Rob Luna – What’s Actually Coming for the Economy in 2026 | SRS #267

[00:00:05] Rob Luna [00:00:06] >> Sean, [00:00:07] >> welcome to the show, man. Thanks for [00:00:08] having me, man. [00:00:08] >> Welcome back to the show. [00:00:10] >> Third time, man. I'm I'm I'm privileged. [00:00:12] Excited to be here. [00:00:13] >> Third time's a charm. [00:00:14] >> But this new studio, dude, I'm just [00:00:16] looking around amazing. It looks so [00:00:17] badass. Congrats, man. [00:00:19] >> Oh, thank you, dude. [00:00:20] >> Looks really good. [00:00:21] >> Thank you. Well, congratulations to you, [00:00:23] too. [00:00:24] New CEO, new company. Valtry, wealth [00:00:28] management. [00:00:31] How long have you been? That's like [00:00:32] brand new. [00:00:33] >> Well, yeah, we just launched it last [00:00:34] year. Last year was our first full year [00:00:36] in operation. Yeah. Taxes, financial [00:00:38] planning, and business integration. [00:00:41] Like, it's it's doing really good. [00:00:43] Thanks, man. [00:00:44] >> Nice. Well, we got a ton of stuff to [00:00:46] talk about. I mean, just in the news and [00:00:48] in the past. Look, [clears throat] first [00:00:51] of the year is coming up just like last [00:00:54] year. I think this I think you are the [00:00:56] perfect way to kick off the year and [00:00:58] trimming the financial fat. What should [00:01:00] we be looking at? What stocks? What [00:01:02] should we be thinking about crypto? [00:01:04] What's with this new child savings plan? [00:01:07] What's with the 50-year mortgage? You I [00:01:09] mean, there's just what's what's what's [00:01:11] the update with all the tariffs? How did [00:01:13] that wind up working out? I I can't [00:01:14] remember if we talked about that last [00:01:16] year. I I don't think so because I think [00:01:17] it was right right before all that stuff [00:01:20] and then January came around and that [00:01:22] was headline news pretty much. [00:01:24] >> Yeah. So we just we got a lot of stuff [00:01:27] to cover. I just want but that's that's [00:01:28] kind of what I want to do. Projections. [00:01:30] What should people be focusing on [00:01:32] financially, business owners uh in 2026 [00:01:35] and kind of you maybe a little bit of a [00:01:37] recap in um in 2025. But [snorts] as you [00:01:41] know everybody starts off with an [00:01:42] introduction. [clears throat] [00:01:44] Rob Luna spent a quarter of a century as [00:01:48] one of the top investment adviserss in [00:01:50] the country working with professional [00:01:51] athletes, entrepreneurs, and ultra high [00:01:54] netw worth families. Built a successful [00:01:56] wealth management firm from your bedroom [00:01:58] and eventually sold it for millions of [00:02:01] dollars. Stepped away for a few years [00:02:03] because of a non-compete. and during [00:02:05] that time started educating people me [00:02:08] being one of them on personal finance [00:02:10] and entrepreneurship through your book [00:02:12] wealth academy and a podcast. Then last [00:02:15] year you launched something completely [00:02:17] different and you shifted personally [00:02:20] from being an investment adviser to a [00:02:22] business and private wealth strategies. [00:02:24] This is Valtrion. [00:02:26] >> Yeah. [00:02:26] >> You're a husband, a father, and most [00:02:29] importantly a Christian. And [00:02:31] [clears throat] uh once again [00:02:32] congratulations on Valtry. Um so [00:02:37] just a a personal testimony [00:02:42] and a lot of entrepreneurs are looking [00:02:44] for this man but um you know I don't [00:02:47] know much about wealth management, [00:02:50] taxes, [00:02:51] stocks. I think I know real estate but [00:02:55] um but uh I don't know anything about [00:02:57] that. And you know, I just want to say, [00:03:00] man, that what you've put together over [00:03:02] at Valtry is [ __ ] incredible. So, you [00:03:06] know, me as a business owner, a business [00:03:09] owner, an entrepreneur that did has zero [00:03:11] education in business. I really don't [00:03:14] even have any education at all. I'm a [00:03:16] public school boy with no college [00:03:17] education. So, and I've built a pretty [00:03:20] damn good business. But um one of the [00:03:23] one of you know one of my biggest [00:03:25] hiccups, man, was [00:03:28] [ __ ] taxes, man. Taxes and and [00:03:31] planning and and just anything with [00:03:33] numbers in general. I totally winged it [00:03:36] all the way up until this point. And I [00:03:38] had fired so many CPAs because I just I [00:03:41] was like, "Hey, can you guys do the [00:03:43] planning? You know, I want to I want to [00:03:46] I hate paying taxes. I'm tired of paying [00:03:48] the Taliban. I'm tired of paying all [00:03:50] these other countries. Like I want to I [00:03:53] want to save on taxes and I know there's [00:03:55] planning and they all say the same [ __ ] [00:03:57] Yes. You know, yes, we can we can we'll [00:04:00] we'll we'll do some tax planning. And [00:04:02] then December 25th, 26 comes around and [00:04:05] it's like, hey, Christmas is done. We [00:04:08] got about a week left. Let's come up [00:04:10] with this plan. And nobody's talking to [00:04:12] each other. They're not talking to [00:04:15] anybody, you know? They're not talking [00:04:16] to the bookkeepers, to any of this, any [00:04:19] of these people. And then [00:04:21] >> it's the same [ __ ] story year after [00:04:24] year. [00:04:24] >> And then me and you talked and you [00:04:26] started Valtry and everything is under [00:04:28] one roof. Everybody's talking to each [00:04:30] other. And um this is just a key [00:04:33] component that I think not only myself, [00:04:35] but a ton of entrepreneurs are looking [00:04:38] for us is all the financial stuff under [00:04:42] one roof. everybody's talking to each [00:04:44] other and the [ __ ] tax plan and the [00:04:46] wealth strategy, all that stuff comes [00:04:49] together and um it's it's really cool [00:04:52] what you built, man. I've never seen [00:04:54] anything like it. [00:04:54] >> Well, thanks, man. And I think um look, [00:04:57] first of all, I think you totally [00:04:59] underestimate yourself. I think you're [00:05:01] probably one of the smartest business [00:05:02] people I've ever met in my life and [00:05:04] certain aspects of what you're doing [00:05:05] here with the show are unprecedented and [00:05:07] you're actually creating markets. So, [00:05:09] don't sell yourself short, um first of [00:05:11] all. And so I think you know your [00:05:13] success is largely because of you. But [00:05:16] you know like you said I think in being [00:05:17] an entrepreneur like most entrepreneurs [00:05:20] when I started Valtry like my [00:05:22] introduction hey sold his business for [00:05:24] millions of dollars which I did but you [00:05:26] know our focus really there was just on [00:05:28] managing money. I had a CPA for 20 years [00:05:31] that I was kind of complacent with and I [00:05:33] figured all those things were going on [00:05:35] and then when I sold my business it's [00:05:37] nothing like doing it for yourself. I [00:05:38] was like, "Shit, if I would have [00:05:41] structured this like this or had this [00:05:43] trust, I literally lost millions and [00:05:45] millions of dollars." So, kind of the [00:05:47] cool thing about what I'm doing now, [00:05:48] Sean, is the business I'm building today [00:05:51] or we built a vouch. I am the target [00:05:54] customer. So, selfishly, I'm building [00:05:55] this for myself, not from an ivory [00:05:58] tower. And when I started looking at [00:05:59] taxes, let's just talk about taxes in [00:06:01] particular because I think that's the [00:06:04] biggest biggest pain point. And when you [00:06:06] talk to people about their tax [00:06:08] situation, their CPAs, I'm sure all your [00:06:10] listeners are thinking about this. [00:06:11] Everyone's disenchanted. They're the [00:06:13] CPAs are taking on three 400 clients. [00:06:15] Everything's reactive. There's nothing [00:06:17] proactive and people are just losing [00:06:19] millions and millions of dollars because [00:06:21] of that. So, when I started this firm, [00:06:23] I'm not a CPA. [00:06:24] >> Um, but I'm pretty smart with numbers [00:06:26] and my team's pretty smart with numbers. [00:06:28] And we said, "Look, we're pretty good at [00:06:30] this stuff. We understand business and [00:06:32] real estate and strategy more than any [00:06:33] CPA does." and CPAs, not to [00:06:36] underestimate them, but there's a code [00:06:37] of what you can and can't do. And what [00:06:39] we said is, hey, we're going to reverse [00:06:40] engineer that code. And to your point, [00:06:42] when we find somebody, we're going to [00:06:43] start at the beginning of the year tax [00:06:45] binding. And we're going to do every [00:06:46] single thing that we can legally to make [00:06:49] sure that we minimize taxes because [00:06:50] coming from California to here in the [00:06:53] federal government where that money was [00:06:55] being pissed away. We didn't want to do [00:06:56] that. And so, you know, that's really [00:06:58] pretty much what it's about is get it [00:06:59] back from the government, put it in your [00:07:01] pocket, your family's pocket, and help [00:07:02] you use that to help your business grow. [00:07:04] when we really focus on that. [00:07:05] >> Man, you guys have crushed it. I mean, [00:07:08] you want first year hundreds of [00:07:12] thousands of dollars saved in taxes. [00:07:15] Hundreds of thou just because you guys [00:07:17] are talking to each other and that's I [00:07:19] mean, we haven't even time time to do [00:07:20] everything. So, anyways, I'm really [00:07:22] excited for you, man. And um and uh [00:07:25] congratulations on that. Let's help some [00:07:27] other people save some money and make [00:07:29] some money and protect them from, you [00:07:30] know, the great thing about coming on [00:07:32] right now, Sean, is we were talking [00:07:33] about it earlier. [00:07:35] This this year, I'm I'm a really [00:07:37] optimistic guy. Um, but this year, [00:07:40] looking out over the next 12 months, and [00:07:42] I think with AI in particular, [00:07:44] it's kind of like even more than dog [00:07:46] ears. Like every year is 10 years in [00:07:48] business and your personal life and [00:07:49] things are just moving so quickly now. [00:07:52] And when I look at the next year, I've [00:07:54] never been more optimistic about what's [00:07:57] going on in the country and the [00:07:58] opportunities for entrepreneurs, but [00:08:00] also I'm pretty frightened and [00:08:02] pessimistic about the things. And the [00:08:04] reason being is because all of the [00:08:07] opportunity that maybe we'll talk about [00:08:08] with AI. I think there's very few people [00:08:11] that are prepared to take advantage of [00:08:13] that. And because of that, I think [00:08:15] there's going to be a lot of [00:08:16] unemployment, a lot of things that are [00:08:17] going on that um are really going to put [00:08:21] the American dream, which at the end of [00:08:23] the day, besides God, number one, in my [00:08:25] family, the thing I fight for and wake [00:08:27] up every day for is to keep the American [00:08:29] dream alive because, you know, a little [00:08:31] bit about my background. Without that, I [00:08:33] wouldn't have been able to accomplish [00:08:34] anything that I have today. And I think [00:08:36] day by day by day, the decisions that [00:08:39] we're making politically, whether it's [00:08:40] the left or the right in this country, [00:08:42] is threatening that. and I think never [00:08:43] more so than today. [00:08:46] >> All right. I wanted to start with the [00:08:49] 50-year mortgage, but since we're going [00:08:51] down this road, [00:08:52] >> I I am [00:08:54] >> Well, that's partly [00:08:55] >> I'm I want to have this conversation [00:08:57] because it sounds like you think that [00:08:59] the American dream is drying up. [00:09:01] >> Yeah. [00:09:01] >> I I don't think that. I think that the [00:09:03] American dream is alive and well, but [00:09:06] you have to figure out what sector [00:09:07] you're going to grow that in. And so, [00:09:09] let me give you an example. Okay. [00:09:14] We see all these [00:09:17] illegals come in here and they take up [00:09:20] all of the trades. They're the plumbers, [00:09:22] they're the carpenters, they're the [00:09:24] electricians, they're they they're the [00:09:26] lawn care, they're everything. They do [00:09:29] all of it. And you know, you see these [00:09:32] guys and and and they come in this town [00:09:35] and I've hired them. [00:09:37] >> I mean, there's not really a market. You [00:09:39] have to hire them. Exactly. you know, [00:09:40] and I remember in my old studio, that [00:09:44] guy came in and built that studded that [00:09:47] entire studio out on Easter Sunday. I [00:09:50] couldn't get I could not get an American [00:09:52] to get in there and do it. [00:09:53] >> They wouldn't even give me a price [00:09:55] because it was too small of a project [00:09:57] for him. [00:09:57] >> Mhm. [00:09:58] >> So, I go, I find this guy. He's on a [00:10:00] site somewhere. I'm just like, "Hey, I [00:10:02] need somebody to stud this out." He was [00:10:03] work Yeah. He was working right right [00:10:04] across in another building. comes in, [00:10:07] does the studio, call him a year later [00:10:09] to do something else. Now he's got his [00:10:11] own crew. He's got a brand new car. He [00:10:14] smells like he just got the most [00:10:16] expensive cologne out of [laughter] out [00:10:18] of wherever the hell he was shopping. [00:10:21] But and he's proud, man. And I talked to [00:10:23] him and he's I'm like, "Man, looks like [00:10:25] you're doing good." He goes, "I got my [00:10:27] own crew now. I got six different [00:10:29] projects going." [00:10:32] >> That's the [ __ ] American dream, [00:10:34] >> right? [00:10:34] >> Yeah. It is alive and well, but we got a [00:10:37] bunch of people that are too [ __ ] [00:10:38] lazy to go out and do learn the trades. [00:10:40] They want to you. So, you have to be [00:10:42] able to adapt and overcome. You can't [00:10:44] just go this I mean, am I wrong here? [00:10:48] >> Well, I I think you're a thousand% [00:10:50] right. And I think when I talk about the [00:10:52] American dream being threatened, um I [00:10:56] think it's more about the things that [00:10:58] you're talking about, it's the [00:10:59] mentality, right? And when you think [00:11:01] about, you know, I was talking to your [00:11:03] team a little bit earlier about my [00:11:04] disenchantment with what's going on with [00:11:06] New York right now because my [00:11:08] grandfather came from Ellis Island [00:11:10] through Italy, um, and helped build that [00:11:12] city brick by brick. Um, didn't speak [00:11:15] any English at first, learned how to [00:11:16] speak English, would never speak to us [00:11:19] in anything other than English during [00:11:21] that period of time. Worked seven days a [00:11:23] week. He was a brick layer, wound up [00:11:25] creating his own business, bought a [00:11:26] home. He did all these things without [00:11:29] having any college education, without [00:11:31] speaking English, but he understood that [00:11:34] nothing was going to happen for him. [00:11:35] Nothing was going to be handed to him [00:11:37] unless he did it himself. And when you [00:11:38] think about all these policies, well, I [00:11:41] don't like the 50-year mortgage. Well, I [00:11:43] don't like all these band-aids that we [00:11:44] keep putting on things. That is [00:11:46] softening America. And that is when you [00:11:48] the American dream is people and [00:11:50] intuition and motivation and [00:11:52] understanding that you are responsible [00:11:53] for yourself. So the further you take [00:11:56] that away from people, everybody gets a [00:11:57] trophy. That's going to deteriorate. And [00:12:00] that's why we talk about New York. [00:12:01] Everyone