solopreneurs that were doing less than a few hundred.

Speaker 1:

Oh, so these are all people, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so they're all similar people to us, so we should have focused on a million plus. Then it's more sustainable, but anyway. So then I learned about the course selling business right. Where you productize, like you productize everything you put into that service, you productize it. So instead of it being done for you, where it's like you know you pay me, I'll take your problems away, it's done with you where it's like you pay me and then I will help you to implement this in your business with you. You know, with coaching calls, consulting, videos, scripts, templates, you know systems, processes, we'll download it, pay us for copy and paste it into your business for you.

Speaker 2:

So I started to get really biasedly into that because, you know, the service thing was just really pissing me off. The service thing was just really pissing me off. And then we ended up selling, I think, the first 10 courses I sold for like $1,000 each. Then we increased the price, increased the price and then by the end of it we're selling three different levels for $1,000, $5,000, $10,000. And then we got that to like go that to like two million bucks a year and now you're not even at this point.

Speaker 1:

You have the people, you have the calls. If people want to join the calls, they can join. If people don't want to join the calls, they don't have to yeah you at your own time and it's not so much. Hey, I need you, but now you actually have the power there because everyone's paying. So it's like, hey, you're paying for this. It's kind of like the gym membership. It's like you're paying for the gym membership, you can go to the gym if you want. If you don't want to go to the gym hey man.

Speaker 2:

It's like paying for the group classes. You got the buffet of group classes. You show up to the ones you want to show up to or you don't show up.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, which is a very good model Because, like when I started the coaching, it was super funny. I was doing one on one with people and I would charge them afterwards and I'm like, what am I doing?

Speaker 1:

And then you start getting them on a monthly charge. And then you have the monthly charge and you just text them and you're like, hey, here's the call, like know when the calls are. Show up if you want. If you don't show up, all good. Once you show up, we'll get more value, absolutely, but at least you're getting paid on whatever it is you're trying to do, which is what I realize is a better framework. So where were you doing the courses? Where were you selling them and where were you getting the leads and how did that all work?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So we found that LinkedIn worked really well for us. So we were making content, sending some direct messages and we were running LinkedIn ads by the end of it and, yeah, it was really really just worked really well for us and our niche. And and then it started to get harder because we were coming out of COVID and people were just not interested in being in front of their computer. There was a certain window of time where everyone was out traveling at the park, just not interested in doing three hours of coaching calls in front of a screen as much.

Speaker 2:

And you could see in the ad costs. You know, for example, our cost per lead during COVID was like $10 a lead and then when I went up to like 50. Oh, wow, like exactly the same same work, same offer, same right. So that just really broke. And then I so. Then at that point, my business partners and I there's three of us we all wrote down on a piece of paper what do we want. So this is when I would learn a lot about alignment. You know, alignment is everything. With alignment, you could. You could trip over and fall and accidentally build an amazing business. Without alignment, you could. You could trip over and fall and accidentally build an amazing business. Without alignment, uh, you could have the best people. You know it's like it's like. It's. It's like when you have all the best nba stars in the same team but they just can't win a championship. You know that's like misalignment.

Speaker 1:

But then you have, you know, scrappy people together, totally aligned, and then they win all the championships, right yes so yeah yeah, no, it makes a big difference, because it's that that whole idea of that synergy of like one plus one can equal two, or one plus one can equal 11, and when you have one 11, it's where, like you said, people are literally coming to your help and picking you up when you need it, or there's people that are not interested, and then it's like, hey, we're on different wavelengths and this is not working as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, just like in dating, you know, like, what do you want? I want to get married, I don't want to get married. Well, you know, that's going to fall apart, right?

Speaker 1:

It doesn't matter how much you into each other so, uh, so, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So there's three of us. We all wrote down a piece of paper. What do we want? First guy he was like the creative person. So he was like an artist. So he said, look, I just want 20k a month after after tax, like profit, um, but I want to be able to take as much time off as I want. Because he was an artist and he was a creative, he couldn't schedule creative time. He was like it just came when it came. He'll do like three weeks worth of work in a weekend and then disappear. He's very, very lumpy and inconsistent but also move big rocks when he moved big rocks.