says, "Oh, it's going to come [00:12:03] back. Invest in it." It's not coming [00:12:04] back. It's not coming back because the [00:12:06] people that built that city live in [00:12:08] Florida now and Texas and Tennessee. New [00:12:11] York isn't buildings. [00:12:12] >> They're not living here, are they? [00:12:14] [laughter] [00:12:15] >> I'm just kidding. [00:12:16] >> Yeah. But but but think about it. The [00:12:17] reason it's always came back is because [00:12:19] the people made it come back after 9/11. [00:12:21] The people made it come back. Those [00:12:22] people are gone. Sean, they're not back. [00:12:24] You look at the immigrants that are in [00:12:26] New York today, and I'm all for a legal [00:12:28] immigration process. Like, we need that [00:12:30] to be able to prosper. Otherwise, you [00:12:31] become Japan, right? You need [00:12:33] immigration, but you need the right type [00:12:35] of immigrants. You need the right [00:12:36] incentive. It's not the immigrants that [00:12:38] are in that city today that are [00:12:40] absolutely destroying it, looking for [00:12:41] handouts and have created that problem. [00:12:43] And everyone says, "Oh, it's just a [00:12:44] mayor and it's just New York." No, that [00:12:46] is a metaphor for what could be [00:12:48] happening to this country unless we [00:12:50] start changing those things. And that's [00:12:51] the problem with the 50-year mortgage [00:12:52] and all these band-aids that we're [00:12:54] trying to create to kick the can down [00:12:55] the road and not take the medicine that [00:12:57] we need to put our boots put our boots [00:12:59] boots on and start getting back to what [00:13:01] made this country great. [00:13:02] >> Man, I mean I'm I I can't argue that. I [00:13:05] mean, we've seen massive in outfluxes [00:13:09] out of New York, Washington, Oregon, [00:13:12] California, [00:13:13] >> and and so I know I mean I if I remember [00:13:17] I think it was uh Poly Market I think I [00:13:20] think Poly Market predicted that [00:13:22] a million people are going to leave New [00:13:25] York. [00:13:26] >> Yeah. [00:13:26] >> Uh if he was elected. [00:13:29] >> Yeah. [00:13:29] >> And and he was elected and from what [00:13:32] I've been hearing real estate real [00:13:35] estate prices in Florida is [00:13:37] >> course [00:13:37] >> is inflating and real estate prices in [00:13:39] New York are deflating and [00:13:41] >> and you know but I don't know I I just [00:13:45] >> I'm still not I'm still just not there [00:13:46] with the American dream is dead. I mean [00:13:48] another example another example [00:13:53] friend of mine started American dude [00:13:57] >> started a fence company this year. He [00:13:59] was a cop or he was a marine, then he [00:14:01] was a cop, then he started a fence [00:14:04] company [00:14:05] >> like 6 months ago. [00:14:06] >> Mhm. [00:14:06] >> He's already done I think he's already [00:14:08] done over $100,000 in sales. [00:14:10] >> Yeah. [00:14:10] >> Six in 6 months with a new business just [00:14:13] by [00:14:14] >> getting his [ __ ] hands dirty [00:14:16] >> and doing the work, [00:14:17] >> answering the phone, showing up, [00:14:19] >> taking the risk, [00:14:20] >> doing what he says he's going to do. [00:14:21] >> Yeah. So, I mean, I I just I'm not Yeah, [00:14:24] maybe the American dream is dead in [00:14:26] certain sectors. I'm not not going to I [00:14:28] mean, but maybe those sectors are [00:14:29] [ __ ] dead all over the world because [00:14:30] of AI, [00:14:32] >> you know, and and um [00:14:34] >> but anyways, I know we're going to get [00:14:35] more into this, but I do I want to ask [00:14:37] about this 50-year mortgage right now [00:14:39] because [00:14:40] >> and and and [00:14:42] >> I am not a big fan of anything that's [00:14:44] gone on this year. [00:14:45] >> Yeah. [00:14:46] >> And I had really [ __ ] high hopes. I [00:14:48] think a lot of us had really high hopes. [00:14:50] I think it's a disaster. But I will say [00:14:53] that, you know, and like I said at the [00:14:55] beginning, I'm no financial expert. I [00:14:57] don't know my ass from a hole in the [00:14:59] ground with it. But when I when I when [00:15:01] with the 50-year mortgage stuff, like I [00:15:04] understand why everybody's bitching [00:15:06] about it, but I almost like to me, I [00:15:08] think it's a good thing. I understand. [00:15:10] Yes, the bank's going to make a [ __ ] ton [00:15:12] more money in interest [00:15:14] >> if you take a 50-year mortgage because [00:15:17] if you if you if you hold that note for [00:15:19] 50 years, then yes, you're going to pay [00:15:21] a [ __ ] ton more [00:15:24] >> in interest. But, you know, [00:15:29] I don't know anybody that's held a home [00:15:30] for 30 years that's [00:15:34] not in the baby boomer generation. Most [00:15:36] of them haven't. That's that's that's [00:15:38] actually that's like the World War II [00:15:40] generation that was holding homes for [00:15:42] that long, not baby boomers and under. [00:15:45] Correct. [00:15:46] >> I don't think people I I mean [00:15:48] >> people buy and sell their homes all the [00:15:50] all the all the time now. It's hard to [00:15:52] find somebody that's lived in a home for [00:15:53] more than 10 years, you know? And so [00:15:55] when I when I and and you hear all of [00:15:57] the all of the younger generations [00:16:00] bitching about housing prices, and I [00:16:02] think they have a great [ __ ] point. I [00:16:03] think housing prices are super inflated. [00:16:06] Um, and and it it is hard, but you know, [00:16:10] then when you know and it sounds like [00:16:12] there was a battle between the Trump [00:16:14] administration and and and and lowering [00:16:17] the interest rates, so they didn't get [00:16:18] that and they came up with this 50-year [00:16:20] mortgage. [00:16:21] >> To me, I feel like the 50-year mortgage [00:16:23] is a great thing. It cuts your payment [00:16:25] damn near in half. Yes, you're going to [00:16:27] pay more in interest. Are you going to [00:16:28] hold your home for 50 years? Probably [00:16:30] [ __ ] not. You're probably going to [00:16:32] hold the home. You're going to build [00:16:34] equity. And then you're going to sell [00:16:36] that home, do a 1031 exchange or you [00:16:39] know what I mean? You're going to you're [00:16:40] going to sell that home and you're going [00:16:41] to upgrade to a bigger home. As your [00:16:43] family grows and you have kids, you're [00:16:45] going to [00:16:46] >> So, so how am I wrong? How am I wrong? [00:16:51] >> You're not entirely wrong. Um, and the [00:16:54] thing is, I know you, Sean, and we kind [00:16:56] of share this philosophy of the value of [00:16:59] home ownership. And so one of the, you [00:17:01] know, things that I have to always [00:17:03] balance is the art and the science of [00:17:06] business planning and financial planning [00:17:07] because there's numbers like you said, [00:17:09] right, to say, hey, if you advertise [00:17:11] this over 50 years, you're paying X [00:17:12] amount of interest. Stupid, horrible [00:17:14] idea. Then there's the human side of [00:17:17] being able to lay your head down on a [00:17:18] pillow at night and know I own this. I [00:17:21] could paint my walls purple if I want. I [00:17:23] know that the landlord's not going to [00:17:24] say, "Hey, my brother-in-law wants to [00:17:26] move in there at the end of this term. [00:17:27] you got to get out there and find [00:17:28] somewhere else to take your family. The [00:17:30] value of your kids being able to come to [00:17:32] a place that you know they know is their [00:17:33] home. So all that has some dollar value [00:17:36] that might be exponentially higher than [00:17:38] the interest that you're paying. And I [00:17:39] get that and I and I and I love and [00:17:41] respect that. But here's the problem [00:17:43] with it. Um, when you think about it, [00:17:45] and we've done a lot of work on this, [00:17:47] when you look at a half a million dollar [00:17:49] home, okay, and you have a 6% interest [00:17:52] rate somewhere we're at right now, when [00:17:54] you have a 30-year mortgage, that [00:17:55] payment roughly is about $3,000 a month. [00:17:58] When you extend that out to 50 years, [00:18:01] that doesn't get cut in half. If it did, [00:18:03] I might be more on the side. It goes to [00:18:04] 26.50. So, it winds up saving [00:18:07] >> What were the numbers again? [00:18:08] >> Uh, so it takes you from about 3,000 a [00:18:09] month to 2650. [00:18:11] So, you save about [00:18:12] >> That's pretty [ __ ] bad. 350 bucks for [00:18:15] that. Instead of over a 30-year taking a [00:18:18] half a million dollar home and paying a [00:18:19] million for it, you pay 1.5 million for [00:18:22] it. So, it's three times more. The [00:18:24] problem also with, like you said, upward [00:18:26] mobility because you have so much [00:18:28] interest now that's built in this and [00:18:30] advertised over a 50-year period. The [00:18:32] first 15 years, you basically build no [00:18:35] equity in the house. You're paying back [00:18:37] that interest over that period of time [00:18:39] and then it starts to accelerate. [00:18:41] >> But hold on. Wouldn't you? I mean, let's [00:18:43] say you bought a house in Middle [00:18:46] Tennessee. [00:18:46] >> Yeah. [00:18:47] >> And you technically didn't pay any of [00:18:50] the any of the the principal down. [00:18:53] >> Y, [00:18:53] >> but your equity will be skyrocketing [00:18:56] because real estate is going [ __ ] [00:18:58] insane in this part of in this part of [00:19:00] the country right now. [00:19:02] >> So, you would be building equity if you [00:19:04] if you did if you put the research in [00:19:06] and you bought in the right market. [00:19:08] Yeah. [00:19:08] >> Which [00:19:09] >> we I I think it's Without [00:19:13] even looking, I would bet if you're [00:19:15] buying in New York, California, Oregon, [00:19:17] or Washington, you're [clears throat] [00:19:19] probably not going to get any [ __ ] [00:19:20] equity because everybody's leaving. [00:19:23] >> Yeah. Yeah. [00:19:24] >> If you buy in Florida, Tennessee, Texas, [00:19:27] Nevada, Arizona, [00:19:30] >> y [00:19:30] >> Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, I don't know, [00:19:34] tax-free states, maybe you might get [00:19:36] some equity. [00:19:37] >> Yeah. Yeah. [00:19:37] >> I mean, it just takes a little bit of [00:19:39] research. I mean, but and I'm look, I'm [00:19:42] not I'm sorry. I'm going off here [00:19:44] because [00:19:47] >> I'm not mad at the younger generations. [00:19:49] I think they just need some guidance. [00:19:50] And I think that, you know, I I'll tell [00:19:52] you this. My son, the other day, we're [00:19:54] at the [ __ ] creek. [00:19:56] >> He wants to get up the hill. He can't [00:19:57] get up the hill. [00:19:59] >> He wants help. [00:20:01] >> And I'm like, "No." [00:20:03] >> Mhm. [00:20:04] >> Look for another way. If you can't find [00:20:05] another way, then I'll help you. And I [00:20:08] think with a lot of these younger [00:20:09] generations, they go, they hit a [00:20:11] roadblock and they're like, "See, [ __ ] [00:20:12] Tried to do it. Can't do it. We're done. [00:20:14] I'm fucked." You know what I mean? It's [00:20:16] like, "No, dude. You're not [ __ ] Now [00:20:18] you need to go find another way out." [00:20:20] Yeah. [00:20:20] >> You know, and that's what I'm trying to [00:20:21] teach my kid. Like, don't just give up [00:20:24] because you can't get up the hill. Walk [00:20:26] 50 m that way and [ __ ] go up the [00:20:28] side, [00:20:29] >> you know? And and [00:20:30] >> but dude, that's that's [00:20:32] >> don't think like that anymore. [00:20:33] >> That's where why you're at where you are [00:20:36] today. And that's why your son will be [00:20:38] in a very similar position. It's because [00:20:40] of that's mindset, right? And so when we [00:20:42] say, "Well, let's just give him the [00:20:44] 50-year mortgage." All right. Well, I [00:20:46] already told you it's only $350 bucks. [00:20:49] >> Yeah, [00:20:49] >> dude. You can't go make an extra $350 [00:20:53] a month somewhere. I bought my first [00:20:55] home at 19. I grew up in Southern [00:20:58] California. I bought that in Mesa, [00:21:00] Arizona. I [ __ ] hated Mesa, Arizona, [00:21:04] but that's where I could afford to live. [00:21:05] That's where I could afford to go to [00:21:07] school. That's where I could afford to [00:21:08] start a business. I was 19. That home [00:21:10] was $56,000. [00:21:12] It was a two-bedroom, one bath, 900 ft². [00:21:15] By the way, I went to school full-time [00:21:17] and I worked two jobs to be able to [00:21:18] afford to pay for that. That's what it [00:21:20] [ __ ] takes. But for that home of [00:21:22] 56,000, I sold for 80,000. Now I'm on my [00:21:25] like 16th home, right? But people want [00:21:27] to live in Southern California and [00:21:29] people want to live they don't want to [00:21:30] live in Dixon, Tennessee or Alabama [00:21:33] where you don't have to even have a half [00:21:34] a million home. you can get home for [00:21:36] $300,000. [00:21:37] So, the thing is, it's about choices and [00:21:39] life's about choices. So, instead of [00:21:41] trying to accommodate all these things, [00:21:43] which puts our self in more and more [00:21:46] debt, which I'm sure we we'll talk [00:21:48] about, and create bigger and bigger [00:21:49] problems, why don't we just say man up [00:21:52] and get an extra $350 a month, figure [00:21:54] out how to get that done? And housing [00:21:56] isn't as unaffordable as people say [00:21:58] because we just talked about a half a [00:22:00] million dollar home being 20some hundred [00:22:02] bucks. my housekeeper pays 20ome hundred [00:22:04] dollars a a month for an apartment in [00:22:07] Tennessee. [00:22:08] >> You can get it done. It's still out [00:22:09] there. This this whole narrative of [00:22:11] everything's unattainable and everything [00:22:13] unaffordable. Not true. Well, that's [00:22:15] that's that's good to hear. And that's [00:22:17] that's um you know, I sound frustrated, [00:22:20] but I just I really I just I just want [00:22:22] to help and I just I I want the best for [00:22:25] Yeah. [00:22:25] >> the younger generations. And I do, too, [00:22:27] my kids are in the younger generation. [00:22:29] >> That's the big thing, right? You've got [00:22:30] young kids. I've got a 2-year-old. It's [00:22:33] not It's not really about us. It's about [00:22:35] what does the world look like in 20 or [00:22:37] 30 years and are the same opportunities [00:22:39] that we have going to be available to [00:22:41] them? Are we to be drowning in so much [00:22:43] debt [00:22:44] >> that they're not going to be there? And [00:22:46] that's really what I'm mostly concerned [00:22:47] about. [00:22:48] >> So, 50-year mortgage, bad. You hate it. [00:22:51] >> Don't need it. We don't need it. [00:22:52] >> Well, you know, uh now that you say it's [00:22:54] only 350 bucks off a [laughter] $3,000 [00:22:57] mortgage, I was wrong, too. So, um, but [00:23:01] let's let's talk about the tariffs. [00:23:04] >> Yeah. [00:23:04] >> How did those work out? [00:23:06] >> Everybody was really excited. [00:23:08] >> Yeah. [00:23:09] >> And then [00:23:11] then it quickly went away. [00:23:12] >> Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think it depended on [00:23:14] what side of the aisle, right, was [00:23:16] really excited about it. I think some [00:23:17] people hated it from the beginning, some [00:23:19] people loved it, but I think that was on [00:23:21] both sides, right? Um, you know, I I I [00:23:24] voted for for Trump to get into office [00:23:27] for a lot of the same reasons that you [00:23:29] did, but I'm not one of these dogmatic [00:23:31] guys where it's like, oh, everything [00:23:32] he's doing great. I disagree with a lot [00:23:34] of what's going on right now. And a lot [00:23:36] of people, I see, you're get you're [00:23:38] getting what you what you asked for. [00:23:39] Well, no. Had it all been done over [00:23:42] again, I still would have voted for him [00:23:43] because the alternative was a complete [00:23:45] freaking disaster. So, but when you [00:23:48] think about tariffs, I think this is I'm [00:23:50] a free market capitalist, right? In [00:23:52] general, I want to let the free for me [00:23:54] less government is better. If you could [00:23:56] just stay out of my way. I don't need [00:23:58] social security. I don't need any [00:23:59] handouts. Just leave me the hell alone [00:24:01] and I'll figure myself out. I realize [00:24:03] not everybody can do that. But when you [00:24:04] think about tariffs, [00:24:06] inherently I don't really like tariffs. [00:24:08] I don't like government intervention. I [00:24:10] don't like trying to dictate what's [00:24:11] going to happen in free markets. [00:24:12] However, because the way the game has [00:24:15] been played, we have been put in been [00:24:17] put at a significant disadvantage. When [00:24:19] you think about countries like China, [00:24:21] when you start taking a look at national [00:24:23] security, and I think we've seen this, [00:24:25] right? One of the great things about [00:24:26] tariffs, it exposed our weakness in [00:24:29] supply chains. It exposed all the [00:24:31] problems that we have to where, hey, we [00:24:33] are really relying on China and other [00:24:36] countries for our economy to run. And [00:24:38] that's not sustainable. It's kind of [00:24:39] like CO. The great thing about co is [00:24:42] exposed a lot of problems like are you [00:24:44] going to open up a restaurant today [00:24:46] without having some backup for [00:24:47] outsourcing or delivery or something [00:24:49] you're not and so I think what it's done [00:24:51] for businesses and I speak from this [00:24:53] from working with real small businesses [00:24:56] one of our clients who is a one of the [00:24:58] largest floor distributors in California [00:25:01] about 90% of his supply chain was coming [00:25:04] from China he had a lot of problems [00:25:07] things were backed up his he had one of [00:25:08] the worst quarters in his life. But you [00:25:11] know what? He figured it out. He went to [00:25:13] other countries. He supply He broadened [00:25:15] his supply chain. He got more [00:25:17] negotiation and he was able to increase [00:25:19] prices. Now his actual net price is [00:25:22] about the same as it was. Those prices [00:25:23] will stay up. He's figured out a way to [00:25:26] get it done. And as someone who's spent [00:25:28] time in China, a lot of people don't, [00:25:30] you know, there's a lot of components to [00:25:31] this. The Chinese [00:25:35] have a different cultural way of doing [00:25:37] business. and the way we've been [00:25:39] cowtowing to them for years and allowing [00:25:41] them to dictate thing. I think the way [00:25:43] that Trump is handling with this with [00:25:45] them is the way that you need to deal [00:25:48] with the Chinese like you need to take a [00:25:50] hard line or they are going to take [00:25:51] advantage of you steal your intellectual [00:25:53] property. They are playing the long long [00:25:55] long game. We play a very short game. [00:25:58] >> So for me I think when you look at the [00:26:00] major impact we haven't had the [00:26:01] inflation that people talked about. I [00:26:03] think it's caused business owners to be [00:26:05] to diversify supply chains. And I think [00:26:07] over a long period of time, look at [00:26:09] Taiwan semiconductor. They're expanding, [00:26:11] putting tons of money to create new jobs [00:26:13] in Arizona now, right? So, at the end of [00:26:16] the day, it's working. Uh, no matter [00:26:18] what, it's working. I think it's [00:26:20] working. It's putting us in a position [00:26:22] where we're not going to be relying on [00:26:23] these countries. Now, it's a long game. [00:26:24] We still have to do a lot of things to [00:26:26] broaden out our supply chain, but again, [00:26:28] do we want to be re we want to just be [00:26:30] this services business? we don't make or [00:26:32] manufacture or can't sustain uh our own [00:26:35] quality of life here. I don't I don't [00:26:37] think so. And I think especially when [00:26:38] you talk about AI the time, we do need [00:26:41] those bluecollar jobs to come back here [00:26:43] to be able to sustain ourselves. [00:26:47] We live in an environment our biology [00:26:49] was never designed for. EMFs, artificial [00:26:52] light, seed oils, microplastics, [00:26:54] endocrine disruptors, modern stressors, [00:26:57] the list goes on. These assaults can [00:26:59] disrupt the signals your body relies on, [00:27:02] negatively impacting gut, immune, and [00:27:05] overall health. Armor of colostrum works [00:27:08] at the cellular level to bolster your [00:27:10] health from within. Colostrum is [00:27:12] nature's first whole food with over 400 [00:27:15] bioactive nutrients that fortify gut [00:27:17] health, strengthen immune health, fuel [00:27:20] performance, and more. Paving the way [00:27:22] for your best health and vitality. I've [00:27:25] been using Armor myself because I wanted [00:27:27] something simple that supports overall [00:27:29] health without adding another [00:27:31] complicated routine. I genuinely feel [00:27:34] better having it as part of my day. 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And the best part, [00:28:31] Patreon members can ask our guests [00:28:33] questions directly. Your insights can [00:28:35] help shape the show. Join us on Patreon [00:28:38] now. Support the mission and become part [00:28:40] of the Shaun Ryan Show's story. [00:28:45] What what about this um child savings [00:28:48] plan? [00:28:49] >> What is that? That's a new thing. [00:28:51] >> Yeah, so it's uh kids that are born this [00:28:53] year uh basically they're getting $1,000 [00:28:55] of free money that you can put into a [00:28:57] child savings account that that money [00:28:59] grows taxfree. Um and so look, $1,000 in [00:29:02] of itself is not a lot of money. [00:29:04] However, if you get them invested in [00:29:06] something like the S&P, and we did a [00:29:08] little thing on this to where if even as [00:29:10] a parent you can contribute another [00:29:11] three to $4,000 on this, by the time the [00:29:14] kids's 25 years of age, they could have [00:29:16] almost a million bucks in there. One of [00:29:18] the the secrets to investing is the [00:29:21] earlier you start, uh, the returns are [00:29:23] usually the same over a long period of [00:29:25] time. It's a smaller amount of money [00:29:27] that you have to put in to compound into [00:29:29] a very large amount of money. And so the [00:29:31] magic of compounding works for you. Uh [00:29:34] so what do people want to do though? [00:29:36] Complain it's only a,000 bucks or it's [00:29:38] only this or it's only that. Take it, [00:29:40] put it away, invest. Because you know [00:29:42] what? That's $1,000 more than most [00:29:44] parents are putting away for their kids [00:29:46] right now. If it is going to be a [00:29:48] challenging economy and our kids are [00:29:49] going to need a leg up to help them buy [00:29:51] a home or help them educate themselves [00:29:53] or start a business, you might as well [00:29:55] take this money now. Uh, so I see any [00:29:58] any look and this this is I I hate [00:30:00] socialism, but and so people it's [00:30:02] socialism. No, it's our tax dollars that [00:30:05] are going to this. I'd rather have my [00:30:07] tax dollars going to something that our [00:30:10] kids could actually get a benefit from. [00:30:13] New parents, their kids could actually [00:30:14] get a benefit from than paying for all [00:30:16] this other [ __ ] that we've been paying [00:30:17] for years that we get absolutely zero [00:30:19] benefit from. So I'm I'm a I'm a large [00:30:21] proponent of it. [00:30:21] >> So is this every child that's born? [00:30:24] >> Every child that's born. Yeah. I don't [00:30:25] know exactly what date this year has to [00:30:27] be this year um that they're born. So [00:30:29] anyone that was kids who were born in [00:30:30] 2025 like my son it does it doesn't work [00:30:33] for uh but yeah you get $1,000 it goes [00:30:35] into a taxfree account that you can [00:30:37] invest in basically the equivalent of [00:30:38] the S&P 500 which over a long period of [00:30:40] times returned about 10%. [00:30:42] >> Could we open an account? [00:30:44] >> Uh so you would open this account [00:30:46] >> you know what I mean? Can you open the [00:30:47] account and invest in it without being [00:30:50] penalized for for your kids? [00:30:52] >> Yeah. No, it has to be used for certain [00:30:54] things like education. You have to hold [00:30:55] it for a certain period of time, but [00:30:57] yeah, I mean, it's basically free money. [00:30:59] Now, [00:31:00] >> is there more that people should be [00:31:01] doing for their kids? Yeah, we can we [00:31:03] can talk about that, especially if [00:31:04] you're a business owner. There's a lot [00:31:05] more things, but as of right now, is it [00:31:08] political, fire, what, whatever? Yeah, [00:31:09] but the way I look at it is it's a,000 [00:31:11] bucks that we're paying in taxes that [00:31:13] gets put to a much better use than what [00:31:14] we're spending most of our money on. [00:31:16] >> That's good. That's I mean, I feel like [00:31:19] I feel like that's a good thing. [00:31:21] >> Yeah. I I I don't see anything negative [00:31:22] about it. [00:31:23] >> All right, this is probably the biggest [00:31:24] topic that we're going to talk about [00:31:26] today. [00:31:27] >> Artificial intelligence in the business [00:31:29] world in the job place. What [00:31:31] >> what is going to happen? I mean, we talk [00:31:34] a lot about third class being or middle, [00:31:36] excuse me, middle class being wiped out. [00:31:39] >> AI is going to take a lot of jobs. AI is [00:31:42] also going to be a force multiplier to [00:31:45] >> type A players. [00:31:47] >> I mean, what are we looking at? What are [00:31:50] you seeing already? [00:31:52] >> Yeah. Well, that's the thing. It's not [00:31:53] like what's going to happen. It's [00:31:54] already happening, right? And it's not [00:31:56] that AI is going to take most people's [00:31:59] jobs. It's people that understand [00:32:02] finance and strategy and scaling that [00:32:06] are going to use AI to take the jobs [00:32:09] from most people. So, that's really what [00:32:10] it is. It's not this thing of AI. It's [00:32:12] how are you utilizing AI or not [00:32:15] utilizing AI. And if you're not, you're [00:32:16] going to be wiped out, right? It's kind [00:32:18] of like the horse and buggy. you you've [00:32:20] got to upgrade, you've got to learn new [00:32:21] skill sets, and you got to be able to do [00:32:22] that. And the problem is, I think [00:32:24] there's a lot of complacency that still [00:32:26] doesn't believe in what's going to be [00:32:27] happening with AI. And we've got this [00:32:29] baby boomer generation where they don't [00:32:30] even want to learn how to use an iPad, [00:32:32] let alone how to put AI into their [00:32:34] world. And the and the problem is with [00:32:37] society today is you have to be more [00:32:39] innovative. You have to be more [00:32:40] entrepreneurial. You know I have [00:32:42] entrepreneurs or people ask me everyone [00:32:44] asks me whether they want to start their [00:32:46] own business or not what is the skill [00:32:47] set I need to learn. You have to learn [00:32:49] to be an entrepreneur. Why? Because [00:32:51] every entrepreneur including you that I [00:32:53] know wants to hire entrepreneurial [00:32:55] people. People that can come in [00:32:57] critically think take a division run it [00:32:59] themselves understand it themselves work [00:33:01] their ass off do the things that they [00:33:02] need to do and do that. If you can do [00:33:05] that using AI to leverage yourself to [00:33:08] get the power of 10 people, you are [00:33:10] going to be very very successful. And so [00:33:12] what everyone needs to start learning is [00:33:15] how can they create first of all a [00:33:17] valuable skill set? How can they connect [00:33:20] with people and how can they use AI to [00:33:22] be able to multiply that? I use AI on a [00:33:24] daily basis. My productivity personally [00:33:27] versus what I was 12 18 months has gone [00:33:30] up significantly. Right? And so when you [00:33:32] talk about this just practically most of [00:33:35] the time what I do is spend time with [00:33:37] businesses like yours. Everybody Sean is [00:33:40] saying okay what do I need to do for my [00:33:43] business to be able to win succeed pivot [00:33:46] today. How do I build a business? And [00:33:47] really it comes down to a couple things [00:33:49] is first of all you need a small team of [00:33:51] all star right and I'm talking about [00:33:53] billion-dollar businesses. When I say [00:33:55] small team to put that in perspective [00:33:56] like 8 to 10 people to find 8 to 10 [00:33:59] really good people right now. No matter [00:34:01] if you're Apple or if you're uh Shawn [00:34:04] Ryan, it's very very difficult to find [00:34:06] those people. So, you got to find those [00:34:08] people and put them in a position to [00:34:09] succeed. Then you need allstar processes [00:34:12] that they're following that are [00:34:14] scalable. And then you need all-star [00:34:16] technology to be able to develop and and [00:34:18] scale all that. And so what people are [00:34:20] doing today is building flat [00:34:22] organizations with really highquality [00:34:24] people, highquality processes and [00:34:26] highquality technology. And so the [00:34:28] middle management is getting cut out. [00:34:30] The average nine-to-f5 is getting cut [00:34:33] out. Somebody who just shows up and dots [00:34:35] the eye and cross the tea is getting cut [00:34:37] out. And those people are becoming [00:34:38] unemployed. And businesses are becoming [00:34:41] better. They're faster. They're leaner. [00:34:43] They're more profitable. And at the end [00:34:45] of the day, as a capitalist, when I [00:34:46] invest in a business, this isn't a [00:34:48] socialistic endeavor. It's I want to [00:34:50] invest in businesses that are good. [00:34:52] They're solving a problem faster, [00:34:53] better, cheaper, and they're doing it [00:34:55] more efficiently. And that flows to the [00:34:56] bottom line. And that's exactly what AI [00:34:58] is doing. And so you figure out like, [00:35:00] well, how is that killing the middle [00:35:01] class? Well, the middle class is not [00:35:04] ready to adapt to that. And the biggest [00:35:06] problem I have with that and why I worry [00:35:08] about this country and all the debt is, [00:35:10] you know, when you think about pensions, [00:35:12] for example, you know, what my [00:35:14] grandfather had, maybe our parents had [00:35:16] working for General Electric or all [00:35:18] these companies, Boeing, pensions are [00:35:21] gone. There's no more pensions anymore. [00:35:23] So when you retire, if you didn't put [00:35:25] money away for yourself, if you don't [00:35:27] have a skill set to maybe have to work [00:35:28] longer because with AI, people are [00:35:30] actually living longer now, people are [00:35:32] going to be in a lot of trouble. And so [00:35:35] the debt that we have, the savings that [00:35:37] people don't have, the lack of financial [00:35:39] literacy, and if people are not [00:35:41] understanding that AI is here, it's not [00:35:43] going to happen. It's happening. I'm [00:35:45] consulting, my firm's consulting every [00:35:47] single day, and one of the first things [00:35:49] we look at is what are you guys doing? [00:35:52] Who are doing that? who's doing that. [00:35:54] And we're getting rid of people, right? [00:35:56] That's I mean, I'm just being honest, [00:35:57] John. We're getting rid of people that [00:35:59] don't