Speaker 2:

And the next guy he was an electrical engineer. So he said I want a $10 million a year business. I want to pay myself benefits, I want systems, I want a machine, I want like a McDonald's that just works like clockwork, but I also want to be able to take time off to have sick days. I want, basically, a high-paying corporate job yeah, all the high-paying corporate job benefits, but in his own business, paying himself 50k a month, right, yeah. And then, um, you know, if you ask me, the answer is always the same. It's like I don't care what I do. Uh, I just want it to be a hundred million dollar business, like I just care about it being big. What excites me and what fulfills me is like stepping back and looking at a pyramid and saying, yeah, fuck, yeah, I built that pyramid. You know, like that's really cool to me, and now that number's a billion dollars. By the time it was 100 million.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

So you know obviously three very different people. Nothing wrong, but you could see, we could start to rip each other apart. So the business started to rip apart in three different ways and we started to frustrate each other. And then I was the first one. I said guys, I need to leave. So they paid me some money to buy my shares and my portion, and then they kept going and then I went on to find my new, new thing really so.

Speaker 1:

How was that for you that? Because I know a lot of people have partners and partners are good, but partners can go a little, like you said, misalignment. So how did you feel leaving that? Were you concerned about that?

Speaker 2:

or or this was just canada all over again, like we're leaving and we're on to the next thing no, like it was a bit like canada in that I had burnt out, uh, burnt out, crept up, crept up on me, yeah, right, uh. But it was not like canada in that it was like heartbreaking, you know, because, uh, at the peak of the business, I was like CEO. We had 23 team members, you know like I think like six single moms paying for like nine mortgages, right, wow, in this business. And you know, you feel a lot of responsibility, you feel a lot of responsibility, a lot of responsibility, and I felt a lot of guilt. I felt like it almost felt like a divorce. I don't know what a divorce feels, like I've been divorced, but it felt like there was, there was way too much emotion, you know, way too much emotion.

Speaker 1:

I've heard it's literal and people don't realize that when you pick a business partner it's very sick because, like I have a mentor of mine, he's like dude. Business partners are like marriages. You should probably date first and then see if there's even a fit, because like, yes, maybe you can make money, but like, if you're with the wrong business partner it can be disastrous.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it wasn't disastrous in that. Like you know, we it was a horrible experience, but it definitely felt like the… Different expectations.

Speaker 2:

No, the detaching felt like a divorce, you know. So I say it in longer than what I should have and it shouldn't have been that emotional, you know. It shouldn't have felt like, you know, I was betraying people or letting people down. It should have just been like look, people have different chapters in their life and this one's finishing and you know, everyone gets to want what they want. So then I left and then I sort of like flirted around looking for something to do, and then I found what I'm doing now, which is I get into companies.

Speaker 2:

I basically find teams that are already like 80% built and I'm like the last 20%. So I don't want to start anything from scratch anymore, because I've done that and it's really hard and it's a very particular type of hustle work and you know I'm a bit tired of doing it. Now I look for things that are, you know, in revenue or they're going or they've, they've done a lot of work, or they might be on the edge of revenue, and then I'll I'll even like invest, you know, just to sort of really carve out my equity piece, because I don't want to, you know, just work in like a job right, like I want to. Um, I want to have like ownership in whatever I'm doing to make the opportunity worth it?

Speaker 1:

yeah, a lot of these. Are you when you think about that? Are you still getting monthly pays from them, or is is it just like, hey, you're an investor and then here's the expectation? Or how do you think about that, because I know some people spend a lot of time doing that, where it can be challenging of like, you can get paid in equity, you can get paid in cash, you can get paid in sweat equity or whatever it is? Yeah, there's a lot of different ways. So how do you think about that and how could someone else.

Speaker 2:

Think about that. Who's looking to maybe join a team or do do a business? Yeah, well, it depends what your priorities are, right. So, uh, the way I like to think about it is, um, like, let's look at the most successful companies in the world, like nvidia. So nvidia, because of how jensen has aligned the incentives for some of his key people I think he's the number shows like he's minted 10 000 millionaires because of the equity you know what I mean like they don't get paid a million bucks a year but he's given, you know, the people that he thinks that should have ownership, some ownership, and it might be a small number, might be a big, bigger number, but it's, it's a number, right.