serve a purpose anymore. And the [00:36:01] people that serve a purpose have high [00:36:02] specialization. They understand that [00:36:04] it's not going to be a nineto-ive [00:36:05] anymore. They have to be critical [00:36:07] thinkers. They have to pivot and adapt. [00:36:09] They have to use technology to leverage [00:36:11] what they're doing. They have to demand [00:36:12] more. They have to have that [00:36:13] entrepreneurial mindset to understand [00:36:15] and know that this person is hiring me [00:36:18] because they want to make more money. [00:36:20] How do I become more efficient, more [00:36:21] specialized, and become an asset, not a [00:36:23] liability to the company? If you're a [00:36:25] liability, AI is going to wipe you out. [00:36:27] >> Wow. Wow. So, what is going to happen? I [00:36:31] mean, let [clears throat] me ask you [00:36:33] this. Do you have a percentage of the [00:36:35] workforce that you think will be wiped [00:36:36] out? [00:36:38] >> I don't, you know, I haven't done that [00:36:39] work and I'm just not a guy that comes [00:36:40] up with random numbers. I think it's a [00:36:42] lot, though. I think it's a lot of [00:36:44] people because, you know, you talked [00:36:45] about it before and you talked about [00:36:46] like this analogy of your son walking up [00:36:49] the hill. There's just a lot of average [00:36:51] people and this goes back to, you know, [00:36:54] everyone gets a trophy, you know, this [00:36:56] whole woke situation, right? Where like [00:36:58] that's one thing I do love about this [00:37:00] administration. At least we don't hear [00:37:01] about that [ __ ] anymore, right? It's [00:37:03] like it people just don't want to work [00:37:06] hard anymore. And it's every single [00:37:09] service that you need. Whether it's [00:37:11] financial services, whether it's uh [00:37:13] getting your dog's haircut, uh whether [00:37:16] it's uh getting someone to come out and [00:37:18] and and fix your electricity, nobody [00:37:20] answers the phone. Nobody wants to show [00:37:22] up. Nobody wants to work hard anymore. [00:37:25] And so I think, okay, if that's the [00:37:28] median, then what what are those people [00:37:30] going to do? I don't know. Because it's [00:37:32] not just like retooling their their [00:37:34] skill set, it's retooling their mindset [00:37:36] and understanding to be able to succeed, [00:37:38] that shit's not going to fly anymore. [00:37:39] Because that's who you are. I can easily [00:37:41] put an algorithm, a robot, a trophy. I'd [00:37:44] rather deal I'd rather walk into a Chase [00:37:46] bank today and deal with a kiosk than I [00:37:50] would talking to one of these people who [00:37:52] doesn't know [ __ ] who doesn't want to [00:37:54] work, who doesn't want to make a second [00:37:55] call. They're just there as a as a [00:37:57] cutout basically to deter me. And nine [00:38:00] out of 10 times I'm going to have to [00:38:01] leave and call a customer service number [00:38:03] anyway. And that's Southwest Airlines. [00:38:05] That's everything these days. I'd rather [00:38:06] just deal with a robot. That's me at 51. [00:38:09] My daughter's never grown up without [00:38:10] technology and an iPad. She's 18 getting [00:38:12] ready to go to college. Think about that [00:38:14] with the millennial generation, which is [00:38:16] larger than the baby dreamer generation. [00:38:18] They want to deal with robots and [00:38:19] technology. They don't want to deal with [00:38:21] Joe Blow has no value and is wasting [00:38:23] their time. [00:38:24] >> I mean, what what does what does it look [00:38:26] like? I mean, what does that look like [00:38:28] with the middle class wiped out? AI is [00:38:30] gonna if AI wipes that many jobs. [00:38:33] >> Yeah. [00:38:34] >> I mean, obviously it means a lot of [00:38:38] government assistance [00:38:39] >> and that's great. That's great, right? [00:38:42] >> No, that's horrible. What I'm saying is [00:38:44] that's great. Entrepreneurs like cool, [00:38:45] you got a bunch of A players, AI, [00:38:48] >> you know, [ __ ] jet launch, you know, [00:38:51] a force multiplier for you. Business is [00:38:53] going great. Cool. Who's going to buy [00:38:54] your product? [00:38:55] >> Yeah, exactly. We're still we're still [00:38:57] >> because everybody's broke. [00:38:59] >> Exactly. [00:38:59] >> It's a real question. It's a question. [00:39:01] >> No, and it's a great question and the [00:39:03] answer is who's going to be able to p [00:39:05] afford your product is the people who [00:39:07] can afford it, which is going to be a [00:39:09] smaller subset. And so this is why I [00:39:11] believe that you know I've spent time [00:39:12] you spent time out of this country in [00:39:14] India you got ultra wealthy. I spent [00:39:16] time there where I watched a basically a [00:39:18] castle gates open up Rolls-Royce pull [00:39:21] out of there kids out there trying to [00:39:23] squirt it and wash it who live five feet [00:39:25] away where they don't even have running [00:39:26] water or sewage right that's kind I mean [00:39:28] that's maybe a little bit polarizing but [00:39:31] that could be [00:39:33] >> close to what our country comes or how [00:39:35] do you solve for that is through [00:39:36] socialism and see that's why I'm really [00:39:39] worried going I hate to keep going back [00:39:40] to this whole New York thing but it's [00:39:43] the canary in the coal mine right [00:39:45] because this narrative and we've seen [00:39:47] the way he won very smart he went as [00:39:52] farle left as possible and he stood [00:39:54] there because what his message does is [00:39:57] it resonates with those people who don't [00:39:59] want to work who aren't going to have [00:40:00] jobs who are going to be flushed out and [00:40:02] how are you going to solve that free [00:40:03] handouts free cells and so that will [00:40:06] continue to spread throughout this rest [00:40:07] of this country and socialism is what's [00:40:10] going to kill the American dream and you [00:40:12] think about our our deficit [00:40:14] >> how are we going to get out of that we [00:40:15] can't grow our way out of that. You need [00:40:17] to have like 8 10% GDP. You know how [00:40:19] we're going to get out of it? Higher [00:40:20] taxes. Higher taxes will kill the [00:40:23] American dream. We're already paying [00:40:24] enough in taxes. And but hey, tax the [00:40:27] 1%. We don't care. You You make $500,000 [00:40:30] a year for some people. That's so far [00:40:32] removed from what they're making. Tax [00:40:34] those people. Tax those people. Tax [00:40:35] those people. That will get passed and [00:40:37] we'll become uncompetitive and you won't [00:40:39] be able to work or live here anymore be [00:40:41] or you just, you know, you become [00:40:42] Europe. And that's where I'm what I'm [00:40:44] afraid of. [00:40:47] [snorts] [00:40:48] I mean, I I hope there's something [00:40:49] different, you know, but what happens to [00:40:51] those people that I mean, they've got to [00:40:53] learn and adapt, but I don't think it's [00:40:54] going to happen quick enough. It will [00:40:56] happen eventually. New York will come [00:40:57] back in 20, 30 years after it burns [00:40:59] down, just like we saw in the 80s before [00:41:01] Giuliani came down. Once it hits the [00:41:03] bottom, it will rebuild. But how long [00:41:06] does that take and at what cost? [00:41:10] Do you have any good news for us, Rob? [00:41:14] >> Yeah. I mean, look, I think like like [00:41:16] that's what I told you at the beginning. [00:41:17] >> We get $1,000 if we got a baby. [00:41:19] [laughter] [00:41:20] >> Yeah. Hopefully that works. Um, but like [00:41:24] that's what I kind of told you at the [00:41:26] beginning, right? I've never been more [00:41:28] optimistic because I know I'm going to [00:41:30] win. [00:41:31] >> I know you're going to win. [00:41:32] >> I know all my clients are going to win. [00:41:36] And that's why every business, Sean, [00:41:38] that I'm dealing with today is they're [00:41:41] going up market. How do I deliver [00:41:43] services to people who could afford [00:41:45] those services? Cuz even if it's a [00:41:47] smaller percentage of people, it's a [00:41:49] higher price point. And what do you need [00:41:51] to do is you need to look at wealthy [00:41:53] people. What's their most valuable asset [00:41:54] is time. So how do you find a problem [00:41:56] that gives them that you can solve that [00:41:59] gives them their time back? They're [00:42:00] willing to pay for that because that's [00:42:01] their most valuable asset. So every [00:42:03] single business I'm talking today is [00:42:05] going more and more towards that more [00:42:07] and more towards leaner flatter [00:42:08] organizations more and towards cutting [00:42:10] middle management out more and more [00:42:12] being effic [00:42:14] very very highly profitable investing in [00:42:16] the businesses if you look at capex [00:42:18] spending of all these big technology [00:42:19] companies where is all their spending [00:42:21] that they're already telling the market [00:42:22] about going to AI to robotics to [00:42:26] artificial intelligence to increasing [00:42:28] productivity increasing profits at the [00:42:30] cost of what their highest input cost [00:42:32] which is labor. So if you can get labor [00:42:35] out your look at your PNO, look at my [00:42:37] PNO. I've never seen a P&L where labor [00:42:39] wasn't the most co the highest cost. [00:42:42] >> So if you can reduce that and not and I [00:42:44] I believe again going back to the Chase [00:42:47] example, not only and this when I [00:42:50] consult with businesses, it's not about [00:42:52] how do we just get rid of people and get [00:42:54] more profits. It's about how do we get [00:42:56] rid of these mediocre people and create [00:42:58] a better solution and service for your [00:43:00] customers. So what they're getting is [00:43:02] actually better and faster and a better [00:43:04] experience. And at the same time, you [00:43:07] have higher profits. That's a win-win. [00:43:09] And so it's not just like they put this [00:43:11] money in my pocket. No, it's like how do [00:43:13] I reinvest that into technology and [00:43:15] solutions to make it a better outcome so [00:43:17] that I can compete at the highest level. [00:43:18] And that comes at the cost of these [00:43:20] average people. So I mean that's the [00:43:22] truth, Sean. It's just it going back to [00:43:23] like you just got to figure it out. And [00:43:25] I'm just somebody Sean, you know, my [00:43:27] background. I grew up super poor. like [00:43:29] my my you know food stamp type of poor [00:43:32] horrible like I had every excuse in the [00:43:35] book to be a loser and fail and not win. [00:43:39] My brother and I same situation. He's in [00:43:41] prison. I'm where I'm at today. It's [00:43:43] mindset. It's realizing that nothing's [00:43:45] [ __ ] going to be handed to you. You [00:43:46] got to work your ass off. The [00:43:48] environment is always going to be [00:43:49] changing. You have to pivot and adapt. [00:43:51] You have to find out what the skills are [00:43:52] that are valuable today. It's never [00:43:54] comfortable. It's never going to be [00:43:55] easy. You're never going to sit back and [00:43:57] be able to pound your chest and win. [00:43:58] You're always going to have to go out [00:43:59] there and grind and add value. And that [00:44:01] means I'm 51 years old today. I'm my on [00:44:03] my second business. I'm in pretty good [00:44:06] position financially. When you call me, [00:44:07] do I answer the phone? [00:44:08] >> Mhm. [00:44:09] >> Yeah. It's [clears throat] what you have [00:44:10] to do. [00:44:10] >> I don't care if it's Sunday. I'm [00:44:12] shopping. Whatever it is, you know why? [00:44:14] That's your expectation. And it should [00:44:15] be. That's just not America today. We [00:44:19] need to get back to that. [00:44:22] >> I don't know if that's going to happen. [00:44:24] It has to. And it's not And it's not for [00:44:26] everybody and probably not fast enough. [00:44:28] And that's why when I look at out into [00:44:30] the future, when I look at the list, the [00:44:33] laundry list of things that we need to [00:44:35] do to save this country, [00:44:37] I don't think people are going to get it [00:44:39] and do it in enough time. When I look at [00:44:42] the flip side of what we need to do to [00:44:44] let New York expand and proliferate [00:44:45] throughout the rest of the country, it's [00:44:47] very easy. So, we have to battle against [00:44:49] that in everything that we do, how we [00:44:51] raise our kids, how we vote, how we [00:44:53] hire, what our expectations are as CEOs [00:44:56] for the rest of our employees, where and [00:44:57] we're investing our dollars in. Unless [00:44:59] we make those decisions and that's why, [00:45:02] not to beat up on the 50-year mortgage, [00:45:04] I hate band-aids. I'm tired of [00:45:06] band-aids. I'm tired of I mean, think [00:45:08] about that last time we tried to do [00:45:10] something for home ownership with Bar on [00:45:12] the other side of the aisle, Barney [00:45:13] Frank and Nancy Pelosi. Everybody should [00:45:15] own a home. liar loans. How did that [00:45:18] work out? Collapsed. [00:45:21] Everyone shorts sold their home. And [00:45:23] their government, and their infamous [00:45:24] wisdom, what did they do? They gave them [00:45:26] actual debt forgiveness. So before, if [00:45:28] you short sold your home, that 100 grand [00:45:30] or whatever you had to pay taxes on, [00:45:32] they said, "Ah, no, let that go." You [00:45:34] know who paid the bill? Me, because you, [00:45:37] cuz my house sunk in value, and I stayed [00:45:39] there, and I continued to pay the [00:45:40] mortgage. It took me six years to get [00:45:42] out of that. What about PPP loans? All [00:45:44] that [ __ ] during co where you know what? [00:45:46] We just sucked it up and worked. I [00:45:47] didn't take any of that money. I could [00:45:49] have took a million dollars free from [00:45:50] the government. They offered it to me. I [00:45:52] didn't take it. Why? Because I didn't [00:45:54] need it. But you know how many [ __ ] [00:45:55] took it and bought Lamborghinis and [00:45:57] Ferraris and Rolex watches? True story. [00:45:59] I could point to them. Some of them are [00:46:01] in jail, but not enough of them. This is [00:46:03] the [ __ ] and the moral hazard that we're [00:46:05] creating with all these things that we [00:46:07] need to get away from. But you know [00:46:09] what? Sound bites sell. The way [00:46:11] politicians run today, people want easy, [00:46:13] fast. They don't want to really fix the [00:46:15] problem. And I don't think Trump or [00:46:17] anyone else, not that they can't fix the [00:46:19] problem, it's what it's going to take to [00:46:21] do that. And be honest with the American [00:46:23] public, they're never going to say [00:46:25] because it'll never get them vote voted [00:46:27] in. [00:46:28] They're not that stupid, Sean. They know [00:46:30] what it takes. I'm not smarter than [00:46:32] them, [00:46:34] but I can get it fixed. But you know [00:46:35] what? No one would ever vote for me. [00:46:38] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we we could talk [00:46:42] about [clears throat] that with the [00:46:44] economy. We could talk about that with [00:46:45] the energy grid. [00:46:46] >> Exactly. Talk with about a lot of [00:46:49] things. [00:46:50] >> Yeah. [00:46:51] >> They they just transportation, [00:46:54] >> the roads, you know, I mean, but [00:46:55] >> Well, yeah. To your point, I mean, I I I [00:46:57] know finance and that's kind of the lane [00:46:59] that I stay in. Um, but money is pretty [00:47:01] important, right? Um, but when you think [00:47:04] about the military and all like your [00:47:06] expertise and experience, you see the [00:47:07] same [ __ ] there. this this whole [00:47:09] mentality proliferates through [00:47:10] everything. And yeah, not just that, but [00:47:14] again, going back to New York, the NYPD, [00:47:18] like when I grew up, when I went to New [00:47:21] York, you know, I was born in New [00:47:23] Jersey, so and I didn't move to LA till [00:47:24] I was nine. Like the NP NYPD. Wow. Wow. [00:47:28] That's something you really wanted to [00:47:29] be. You felt safe when the NYPD was [00:47:31] there. after 9/11 NYPD fire department. [00:47:35] You go there today and it's like [00:47:39] crap. No one wants that job anymore. [00:47:41] You're looking at like I feel like I'm [00:47:43] going to have to go save these people if [00:47:44] anything goes down. These aren't the [00:47:46] people that I can protect. And you talk [00:47:47] to them, they can't recruit anybody [00:47:49] anymore. Nobody wants to do that. So [00:47:51] this whole mindset, this softness, this [00:47:53] weakening of America, not wanting to [00:47:56] take our medicine, which I think tariffs [00:47:57] are, and I think other things that we [00:47:59] need to do to take a step back in order [00:48:01] to take three steps forward, it's just [00:48:03] it's just very hard to get those things [00:48:05] done. And it frustrates me, Sean, [00:48:07] because I look at every single thing [00:48:09] that happens, the PPP loans, the the [00:48:12] short sailing, all these things that we [00:48:14] do for to reward mediocrity. And then [00:48:17] what we want to do is we want to take [00:48:18] the 1% and the 1% isn't billionaires [00:48:22] guys. They always point to these [00:48:23] billionaire [ __ ] The 1% the people [00:48:25] that are making 8 $900,000 million a [00:48:27] year. Trust me guys, that's not ultra [00:48:29] wealthy. That's not private. Those are [00:48:31] people like me or you that grew up [00:48:34] busted our ass that lived in lived [00:48:36] within within our means that had [00:48:38] sacrifices. There's a reason I'm on my [00:48:40] second marriage, Sean. Because I wasn't [00:48:42] there. I missed birthdays. I missed [00:48:44] everything. I sacrificed to build a [00:48:46] business that was able to put myself in [00:48:48] a position. Do I regret any of it? No. [00:48:50] Cuz my daughter wouldn't have gone to [00:48:52] the schools that she's going to. Like, [00:48:53] that's just the [ __ ] it takes. If you [00:48:55] want things in life, you have to give [00:48:57] other things away. [00:48:58] >> And I I hate to keep going back to it, [00:49:00] but it's it's it's it's every single [00:49:02] thing. And so, when I say the American [00:49:04] dream is dead, this is what I'm talking [00:49:07] about. We got to we got to fix the [00:49:09] mentality. We got to start taking our [00:49:11] medicine. And we got to understand that [00:49:13] it's not going to just be a magic pill [00:49:14] that we're going to be able to take and [00:49:16] everything's going to be okay. But [00:49:17] that's what politicians that's what [00:49:19] that's what gets people voted in. That's [00:49:21] why most people vote off 30 second news [00:49:23] clip. Like you can't even no one even [00:49:24] wants to watch more than 60-second reel [00:49:27] anymore. Right. That's it's [laughter] [00:49:28] amazing how well you're doing with this [00:49:30] long form content that people actually [00:49:31] watch the whole show. I can't even get [00:49:33] people to pay attention for for 60 [00:49:35] seconds anymore. [snorts] [00:49:37] Rob, I want to be wealthy. I want Cool. [00:49:39] I I could teach you how to do I just [00:49:40] can't do it in 3 minutes. They don't [00:49:42] want to spend the time. [00:49:43] >> Yeah, [00:49:46] man. [00:49:48] >> How about the national debt? We're [00:49:50] approaching 40 [00:49:51] >> trillion trillion. [00:49:52] >> Yeah. [00:49:53] >> What is that? [00:49:54] >> I mean, we keep talking about this. What [00:49:56] are the implica what are the actual [00:49:57] implications? [00:49:59] >> Who do we owe the money to? [00:50:00] >> Yeah. Well, to bond holders, right? Some [00:50:02] of them to China and other countries [00:50:04] and, you know, internally we hold that [00:50:06] debt. So, yeah, it's a lot of debt that [00:50:08] we have. The big problem about it also [00:50:10] is the vast majority of it is short-term [00:50:12] financing, which is another thing like [00:50:14] when we had near zero interest rates, I [00:50:16] don't know why we just didn't look to [00:50:19] refinance all our debt at longer term at [00:50:21] zero interest rates because now as [00:50:23] interest rates tick up, the debt that [00:50:25] we're having to pay is much higher. So [00:50:27] now we're paying over a trillion dollars [00:50:29] in just the the debt service, which is [00:50:31] more than we spend on defense just to [00:50:33] service that debt. We're still with this [00:50:36] administration running annually near a [00:50:38] $2 trillion deficit that we're just [00:50:41] adding on to that. So then you start [00:50:43] thinking to the point I was making [00:50:44] before like well how the hell do we get [00:50:46] out of this? We can't grow our way out [00:50:48] of it. Like you have to do 8 to 10% GDP. [00:50:50] We're at like 2% GDP and we're already [00:50:53] adding to that. The only way that you [00:50:54] get out of it is you start cutting [00:50:56] entitlements like social security and [00:50:58] all those things. You start raising [00:51:00] taxes. You start doing all the things [00:51:02] that we don't want to happen. So social [00:51:03] security is pretty much almost bankrupt, [00:51:05] right? So all of this so the [00:51:07] implications are is that social systems [00:51:09] will fail, taxes will have to go up. Um [00:51:12] the the US debt could be downgraded [00:51:15] again, which means we'd have to pay even [00:51:16] higher interest in that. The US dollar [00:51:19] is the reserve currency right now. Does [00:51:21] it stay that way forever? Well, not [00:51:22] necessarily if people lose faith in [00:51:24] what's going on there. It's just like an [00:51:26] individual, right? You can keep racking [00:51:29] up debt and living beyond your means as [00:51:32] long as you can finance that and put [00:51:33] that, you know, people are, you know, [00:51:35] credit card debt, I think, is an even [00:51:36] bigger issue. We've got $1.3 trillion in [00:51:40] credit card debt that the average [00:51:42] American has right now. They're paying [00:51:44] 24% interest on, not four or 5%, 24% [00:51:48] interest. How are they going to get at [00:51:50] that? By the way, that's an all-time [00:51:51] high. And by the way, we've had the [00:51:53] highest delinquency rate we've had since [00:51:55] the Great Recession in 2009. By the way, [00:51:57] just the last 24 months, that [00:51:59] delinquency rate has doubled. There's [00:52:01] real problems out there, Sean. [00:52:03] >> And these are the same people that are [00:52:04] racking up credit cards to get by, to [00:52:07] have their experiences or whatever [00:52:08] they're spending that that money on [00:52:09] right now. They're probably the same [00:52:11] people that are not going to have jobs. [00:52:12] And so, what I'm thinking is, you're not [00:52:15] going to hear this, the people that are [00:52:17] not paying their credit cards are [00:52:18] probably the people of the companies [00:52:20] that I'm working for that are getting [00:52:21] fired, that don't have jobs because they [00:52:23] don't have value to add to an [00:52:24] organization. So this gets worse. [00:52:28] >> [ __ ] [00:52:28] >> And I'm an optim I'm an optimistic [00:52:30] person. Sounds like it, you know. I [00:52:32] know. I [laughter] I am. I am. I'm just [00:52:34] But what I'm not optimistic about is the [00:52:37] largest part of the US, which is the [00:52:38] middle class adjusting and adapting and [00:52:40] doing what it takes for them to be able [00:52:41] to win. So it's just a smaller subset of [00:52:43] people that will win, but they'll win [00:52:44] bigger than ever before. [clears throat] [00:52:46] >> So you got to as an American, you got to [00:52:48] choose which one do you want to be, [00:52:49] which one do your kids want to be. Well, [00:52:50] I mean, the thing that I don't the thing [00:52:52] that's just not computing for me is if [00:52:54] that if we lose the consumers, then [00:52:58] then, you know, then there's nobody to [00:53:00] buy the product. [00:53:01] >> Yeah. Well, look, I mean, if you're [00:53:02] selling cheap product, if you're Proctor [00:53:04] and Gamble and you're selling toilet [00:53:05] paper and people are still going to find [00:53:06] a way to do those things, right? Um, but [00:53:08] it's kind of like the middle those [00:53:10] middle levels of services to the middle [00:53:12] class are the things that are going to [00:53:13] be wiped out. If you're selling, you [00:53:16] look Ferrari's still doing good and [00:53:17] Rolex watches are doing good and our [00:53:19] firm's like having mega years like we're [00:53:22] doing way more in our first year of [00:53:24] business than I did in the first 10 [00:53:25] years of business in my perform before. [00:53:27] Why? We're dealing with successful [00:53:29] like-minded people like you who are [00:53:31] going to just make [ __ ] happen. And so [00:53:33] that's who we're selling to. If I was [00:53:34] creating a business right now for the [00:53:36] middle class, I wouldn't be creating a [00:53:38] business right now for the middle class. [00:53:39] Not what I'm looking to do. What what if [00:53:42] you were creating a business, what [00:53:43] sectors would you be looking at? [00:53:45] >> Um, I would be looking at sectors again [00:53:48] that are solving problems for people who [00:53:52] don't have a lot of time and by solving [00:53:54] that problem for them are willing to pay [00:53:56] for that. And that can be just about [00:53:57] anything from financial services to like [00:54:00] I I talked about it before when I was [00:54:02] saying when I when I say anything, it's [00:54:04] from personal experience. Getting [00:54:06] someone to come and groom your dog. like [00:54:08] these people are booked out four, five, [00:54:11] six months to be able to do that, right? [00:54:13] Um we don't groom our own dogs, right? [00:54:15] And we're willing and it's not cheap. [00:54:16] Like every time they come the dogs like [00:54:18] 250, 300 bucks to get groomed. [00:54:21] There's clearly just in our neighborhood [00:54:24] a demand for these services. There's no [00:54:27] supply. So there's a problem. We don't [00:54:29] have the time to cut our dogs ourselves. [00:54:31] There's no one who wants to show up and [00:54:32] do it. Why not do that? Why not go out [00:54:35] there, learn how to do it, be the person [00:54:37] who does it yourself, then hire somebody [00:54:39] else to get the second van out there [00:54:41] going, then the third. It's almost [00:54:42] anything. Pick anything, Sean. But it [00:54:45] goes back to are you willing to do what [00:54:46] it's an electrician, plumber, like you [00:54:49] can become a I've worked with multi [00:54:51] multi-millionaires, close to [00:54:52] billionaires in everything. Plumbing, [00:54:55] landscaping, pest control, all these are [00:54:59] services that people with money are [00:55:01] willing to pay for. And if you [00:55:03] understand how to build, scale a [00:55:04] company, use technology to motivate [00:55:06] that, you can really go out there and [00:55:08] win today. So, I'm not going to say like [00:55:10] the big thing is be an AI consultant. [00:55:12] Yeah, maybe whatever. But just do [00:55:14] anything on scale and show up. That's [00:55:17] that's really what you need to do today. [00:55:19] >> You know, we're we're talking about all [00:55:20] the we're we just going back a little [00:55:23] bit. I was just thinking about things [00:55:24] and and um you know, we're we're talking [00:55:26] about unmotivated [00:55:29] average [00:55:30] folks. Yeah, [00:55:32] >> but I mean you [00:55:34] that's a choice [00:55:36] >> of course, [00:55:36] >> you know, and so I mean for business [00:55:38] owners, you know, [00:55:41] >> how do they motivate [00:55:43] their staff? Can you [00:55:46] >> cuz that's another that's I mean we [00:55:49] sitting here talking and we're you know [00:55:51] >> we're [00:55:53] >> attacking you know a a large percentage [00:55:57] of the workforce. [00:55:58] >> Yeah. you know, and and but I mean, how [00:56:00] can you incentivize them, you know, and [00:56:02] and turn them into a motivated [00:56:06] employee, [00:56:07] >> motivated team member, you know, how do [00:56:09] you do that? [00:56:10] >> Yeah. [00:56:11] >> Well, I think first of all, um, [00:56:14] you know, I'm not somebody who needs to [00:56:16] be motivated. [00:56:17] >> Well, I'll tell you what I'm getting at, [00:56:19] you know, is back to back to Valtry. So, [00:56:23] been a bit of a crisis here and uh we [00:56:27] worked together and you know I needed to [00:56:29] know how to incentivize you know my my [00:56:33] people here [00:56:34] >> and um and and and you know the vast [00:56:37] majority of them even there's not very [00:56:39] many of us I mean pretty much everybody [00:56:41] here is a [ __ ] killer [00:56:43] >> and um otherwise they wouldn't be here [00:56:46] >> right [00:56:47] >> but you know [clears throat] when when [00:56:48] when when I hired you and your team to [00:56:51] come in and and do an assessment and do [00:56:53] some consulting and stuff and and you [00:56:55] know one of my biggest things was how [00:56:56] how can I incentivize these guys and you [00:56:58] put that structure in place you put that [00:57:01] incentives incent incentive bonus [00:57:04] structure in place and you know end of [00:57:06] the year now approaching the beginning [00:57:08] of the year and we always do end of the [00:57:09] year reviews and you know when I tell [00:57:12] them about the new bonus structure [00:57:16] you see their eyes light up immediately [00:57:19] and they're like oh [00:57:20] >> [ __ ] And it's already [ __ ] working. [00:57:23] It's already working. I mean, [00:57:26] >> one guy, phenomenal editor, [ __ ] [00:57:28] phenomenal editor. [00:57:30] >> And you know, told him I need him, hey, [00:57:32] you know, here's a new structure. [00:57:34] >> Mhm. [00:57:34] >> Like you to get to know cameras. You [00:57:36] need to learn how to run a camera a [00:57:37] little bit better. Guess what? Two [00:57:39] [ __ ] days later, I come down here. [00:57:40] He's working on [ __ ] cameras [00:57:42] immediately. And so that it works. And [00:57:45] so I, you know, I think that that I [00:57:47] guess what I'm trying to say is, you [00:57:49] know, there's also ways, [00:57:51] >> yeah, [00:57:51] >> for business owners to not just go, "Oh, [00:57:54] you know, you're [ __ ] lazy. You're [00:57:56] not working. You're not doing this." [00:57:58] >> Good point. [00:57:58] >> You you can you can incentivize them, [00:58:00] and you prove that to me, you know, uh, [00:58:03] through your company, and and and it's [00:58:05] been [00:58:06] >> I mean, I just started those this week. [00:58:08] >> Yeah. Yeah. Rolling it out to them. and [00:58:10] they're and they're [clears throat] not [00:58:11] even finished yet and they're already [00:58:13] [ __ ] [00:58:14] >> pumped. I can see the fire. [00:58:16] >> But but yeah, so let's talk about that. [00:58:18] Let's and let's share with the audience [00:58:20] what it is because I think there's [00:58:21] either there's a lot of entrepreneurs [00:58:22] that listen to you and a lot of people [00:58:24] that want to become entrepreneurs. But I [00:58:25] think more importantly, Sean, most of [00:58:27] the people that I've worked with over my [00:58:30] career that have become very very [00:58:31] wealthy were actually entrepreneurs. [00:58:33] They were people who work within a [00:58:34] larger organization, but they were [00:58:36] really on the best people I know that [00:58:38] have made a lot of money inside of other [00:58:40] organizations, small, mid, and