Speaker 2:

So the equity piece is not really there for money, it's there for ownership, you know it's there for ownership. It's there for ownership, it's there for pride, it's there for a deep connection to the work and doing a good job and doing good work and then the income. And it's also there for the payday. Every business you want to be able to be bought by someone else and you get, you know, an outsized return and then you know the monthly number. Yeah, that needs to make sense as well, you know, it needs to make sense, first of all for the business. Like you know, just because I think I'm really special doesn't mean that I should be overpaid Right Then. I think I'm really special doesn't mean that I should be overpaid right then it deters from the team yeah, well then you can't bring as good a team in the NBA.

Speaker 1:

I don't know if you track it, because I know you're in Singapore, but like Luca, he's like one of the best players and they put him on the Lakers because the Mavs are like we can't pay him a max contract, because if we pay him a max contract we won't have any money for anybody else, which becomes a very challenging situation.

Speaker 2:

Exactly right. Just like salary caps. So you don't want to burden the team, so you've got to really find that balance. And also, what you get paid has to be what you would pay anyone else. No one should be favorited, right.

Speaker 2:

Just because your best friends or whatever. It's got to be market, there has to be a market evaluation assigned to the number. So you know I've got like three, four businesses that I've got equity in, that, you know sort of weave in and out of paying me something monthly, but it's. You know it's all about the equity and earning more equity. You definitely don't want to be doing any favors as well, so you have to be earning something, whether it's equity, whether it's like a little retainer or like a fee for your work they would have paid for someone else.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, yeah, yeah, because the other thing it does is when you're getting paid, you realize the value that you're providing and like they yeah well, and if you're not getting paid like a lot of?

Speaker 2:

way it's it, it's accountability, it's, you know, it makes it real. Instead of it just you're just floating around and, like you know, doing people a favor space. You know which I did for a lot. I did that for like 12 months, my first 12 months After you left.

Speaker 2:

No, no no, in the beginning, yeah, as a beginning entrepreneur, I was like, oh yeah, let's do RevShare and I'll do this and you do that. But that doesn't work, like 99% of the time, because that's like saying, oh yeah, let's get married and buy a house together and you don't even know each other. You don't even know each other, you don't even know what you bring to the table. You just don't know how to structure that so it can work.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because I was going to say there's a lot of people who are new in business and they'll be like and I spoke to other coaches where they're I'm like how much are you making a month? Like not a good thing or a bad thing, but they're like what do you mean? Get paid a month, what do you mean? They're like I just run this free group and I'm like okay, so do you sell something on the back of the free group? And and they're like no, no, I just run this free group for goodwill and that's all I do. And I'm like okay, whether they're paying for you or paying for someone else. It's super important to realize that as soon as you get that first dollar for yourself, you feel so much more empowered to be who you are and I think it's a way more authentic way to live uh, we're not just sad, like it's also, um, like paying for something is a good way to filter in or out.

Speaker 2:

You know who you want to work with. Right Filters out time wastes. Filters out people that you know might just disappear. You know it's a commitment test and you want to test that you've got the same level of commitment. Like, I'm committed 10 out of 10, so are you Okay? Let's prove it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, and that's why you start with these little things. So tell us what's going on with the score app, what's going on with you guys? What is the project.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the score app is a lead generation um software tool, so think of it as like a. It's a mix, a blend between ClickFunnels and SurveyMonkey, so it helps you to generate leads in your business using quiz marketing. So quiz marketing really common examples where you might see a personal trainer or a fitness coach say answer these 10 questions and I'll tell you your exact body type and exact food, diet and gym plan. You should be doing so. You can reach your summer body goals in half the time, because everyone's different and that's really compelling for a few reasons, you know. The first reason is that it's it's personalized, right, so my results are different to yours.