large, [00:58:43] could have themselves been [00:58:44] entrepreneurs, but they had a better [00:58:46] opportunity to go in somewhere else [00:58:48] where there was a team in place that [00:58:49] could allow them to leverage their skill [00:58:51] set. And for most of them, that was a [00:58:53] smart decision. I always say I started [00:58:56] my own firm primarily because the person [00:58:59] I was working for before kept that [00:59:01] carrot of hey you're going to get this [00:59:03] or get that and then it was always like [00:59:04] sorry can't get that no bonus no that it [00:59:07] was just finally it was just like I'm [00:59:09] never going to be able to grow here so [00:59:11] no one ever gave me the opportunity to [00:59:13] have my work rewarded so I went out and [00:59:15] started my own thing for most people [00:59:16] they don't have to do that right and so [00:59:18] when you talk about this um first of all [00:59:22] going back to how you build businesses [00:59:24] today, small team of allstars, all-star [00:59:26] processes, all-star technology. Part of [00:59:29] the all-star processes is how do you [00:59:32] reward and compensate those individuals? [00:59:34] And a lot of entrepreneurs, it's like [00:59:36] especially the first few years like you, [00:59:39] it's like head down, let me just work. [00:59:41] When I did your show, I was episode 42 [00:59:44] the first time. Like I was so shocked [00:59:45] when I showed up. You're like, "Come [00:59:47] over here, take a picture, Rob. I'm [00:59:48] looking for the like where's the camera [00:59:50] crew? There's no camera crew." Like [00:59:51] everything. [00:59:51] >> Oh, yeah. It was just me and you back. [00:59:52] just me and you, dude. And now it's like [00:59:54] this. Like, dude, there was nobody else. [00:59:57] But like that's kind of what it takes, [00:59:59] right? When you start, same thing when I [01:00:01] started my previous, not this firm. I'm [01:00:03] a little further along now. The first [01:00:04] firm I started, dude, it was just me. I [01:00:06] was the guy who traded the stocks and [01:00:08] did the business development and mailed [01:00:09] the applications and all those things, [01:00:11] right? Um, and so here's the thing, [01:00:13] though. You can do a lot of things to go [01:00:15] from zero to a million bucks. It's just [01:00:17] work your ass off seven days a week. But [01:00:19] to go from a million to 5 million to 10 [01:00:21] million to 100 million, which is what [01:00:22] everybody wants to do, especially if it [01:00:24] doesn't take any more work, especially [01:00:26] like if it could be less work. If if [01:00:28] it's just done within a strategy, like [01:00:29] this whole world word scale, everyone [01:00:32] says scale, scale, scale, scale. I went [01:00:34] back and did an MBA at 38 because I [01:00:37] didn't know what the [ __ ] scale meant, [01:00:38] right? And I'm not advocating that for [01:00:40] everyone, but I needed to understand [01:00:41] what that was. And then what I [01:00:42] understood was it's like, oh, it's just [01:00:45] processes and it's just transparency and [01:00:48] it's just alignment and it's just [01:00:49] actually really simple and wow, if I do [01:00:51] this, it's actually easier to run my [01:00:54] business this way. But it took me 20 [01:00:55] years to get that knowledge and [01:00:57] information. And so for most [01:00:58] entrepreneurs, they're just head down [01:01:00] buried in the sand. And then what [01:01:01] happens though is you hit that [01:01:03] proverbial glass ceiling and you can't [01:01:05] grow. And then you're like, man, is this [01:01:06] a business or did I just buy myself a [01:01:08] job? Right? And that's ultimately what [01:01:10] it becomes. And the problem there is you [01:01:12] can't increase cash flow because you [01:01:13] can't scale. You don't grow grow any [01:01:15] enterprise value. So your business isn't [01:01:17] worth anything. And then what it is, [01:01:19] it's like, okay, now I've sacrificed [01:01:21] missing out on my kids' life. I'm [01:01:23] constantly fighting with my wife. I'm in [01:01:25] constant stress and all these things of [01:01:26] being an entrepreneur. It's like, is it [01:01:28] really worth it? It's not unless you can [01:01:30] get past that hurdle. And so that's kind [01:01:33] of what I do is like I just take what I [01:01:35] learned, right? And then I come in with [01:01:37] your team. And to back to your question, [01:01:39] how do you incentivize average people? [01:01:41] You don't you don't you fire average [01:01:43] people, you hire exceptional people. And [01:01:45] what I found interviewing your team, [01:01:47] these are exceptional people. These are [01:01:49] great people. But now the idea is, okay, [01:01:52] if you're a business owner, the hardest [01:01:54] thing is to attract talent. And because [01:01:57] a lot of your success, it's brought the [01:01:59] best people to you. The second hardest [01:02:01] thing to do is to be able to develop [01:02:03] talent. And the third hardest thing to [01:02:05] do is be able to main talent, maintain [01:02:07] talent, right? Because you got to get [01:02:08] them to come in. No matter who, what [01:02:10] business you are, you still have to [01:02:12] develop them to understand what is your [01:02:13] culture and how do you get there? And [01:02:14] then once they do that, Sean, is the [01:02:17] grass greener on the other side? Do I [01:02:19] And this is every business. Do I go and [01:02:21] leave? How do you get them to stay? [01:02:23] Because now you've invested tons of [01:02:25] money and time on them. Do you want to [01:02:27] train people to go out to a competitor [01:02:29] and be there? No. And so I always tell [01:02:31] entrepreneurs when you hire we put these [01:02:33] allstar processes and we hire these [01:02:35] allstar people. We have to incentivize [01:02:38] them to be here for a long long period [01:02:40] of time because your ROI is not going to [01:02:43] be in the first year or two years. [01:02:44] You're actually losing money. So you got [01:02:46] to keep time on them. You got to spend [01:02:47] money on them. And the last thing you [01:02:49] can do, the most expensive thing for an [01:02:51] entrepreneur, the most costly mistake is [01:02:54] hiring wrong. So, it goes back to we [01:02:57] working on your hiring process, setting [01:02:59] job descriptions that are right, [01:03:00] bringing the right people in, and then [01:03:02] when they come in though, a lot of times [01:03:04] people are like, "Ah, this person [01:03:05] sucks." No, you suck because you didn't [01:03:07] have clear expectations. You didn't have [01:03:08] clear processes. They didn't know what [01:03:10] the hell they were doing, and their [01:03:12] compensation and their incentives [01:03:13] weren't in alignment with the goal that [01:03:15] you were trying to achieve. So, what we [01:03:18] do with you, and this is what every [01:03:19] entrepreneur can do, is we figured out [01:03:20] first and foremost, where are we trying [01:03:23] to go? So what is our revenue we're [01:03:25] trying to get? What are our margins? [01:03:26] Who's our target customer? And then we [01:03:28] figure out that what are all the [01:03:29] activities we need to do to make that [01:03:31] happen? And who are the people that do [01:03:33] the activities to make those things [01:03:34] happening from answering the phone in [01:03:36] your case editing all those things? They [01:03:38] are the people within your organization [01:03:40] that play a role. So then the question I [01:03:42] always ask people is okay here's what [01:03:44] you want them to do. How are you [01:03:46] compensating them? And what I find out [01:03:49] [laughter] is the compensation is almost [01:03:51] never in line with the incentive. And [01:03:54] then they wonder why are they not doing [01:03:55] the activity they want because they're [01:03:57] not rewarded for doing that. So what you [01:03:59] have to first do is figure out the [01:04:00] strategy. Figure out what you want from [01:04:02] that person. And then you need to [01:04:03] structure compensation and bonuses, [01:04:05] incentives for them to be able to do [01:04:06] that. And there's two components I use [01:04:08] with every business, including our own. [01:04:10] First of all, key KPIs. We've been [01:04:13] talking about this. Key performance [01:04:14] indicators. like what are the activities [01:04:16] that you need this individual [01:04:18] individuals and they're usually [01:04:19] different to be able to do to get you [01:04:21] towards that goal cuz everyone's playing [01:04:22] in a role to getting there and they [01:04:23] should know what their role is and what [01:04:25] that ultimate goal is. So those are [01:04:27] that's one thing and that's an [01:04:28] individual. So your individual should be [01:04:31] reported uh or rewarded based off of his [01:04:34] or her own contribution. So if you got [01:04:37] someone who's crushing it, they're doing [01:04:38] their part, but Joe's asleep at the [01:04:41] wheel and sucks and has got family [01:04:42] problems, isn't showing up, doesn't want [01:04:44] to work, and like should they be [01:04:46] penalized because of that? No. So you [01:04:48] might not ultimately hit your revenue [01:04:50] goals, but Joe shouldn't be penalized [01:04:52] cuz everybody else sucked. He should be [01:04:54] rewarded. So that's number one is make [01:04:56] sure individuals are rewarded for their [01:04:58] contribution. And number two, what I [01:05:00] always like to do is incentivize the [01:05:02] group as a whole for hitting those big [01:05:05] topline goals because every business, [01:05:07] your business, my business, every [01:05:08] business I work with, it's not altruism. [01:05:11] We need to hit a top line and we need a [01:05:12] bottom line to be able to pay and do [01:05:14] things and give you raise increases and [01:05:16] buy more products and have a better [01:05:18] create better products, all those [01:05:19] things. So what we then do is have a [01:05:21] bonus for everybody. Hey, if we hit [01:05:23] these guys goals, guys, we all get more [01:05:26] money, right? We all get more incentive. [01:05:28] And then if we crush it like I like to [01:05:30] reward for overachieving, right? Stretch [01:05:33] goals. If we crush it even more, more [01:05:35] money. So what I always tell people is [01:05:37] you have to remember once you educate [01:05:39] them, get them, they have a couple of [01:05:41] options. They can go work for a [01:05:42] competitor, they can do it themselves. [01:05:44] What are you creating? What type of [01:05:46] environment, culture, which I think you [01:05:47] do better than anybody else here. Are [01:05:50] you creating to maintain that talent? [01:05:52] And what type of incentive compensation [01:05:54] do they have? And what I was always able [01:05:55] to do in wealth management and kind of [01:05:57] starts with my own background is I was [01:05:58] able to create a situation to where it's [01:06:00] like why would I go out and start my own [01:06:03] business at 10 or 15% margins when I [01:06:05] know right now I'm making 20 or 30% [01:06:08] margins have the headache and the hassle [01:06:10] and leave this great team that I know [01:06:12] makes me better because being on my own [01:06:14] as an individual probably not going to [01:06:15] be able to compete but these guys we're [01:06:17] playing especially that's what's so good [01:06:19] about you right now and why you're at [01:06:21] where you're at is your expectations are [01:06:23] super high, super high. Everyone, anyone [01:06:26] that's ever achieved anything good that [01:06:28] I work with, I work with some of the [01:06:29] best athletes in the world, best [01:06:31] entrepreneurs, best entrepreneurs in the [01:06:33] world. You don't need to motivate them. [01:06:36] You don't need to. [01:06:38] They are harder on themselves than they [01:06:40] will ever be on you. You will ever be on [01:06:43] them, right? So, your team is already [01:06:45] there. This culture is phenomenal. [01:06:47] You're the number one P. Like, everybody [01:06:49] wants to be here, which creates that [01:06:51] competition also. What I can say about [01:06:53] you also and every client that I [01:06:55] personally work with is [01:06:59] you want them to win. You want them to [01:07:01] buy that next house. You want them to be [01:07:03] incentivized. Every time I talk to you, [01:07:04] it's like how like I have to stop you [01:07:06] sometimes like how do we get them to [01:07:08] make more. It's like, okay, Sean, like [01:07:09] we and this is everybody. This is like I [01:07:11] won't work with them if they're not like [01:07:12] that because if you want to succeed as [01:07:14] an entrepreneur, you have to get joy [01:07:17] from watching your team win. And I when [01:07:18] I see you with your team, no, nobody [01:07:21] cares more about their team winning than [01:07:22] you do. So when you think about all [01:07:25] these things, Sean, it comes back to [01:07:26] what I said. Hire all-star people, put [01:07:28] all-star processes in place. Most people [01:07:30] don't know how to do that. Fine. Get [01:07:31] yourself educated and find how to do [01:07:33] that. Get the give them the all-star [01:07:35] technology to be able to replicate [01:07:36] themselves because you're not going to [01:07:37] be able to find a thousand of them. You [01:07:39] don't need a thousand of them anymore. [01:07:40] That's the great thing about AI. [01:07:42] our our firm we're building today when [01:07:44] we first started three years ago [01:07:46] planning for this like we project like [01:07:48] we're numbers people. So year two we're [01:07:50] gonna hire this many people in three [01:07:51] we're gonna like we're at today like [01:07:53] we're like we've cut like 70% of the [01:07:56] hiring that we thought 70% 70%. Why? [01:08:00] Because there's just roles that are [01:08:02] being eliminated and these and but you [01:08:03] know what the type of people we're [01:08:05] hiring is different. [01:08:06] >> Most of those people are like mediocre [01:08:08] average people. We're like, "No, no, [01:08:09] let's just hire the best and give them [01:08:11] the best technology and let's 10x their [01:08:13] own individual productivity versus [01:08:15] having a bunch of mediocre people just [01:08:17] sucking the air out of the room." [01:08:19] [snorts] [01:08:20] >> I hope that answers the question. I'm [01:08:22] pretty longwinded. I'm sorry sometimes. [01:08:23] >> No, that's that's that's perfect. That's [01:08:25] perfect. But, um, thank you. [01:08:28] >> Let's take a quick break and when we [01:08:29] come back, I want to ask you why the [01:08:31] hell gold's at $4,200 an ounce. So, [01:08:33] >> all right. [01:08:37] I used to hate shaving. Every razor I [01:08:40] bought dulled fast, irritated my neck, [01:08:42] and somehow I was paying like 30 bucks [01:08:45] for refills. It's a total scam. And [01:08:48] that's why I switched to Harry's Plus. [01:08:50] And the first time I shaved with it, I [01:08:53] immediately noticed the difference. [01:08:55] Smoother, no tugging, way more control. [01:08:58] The handle is solid metal, Harry's [01:09:00] heaviest ever, and it just feels better [01:09:03] in your hand. The blades are German [01:09:06] engineered, honed at three angles, so [01:09:08] they cut cleanly without pulling. 