Speaker 2:

I get to feel special, so do you, and it's two-way, in that you know if I answer it differently, it'll calculate it differently and also the answer is instantaneous, so I get the result immediately. It's not like fill in this form, I'll call you back in two days when you've forgotten. It's a real live diagnosis that helps people to self-identify, learn about themselves and guess what? When you're anyone, especially in the coaching space, when you teach someone something about themselves that they haven't learned before, guess who's the newest and greatest expert in their life with the authority and credibility to help them with whatever it's you, because you've just you just opened a door.

Speaker 1:

They they didn't even know it was there, right, so it helps you to do all that with your potential clients and the cool thing about it is because I've seen this software and sometimes people use it as like a happiness test, or some people use it for a life optimization or whatever it may be. You get to learn about yourself, but as the, as the customer, you learn about yourself and then, as the business owner, you don't have to uh, be there for them, like the test is already created so they can take these tests on demand whenever you're there. So it's a very scalable model. And then they have to put in their email to get the lead. So now you're getting free leads, quote unquote. I mean you're driving people to it, but it's in connection to it all, which I think is really cool.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a high piece of value that they can do in their own time and it's it's pretty close equivalent to, you know, a 15 minute one-on-one call. Yeah, the type of stuff that they could learn. So imagine scaling your one-to-one time, right? Yeah, instead of jumping on those one-on-one calls over and over and over and over again.

Speaker 1:

Honestly, it might be even a little deeper, because it actually forces them to listen to the questions and not have them speak the entire time, where they could take the conversation in any direction. So, because there's a lot of one-on-one calls you do, and then you have an objective for it, and then it ends up going in a different direction, because you're like I didn't feel like the rapport was there, but when it's a test, there's no like hey, are you happy with your life? There's yes, no, there's no. There's no deep response on that, it's just like yes or no. You know what I mean and you start to understand it a lot better, which is kind of cool way to scale that one to one, which I think is pretty cool. Yeah, exactly, absolutely, maxwell. The last thing I want to get to is for you. You lived in a lot of different areas. Why do you travel?

Speaker 2:

Why do you think about living in different areas and why is it important for people to travel, because I've always been aware that if you live in the same place your whole life, you won't experience everything that life has. To someone who might spend summers in Croatia, you know, white Christmas in London, and then back to you know whatever Chicago during the spring, like, you just won't. And you won't meet the same people. You won't learn different cultures. You won't eat different food. You won't like expand your brain and your growth laterally. You, you won't eat different food. You won't like expand your brain and your growth laterally, you just won't.

Speaker 2:

So it's not just about growth, but it's also just about, like, enjoyment. You know, like, if you think about it like this, if you eat mashed beans and potatoes every single day, then you're not going to feel what it's like to eat steak. It's just that simple. So traveling is the same. And then not just that I love my businesses, I love building my businesses, I love finding an edge, I love finding opportunities and if you live in the same place, you only find the same opportunities. So if you don't mix up you know that, that international culture into how you do business, then, uh, you always just be in that one dimension. So you know, I want to add in those extra dimensions into what I'm doing absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I've always found the travel One of the biggest things for me is that, the newness of like maybe meeting a new person, maybe having a new type of conversation, maybe doing a new thing, like. We traveled for seven weeks last year and it was funny. My wife she's never brought laundry to a laundromat because she just grew up with the laundry machine and I'm like in europe they don't, you know, there's not always a laundry machine in the place, so we had to, like, bring it to this laundromat. They do it for you. And she's like that's pretty cool and you start to learn these different things and the way, different ways people live like and it becomes very.

Speaker 1:

I think, like you said, progress equals growth and growth equals happiness. So if you're constantly growing, constantly learning new things and having these new experiences, you become much more holistic as an individual than if you're just staying in your. Oh, I've learned how to really do well in my one little city. You know what I mean. I think it's really empowering, so I think that's awesome. Yeah, definitely so, maxwell. Where can people learn more about you? Where can they learn more about the Score app?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so Score app has a great website where you could just use the tool for free and then, as you need more, you could just upgrade. So scoreapp S-C-O-R-E-A-P-Pcom, that's where you want to go, and then you know, if you want to find me, I'm addicted to LinkedIn. So, maxwell Nee, I'm the only one on there with that name. I'll see you on LinkedIn. Sounds good. Appreciate the time.

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Jordan Edwards

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