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And after you [01:10:02] purchase, they'll ask where you heard [01:10:04] about them. Please support our show and [01:10:06] tell them we sent you. [01:10:10] Want to stay up to date on all things [01:10:12] SRS? You bet your ass you do. Our [01:10:15] newsletter brings you the latest SRS [01:10:17] news and critical updates. Get instant [01:10:20] alerts on the newest episodes. Never [01:10:23] miss a beat. Exclusive intel briefs from [01:10:26] counterterrorism expert Sarah Adams. [01:10:28] You've seen her many times on the show. [01:10:30] She's going to give unfiltered insights [01:10:33] on global terrorist activity. For [01:10:35] Patreon exclusives, you're going to get [01:10:36] epic range days with me and damn near [01:10:39] every guest that's come in the studio. [01:10:42] You're also going to get behindthescenes [01:10:43] content and guest updates. You're going [01:10:47] to get first dibs on new merch drops and [01:10:49] limited edition items that will never be [01:10:51] sold again, plus exclusive offers from [01:10:55] our partners you won't find anywhere [01:10:57] else. So, subscribe to the Vigilance [01:11:00] Elite newsletter right now. [01:11:07] All right, Rob, we're back from the [01:11:08] break. [sighs] I forgot a couple things [01:11:10] at the beginning. I got too fired up, [01:11:12] too excited here. So, you know, it's [01:11:15] probably the only reason you came back. [01:11:17] >> Only reason I came. I heard these are [01:11:19] almost sold out, so they're almost done. [01:11:21] >> I won't put it on eBay, though. I [01:11:22] promise. [laughter] [01:11:24] >> I wouldn't blame you if you did. But uh [01:11:26] and then you know we got a Patreon [01:11:28] account. It's a subscription account and [01:11:31] um [01:11:32] >> you know they're the reason that I get [01:11:33] to sit down here with you today. So we [01:11:36] offer them the opportunity to ask every [01:11:38] single guest a question. This is from [01:11:40] Steve Lanthier. [clears throat] [01:11:44] If 50 years old the company I work for [01:11:46] is closing with eight months seance with [01:11:49] eight months severance pay and a little [01:11:51] over $100,000 in this 401k. How can I [01:11:55] set myself up to retire and cover [01:11:57] expenses till I can draw my military? [01:12:01] >> Yeah, let me look. Um, so most people [01:12:04] know if you've got a 100 grand, people [01:12:06] want to know, well, what does that mean [01:12:07] in terms of income? It's usually about 5 [01:12:09] to 6%. That's only going to provide them [01:12:11] about $5 to $6,000 in income. So, more [01:12:13] than likely not going to be enough. [01:12:15] Hopefully, social security and military [01:12:16] when that kicks in will will help him [01:12:18] get there. Um, but look, I mean, it's [01:12:21] just one of these things where he's [01:12:22] going to get have eight month severance. [01:12:24] I think at 50 years of age hopefully, we [01:12:26] talked about it before, he's got a skill [01:12:28] set that's viable today. He's just he's [01:12:30] going to have to work more. I mean, [01:12:31] that's the at 50 years old, I think no [01:12:33] one's going to be retiring at 50 [01:12:34] anymore. He's just going to have to [01:12:35] figure way how he's going to work cuz [01:12:36] with 100 grand and 8 month severance, [01:12:39] I'd love to give him a magic pill, but [01:12:40] it's not. He's just going to have to [01:12:42] find another another company to slip [01:12:43] into or look to start his own thing if [01:12:45] he thinks he has a skill set to be able [01:12:46] to do that. [01:12:47] >> Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you. Yeah. Thank [01:12:50] you. [01:12:51] >> All right. [01:12:53] gold. [01:12:54] >> Why is it at $4,200 an ounce? What's [01:12:57] silver? Is it Is it at 60? [01:12:58] >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, I [01:13:00] think the thing about silver and gold is [01:13:04] silver typically follows some increment [01:13:07] of what gold does. So, silver has done [01:13:09] just that this year. However, it's done [01:13:11] even better. Why? Because of the [01:13:14] industrial use of silver and everything [01:13:16] AI that's going on right now. So, you've [01:13:18] got this whole concern about, okay, is [01:13:21] there going to be inflation? because the [01:13:22] Fed's probably going to have to cut [01:13:24] interest rates again because of all the [01:13:25] things that we talked about and all the [01:13:26] debt that is piling up. We didn't even, [01:13:28] you know, we talked about the national [01:13:29] deficit, but real estate debt over a [01:13:31] trillion dollars that needs to be [01:13:33] financed next year. So, there's a lot of [01:13:34] worry out there right now. And I think [01:13:37] when you have that type of worry, um, a [01:13:40] lot of people talk about Bitcoin being a [01:13:42] hedge, and maybe we'll talk about that. [01:13:43] I think it's not gold over 5,000 years, [01:13:46] especially over the last 100 years, has [01:13:47] proven, especially during inflationary [01:13:49] periods, to be a very good hedge. Uh, [01:13:53] and so I think you've got gold doing [01:13:55] what it typically does during this [01:13:56] period of time of uncertainty. It's [01:13:58] doing pretty well. And I think silver is [01:14:00] just following. [01:14:01] >> Man, I started buying gold in 2020 cuz [01:14:04] I, you know, I started buying a lot of [01:14:06] different things in 2020 that I toilet [01:14:09] paper. But, uh, I mean, I I think when I [01:14:12] started buying gold, it was $1,200 an [01:14:15] ounce. [01:14:15] >> Yep. Yep. [01:14:17] >> 5 years later, it's $4,200 an ounce. [01:14:20] >> No, it's done. [01:14:20] >> Silver was I think 20 [01:14:23] >> Yeah. [01:14:24] >> 22 23 maybe an ounce. [01:14:26] >> Now it's 60 something an ounce. [01:14:28] >> Yeah. Gold gold is one of those assets I [01:14:31] think over when you're everyone should [01:14:33] be putting together a diversified [01:14:35] portfolio, right? you know, when all [01:14:36] your eggs in one basket, that's pretty [01:14:38] pretty common saying, but it's true. The [01:14:40] question is how do you diversify those [01:14:41] eggs? And so, when you think about gold [01:14:44] as an asset class, um I think everybody [01:14:47] should have between about 5 to 10% of [01:14:49] their overall portfolio in gold. So, if [01:14:51] you got 100,000 bucks total, 5 to 10,000 [01:14:54] of that would be in gold. Um I prefer [01:14:58] using uh actual gold bars, coins versus [01:15:02] like the GLD ETF that you can access. [01:15:05] maybe that's second best. Or if you've [01:15:07] only got a 401k and uh you have GLD in [01:15:10] there, that might be the way. Same thing [01:15:11] SLV is an ETF. I'd rather hold the [01:15:14] silver because it's just more of a [01:15:15] hedge. The challenge is that it's a [01:15:17] little bit harder to get in and out of [01:15:19] uh gold and silver. There's very few [01:15:21] places that do it. There are some good [01:15:22] ones out there, but um look, I think [01:15:25] long-term it's a hedge. if you're so [01:15:27] inclined to be able to time it a little [01:15:29] bit around inflationary periods when you [01:15:31] think those are going to be happening um [01:15:33] it tends to do a little bit better [01:15:34] versus deflationary periods but arguably [01:15:37] with what we're getting into which I [01:15:39] think the Fed will have to cut interest [01:15:40] rates a lot more aggressively than [01:15:42] they're telegraphing a lot more [01:15:43] aggressively than even the market thinks [01:15:45] I think that is a really good backdrop [01:15:47] for precious metals to continue to do [01:15:49] well so it it should be part of every [01:15:51] portfolio in my opinion [01:15:53] >> why has it gone up so I mean didn't do [01:15:56] this before, did it? [01:15:58] >> Yeah. I [snorts] mean, there's been [01:15:58] period. I mean, it's always held up well [01:16:01] during during uncertainty. 2008, 2009, [01:16:04] during the dotcom crash, during COVID, [01:16:07] gold has held up exceptionally well. And [01:16:08] so, that's the thing I love about gold, [01:16:10] too. Like I said, it's been around 5,000 [01:16:12] years, but you just look at the last 100 [01:16:13] years, there's a track record. Unlike [01:16:16] cryptocurrency, like we've only got 15 [01:16:17] years of crypto. When you think about [01:16:19] data sets, and I'm very big on data, 15 [01:16:22] years is nothing. You can't make any [01:16:24] determination. But gold has been very [01:16:26] very reliable over that period of time. [01:16:28] And I just think with tariffs um all the [01:16:31] uncertainty that's going on. Uh all the [01:16:33] things that crypto was supposed to do [01:16:35] and hold up well during which it hasn't. [01:16:37] I think 2025 pretty much everything's [01:16:40] down right. Bitcoin's down significantly [01:16:42] during that period of time. Gold has [01:16:44] done what it should be doing. And so I [01:16:46] think during of all the alternative [01:16:48] asset classes to stocks and bonds and [01:16:50] real estate, I I I do like precious [01:16:53] metals and I don't have enough. I wish I [01:16:56] would have bought I would have bought [01:16:57] more. [01:16:57] >> I mean, should should people be buying [01:16:59] it now or is it going to come back down [01:17:00] or [01:17:01] >> look I I think look, it's very hard to [01:17:03] time any market. And so one of the [01:17:05] things about investing in general, the [01:17:07] shorter your time horizon is, the harder [01:17:09] it is. [01:17:10] >> The longer it is, the easier it is. Mhm. [01:17:12] >> Think about the S&P, the largest 500 [01:17:14] companies. Over any 10-year period, it [01:17:16] does well. Over a longer period of time, [01:17:18] it's always done 10%. But it comes like [01:17:20] this. If you needed to know what is the [01:17:23] S&P going to do in the next 12 to 18 [01:17:24] months, I have no idea. So, if the the [01:17:27] money if what you're investing for those [01:17:29] needs need to be liquid in 12 to 18 [01:17:31] months, I wouldn't touch the S&P 500. [01:17:33] Longer period of time, 5 10 years, [01:17:35] absolutely. Same thing with gold. If [01:17:37] you're trying to time it over the next, [01:17:38] if you need to take this money out of [01:17:40] gold and buy a house in 12 months, I [01:17:42] would say don't touch it. Especially [01:17:43] after a big run, it should pull back. [01:17:46] Nothing trees don't grow to the sky. It [01:17:47] should pull back. I wouldn't be going [01:17:49] all in on it now. If you have no [01:17:51] position, maybe buy a little bit right [01:17:52] now. I would look for a little bit of a [01:17:54] pullback, which I think could happen. [01:17:56] Um, but I think longer term, again, 5 to [01:17:59] 10%. If you've got more than that, also [01:18:01] the thing about gold is it doesn't pay a [01:18:03] dividend. The only way you make money on [01:18:04] gold is you buy low, sell high. So [01:18:07] someone like yourself, if now you've [01:18:08] seen that it was 10% but it's become 30% [01:18:11] of your portfolio, the correlary is it [01:18:13] might be time to take a little bit off [01:18:15] the table of that. But if you don't have [01:18:16] any, it might be a time to start a small [01:18:18] position and try to look for some [01:18:19] pullbacks. [01:18:20] >> Okay. Okay. What about crypto? I mean, [01:18:23] >> I've had a lot of crypto guys on here. [01:18:26] >> Yeah. Yeah. [01:18:27] >> You despise crypto. [01:18:30] >> Despise is a relatively strong word. [01:18:33] Sean, [01:18:33] >> okay. You're not a fan of it. I'm not I [01:18:36] don't own any. I [clears throat] have [01:18:37] owned [01:18:38] >> none. [01:18:38] >> I zero now. I closed uh the last of my [01:18:43] cryptocurrency out which was not a lot [01:18:45] about 6 months ago. I sold all my [01:18:48] Bitcoin a year Bitcoin a year ago. [01:18:49] >> The crypto bros are not going to be [01:18:51] happy with [01:18:52] >> anytime I I told you before if I talk [01:18:53] about penny stocks that I don't like or [01:18:55] I talk about not liking crypto like the [01:18:57] cult comes after me. They they you don't [01:18:59] know [ __ ] about crypto or p neither do [01:19:02] you. So, and that's the one thing look [01:19:04] about cryptocurrency Sean my view all it [01:19:08] is is my view um what I believe is [01:19:12] there is no way and I and I've asked [01:19:14] multiple people in terms of the [01:19:15] technology of it and blockchain and even [01:19:18] if you talk about really to really [01:19:19] really smart people and some of the [01:19:21] vulnerabilities and potentially with [01:19:22] blockchain and crypto with [01:19:24] supercomputing coming out that [01:19:25] everyone's closing their eyes to but [01:19:27] just say this the technology and all [01:19:29] those things are solid as an a [01:19:32] substitute Still people say it could be [01:19:34] a substitute to the dollar. Never going [01:19:35] to happen. There's not enough liquidity. [01:19:38] It's way too volatile for that to [01:19:40] happen. Um there's still a lot of [01:19:41] problems with nefarious types of things [01:19:44] being done through cryptocurrency. So [01:19:46] governments are finding very hard to [01:19:47] regulate. How do you value [01:19:49] cryptocurrency? The truth is it's only [01:19:51] worth what someone's willing to pay for [01:19:52] it. You can say the same thing for the [01:19:54] dollar. Kind of true. But if you look at [01:19:56] the usage of the dollar, if you look at [01:19:58] the reserve currency status of the [01:19:59] dollar, uh if you look at trading in [01:20:01] currencies, the dollar has actually [01:20:03] increased over the last 10 years. So as [01:20:05] bad as we talk about the dollar, it [01:20:06] still continues to be the gold standard, [01:20:09] if you will. Cryptocurrency, again, the [01:20:11] the big problem I have with it is how do [01:20:13] you value it? What's the intrinsic [01:20:15] value? I can do that with gold, easier, [01:20:16] even with silver because there's a use [01:20:19] case for it. There's no utility for [01:20:21] cryptocurrency. So now, can that change [01:20:24] in the future? Can this be adapted by [01:20:26] more people? Potentially. But in terms [01:20:29] of again what what who I work with [01:20:31] myself, [01:20:33] we build multi-asset class portfolios, [01:20:36] gold and real estate and private equity [01:20:38] and stocks and all those things. And so [01:20:41] what would be the reason to put [01:20:43] cryptocurrency in there? Now if you [01:20:45] maybe had a small idiot bet, you're [01:20:47] like, I just don't want to be proven [01:20:48] wrong. I want to have 2 to 3%. And this [01:20:50] is why I bought it before, right? 2 to [01:20:53] 3%. Yeah, maybe. Um, but the truth is [01:20:56] like the people that got in in 2008, [01:20:58] 2009, like that run like that's done. [01:21:01] That's not going to happen, right? And [01:21:02] so everyone's saying, "Oh, you still got [01:21:04] to be in crypto because Bitcoin might go [01:21:06] to 150,000." [01:21:08] All right. So, you don't know how to [01:21:11] value this. There's a tremendous amount [01:21:12] of risk in it. Um, I can't touch it. I [01:21:15] can't feel it. It might go to 150, but [01:21:17] I've got multiple AI small cap stocks [01:21:20] that are up over 300% this year while [01:21:22] you sat in an asset class that lost 18%. [01:21:24] So like I don't see it's like not a [01:21:26] great speculation hasn't worked out [01:21:28] super well. I can't really use it. And [01:21:30] then the one thing I just want to talk [01:21:32] about is I think you know the crypto [01:21:34] bros or whatever you want to call them, [01:21:36] they always come back all of a sudden [01:21:38] the guys who are investing in this stuff [01:21:40] because they hate the the industry and [01:21:43] they don't want bank. They're now using [01:21:45] Bank of America is offering it to their [01:21:47] clients. Rob, are you smarter than Bank [01:21:49] of America? Um, yeah, I am. You remember [01:21:52] Bank of America in 2008 was essentially [01:21:54] bankrupt because they also backed some [01:21:56] private mortgage and me and you had to [01:21:58] bail them out with our tax dollars. Now [01:22:00] they're all of a sudden the authority on [01:22:01] risk management and how to allocate [01:22:03] assets. And oh yeah, but what about [01:22:05] them? The biggest ETF company in the [01:22:07] world, BlackRock, now offers Bitcoin. [01:22:11] they would offer a turd if they could [01:22:12] put in an ETF and put a fee around it. [01:22:14] And that's what they're doing. They're [01:22:15] collecting a fee and it's very very [01:22:17] profitable. And the biggest problem I [01:22:18] have with cryptocurrency is that when [01:22:20] these big organizations validate it and [01:22:22] they make it available to more people to [01:22:24] put in portfolios and other things, it [01:22:26] then could create a systemic risk just [01:22:28] like subprime housing did. And so people [01:22:31] who didn't get in in 2008 and make all [01:22:33] this money or just sitting in it now and [01:22:35] bought the Bitcoin ETF and are actually [01:22:36] negative. Now, if this gets infiltrated [01:22:38] and overlevered inside of other [01:22:40] organizations, does it become a systemic [01:22:42] risk where that's the next bailout that [01:22:44] now we have to worry about [01:22:45] cryptocurrency because there's some [01:22:46] systemic systemic risk to it. Again, I'm [01:22:49] not in it, but am I going to have to pay [01:22:50] the tax bill for it at some point if it [01:22:52] continues to spread? Probably. That's [01:22:54] just kind of the path that we've been on [01:22:55] with all these things. [01:22:56] >> Jeez. [clears throat] Jeez. [01:22:59] Can't wait to see the comments. [01:23:01] >> Hi, I'm I'm an idiot dummy. Don't know [01:23:03] anything. I'm missing out. Booer. Are [01:23:05] you are you tracking bricks at all? [01:23:08] >> Uh Brazil, Russia, China, the currencies [01:23:10] that are going on there. Yeah, I I do. [01:23:12] And it kind of again it goes back to um [01:23:15] if you look at the dollar, its reserve [01:23:17] status, how much is traded. Yes, some of [01:23:20] those currencies have gone up. They have [01:23:22] greater depreciation. The one that's [01:23:24] done the worst is the euro. Like money [01:23:25] is just flowing out of the euro. And I [01:23:28] think we we kind of all know why there. [01:23:30] But [01:23:30] >> why? [01:23:31] >> Uh oh, because of socialism. Because of [01:23:33] unrest that's going on there. And like [01:23:35] the government's continually like [01:23:36] socialism destroys countries. It really [01:23:39] does. Um then that's a reason, right? [01:23:41] When you look at voters and I'm half [01:23:43] Cuban, you look at Miami, right? These [01:23:45] are immigrants that came here. Uh most [01:23:47] of them vote Republican. Why? Because [01:23:49] they know the problems with socialism, [01:23:51] right? They know what it does to [01:23:52] countries. You look at Argentina, you [01:23:54] look at um going back to places like [01:23:56] Russia, 1998, going back to systemic [01:23:59] risks and smart people knowing what to [01:24:01] do. Nobel Prize laurates started a hedge [01:24:04] fund of trading currencies in 1998 [01:24:07] called long-term capital management. [01:24:09] They didn't think Russia's currency can [01:24:11] go to zero. When it did, collapsed. The [01:24:14] rich people, yeah, maybe they lost some [01:24:16] money, but then our government again had [01:24:18] to come in back stop banks that were [01:24:19] doing this and taxpayers once again had [01:24:22] to be able to do it. So, you know what I [01:24:24] would say is the dollar as of right now [01:24:27] from what I could see is still a very [01:24:29] safe place to be. I just talked about [01:24:31] all the deficit and the long-term [01:24:33] sustainability and all these things and [01:24:35] I think it is a house of cards. The big [01:24:37] question that you and I always have to [01:24:39] answer and especially because every I've [01:24:42] been on TV 17 18 years I have to go out [01:24:45] there and make an opinion. When I made [01:24:46] those opinions though my clients are [01:24:49] like is that consistent with the things [01:24:50] that you're doing for us? So there was [01:24:52] always hundreds of millions of dollars [01:24:54] that had to be accessed and put to work [01:24:57] through my opinions. I don't have the [01:24:59] luxury of 300year bets because my [01:25:01] clients don't live to 300, right? And so [01:25:03] if I sit here and say Bitcoin is great, [01:25:06] guys, in the end of 2024 when I was on [01:25:08] your show a year ago and say, "Hey, go [01:25:10] all into Bitcoin." And you just lost 18% [01:25:13] this year, why small cap stocks [01:25:14] skyrocketed, nuclear stock skyrocketed, [01:25:17] some of these um we talked about some of [01:25:19] these psychedelic stocks sky. If we [01:25:22] missed out on all that because I was so [01:25:24] in on this one strategy, I would have [01:25:26] gotten fired, right? And so what we have [01:25:29] to do is is be aware of the risk. And I [01:25:32] started as a risk analyst, so I always [01:25:33] look at what could go wrong first, [01:25:35] right? We have to be aware of the risk [01:25:37] with bricks and all these different [01:25:38] things. But the question is in putting [01:25:41] our money to work, are we willing to [01:25:43] take a bet on that that collapsing and [01:25:45] those things? And I would say as of [01:25:47] right now, no. That's not where I want [01:25:49] to put my money. I came in the market as [01:25:50] a professional in 1998 and I was hearing [01:25:53] the dollar's going to collapse. All this [01:25:55] all valid arguments, right? Why this guy [01:25:58] was pretty much 100% in tea bills and [01:26:01] like he did have some gold but very [01:26:03] little in the stock market, very middle [01:26:04] in private equity. And what happened [01:26:07] during that period of time? S&P hit. The [01:26:09] thing about the S&P, which is I say S&P, [01:26:12] it's the US. It's the largest barometer [01:26:14] of the US economy, the largest 500 [01:26:16] companies here. 100% of the time, every [01:26:20] time there's been a dip, it's been a [01:26:22] buying opportunity. Not 99, not 98, for [01:26:25] 100 years, every time it's been a dip, [01:26:27] it's been a buying opportunity. So if [01:26:29] you just bought, every time it declined, [01:26:30] you're going to do well. So when you [01:26:32] look at that, that's consistent. Gold [01:26:34] consistent over time. But when I look at [01:26:36] something, and I have and I I've learned [01:26:38] over 28 years of doing this, my opinion [01:26:40] doesn't mean [ __ ] All that matters is [01:26:43] what is in front of us. What are the [01:26:45] risks? What are the opportunities? And [01:26:46] what does the market as a whole believe? [01:26:48] And that was my why am I out of crypto. [01:26:50] Well, I understood why it went to where [01:26:53] it was. I understand why was it there. [01:26:55] But then what I also talked to you about [01:26:56] is last year I said, okay, if you're [01:26:58] going to be in crypto, have a small [01:26:59] amount. Why? Because I believe this [01:27:02] administration is so crypto friendly and [01:27:04] the narrative that they've been putting [01:27:05] around crypto and the investments that [01:27:07] they have in it. If anybody can get this [01:27:09] to run and get enthusiasm around and [01:27:11] that's what you need from an asset class [01:27:13] is enthusiasm, it's going to be this. So [01:27:14] then I looked at I'm like if they can't [01:27:16] get it to go, then what's the next? I'm [01:27:18] always looking at what's the catalyst. [01:27:19] And when you start running out of [01:27:20] catalyst, then you start thinking of am [01:27:22] I going to just sit in something with [01:27:24] the hope and pray strategy or am I going [01:27:26] to go to something that has intrinsic [01:27:27] value, it's discounted, and there's [01:27:29] going to be some catalyst where at least [01:27:30] I'm putting myself on that side of the [01:27:32] table. And that's kind of why I sold my [01:27:34] crypto. [01:27:35] >> Makes sense. does make sense. What about [01:27:38] real estate? [01:27:39] >> Realist I feel like real estate market [01:27:42] since 2020 has been really just really [01:27:45] weird. [01:27:46] >> Yeah. [01:27:46] >> And I say that because [01:27:50] >> before that it seemed [01:27:52] >> that it was the country the country is [01:27:54] doing good, the real estate goes up. The [01:27:56] country is doing bad it goes down. [01:27:59] >> Mhm. You know, now I don't I mean I'm [01:28:02] not terribly familiar with with all the [01:28:04] different markets, but I mean, you know, [01:28:06] we kind of mentioned it before. I mean, [01:28:08] you know, poly market predicted a [01:28:10] million people leaving New York [01:28:13] >> after that election. I mean, California, [01:28:15] it's been an exodus [01:28:17] >> of people coming out of there, you know, [01:28:19] and then I don't know if that's slowed [01:28:21] down enough at all, but Washington, [01:28:23] Oregon, I mean, and [clears throat] and [01:28:26] you you we travel. I travel. [01:28:28] >> Yeah. [01:28:29] you know, every everywhere I go, they're [01:28:33] complaining about the influx, you know, [01:28:35] and the and and so and so it's I would I [01:28:40] would think that there's markets in the [01:28:41] US that are skyrocketing. I would think [01:28:43] there's markets in the US that are [01:28:45] plummeting, [01:28:46] >> you know, and and I think that is and I [01:28:49] think that is the result of a very very [01:28:51] divided nation. [01:28:53] >> Am I right? [01:28:54] >> Yeah, you're 100% right. And then [01:28:57] but essentially that's how real estate [01:28:59] has always been. It's very it's always [01:29:01] been market by market. Certain like some [01:29:03] of the same markets that you're talking [01:29:05] about plummeting now for a long period [01:29:07] of time did exceptionally better [01:29:09] exponentially better than Tennessee for [01:29:12] example, right? What would you rather [01:29:14] have done 20 years ago? Buy beachfront [01:29:16] California property or Tennessee [01:29:18] property? Well, maybe up in maybe not [01:29:20] now, but five years ago before COVID, [01:29:23] you definitely would have rather had [01:29:24] those beachfront properties. Now, I [01:29:26] think especially after COVID, for a lot [01:29:27] of reasons, all those things have [01:29:29] changed. So, I think the real estate [01:29:31] market today, going back to you, you [01:29:32] know, you were saying this before is [01:29:35] it's market by market. It's really [01:29:37] dependent on where you're looking at. [01:29:39] And just like I said, this is for any [01:29:40] investment, what's the catalyst for it [01:29:43] to go up? And so the cat callous for [01:29:45] Tennessee or Texas or Florida real [01:29:48] estate to go up is there is an exodus [01:29:50] because the reason [01:29:53] my wife and I left California wasn't [01:29:56] just because of taxes. It played a role [01:29:58] in it. But I stayed there a long period [01:30:00] of time paying an exorbitant amount of [01:30:02] taxes because the weather was nice, [01:30:04] right? And I had the beach there. I [01:30:05] lived one house off the bay. Like that's [01:30:08] pretty nice. But when I couldn't wear a [01:30:10] Rolex watch to the mall and I was [01:30:13] worried about my daughter's safety, [01:30:16] um there's no there's no climate out [01:30:20] there that I'm willing to not feel safe [01:30:21] in. So I moved out of there. So the [01:30:23] catalyst for real estate here is that. [01:30:25] So a lot of it, yeah, maybe it's [01:30:27] political, but it's also economical. [01:30:29] when you look at all these big companies [01:30:31] moving out of California and Tesla going [01:30:33] to Texas and uh Oracle now opening their [01:30:36] health headquarters here in in [01:30:38] Nashville. So what does that mean? [01:30:41] People are leaving jobs are coming here. [01:30:43] You don't have to be a rocket science or [01:30:44] an investment analyst to understand well [01:30:46] supply demand that's going to cause real [01:30:49] estate prices to go up here. So back to [01:30:51] your point follow like Gretzky said go [01:30:53] to where the skate to where the puck is [01:30:56] going not to where it's been. And so [01:30:58] that's, you know, the funny thing, Sean, [01:30:59] like my wife and I talk about this all [01:31:01] the time and you talked about it. So my [01:31:04] wife came here from Kazakhstan when she [01:31:05] was 19 years old. She spent, she's 38 [01:31:08] now. She spent her whole life primarily [01:31:10] in New York City for several years and [01:31:12] then lived with me in Los Angeles. Like [01:31:14] that's all she knew of the US. Uh not [01:31:17] too much unlike me. If you would have [01:31:18] ever asked her about living in Tennessee [01:31:21] [laughter] or anywhere in the South, [01:31:23] she'd been like, "What the hell are you [01:31:25] talking about?" But now and like I want [01:31:27] I don't want to shout too loud about [01:31:29] this is it's like [01:31:31] >> this is what a this is a luxury to live. [01:31:35] Yeah. To live here. And you hear about I [01:31:36] was just reading about a little town in [01:31:39] North Carolina. It was just I forgot [01:31:41] where I even read it a couple days ago [01:31:42] but small town like 800 people but the [01:31:44] amount of billionaires that are moving [01:31:46] there is like ex it's huge. So people [01:31:49] are starting like places like and again [01:31:52] I don't want to mention towns. cuz I [01:31:53] don't want them here. But, uh, places [01:31:55] like that are the new York City and the [01:31:57] new Los Angeles. It's just retraining [01:31:59] your mind. And then, like I told you the [01:32:01] other day, we spent some time together. [01:32:02] And it's like, and I've been out of [01:32:04] California for 2 years now. And it's [01:32:06] just like, you know, surrounding [01:32:08] yourself with people who have good [01:32:11] values, right? And are, you know, put [01:32:14] God first. And when they look at you, [01:32:16] they're not sizing you up to what do you [01:32:18] own and what do you have? And they just [01:32:20] want you to win. And they want to win. [01:32:22] and they just want a good place to raise [01:32:24] their kids. Like that's a luxury. And um [01:32:28] I think that's worth overpaying for. And [01:32:30] I know your question was about real [01:32:31] estate, but um I think there's certain [01:32:34] places in this country that have become [01:32:37] more and more desirable and they're not [01:32:39] the New York cities and they're not the [01:32:41] Los Angeles's. They're the places where [01:32:43] real people, real Americans who care [01:32:45] about their families, who care about [01:32:46] their the dream and who put God first. I [01:32:48] think those are the areas where the [01:32:50] money is going to flow. You're saying [01:32:51] values are coming back. [01:32:53] >> I think so. And I think so. I know. So [01:32:55] they are. [01:32:55] >> Man, that's good to hear. [01:32:56] >> But there's a war though. And it's divi. [01:32:58] You go back to this division. It's a [01:33:01] division on values. [01:33:02] >> Mhm. [01:33:03] >> I mean, at the end of the day, Christian [01:33:05] values, family values, traditional [01:33:08] American values. There's people who are [01:33:11] now speaking out and speaking up like [01:33:13] you and me and don't really give a [ __ ] [01:33:16] But at the same time, Sean, I think like [01:33:18] that's the opportunity. We always all [01:33:21] want more money, but when you hit a [01:33:22] certain amount of money, it's just like, [01:33:25] okay, I don't have to be in fear of [01:33:27] losing my job right now. And like, hey, [01:33:29] maybe maybe I'll make no more money, but [01:33:31] it's more valuable for me, to say how I [01:33:33] feel, to say what I believe. Um, because [01:33:36] I think at the end of the day, whatever [01:33:38] we collect here is all [ __ ] Our [01:33:40] real reward comes after this life. And I [01:33:42] want to be able to go up there and say, [01:33:44] "Hey, I did everything that I believe [01:33:45] was right." And when you're in places [01:33:48] like we talked about in California, I [01:33:50] think sometimes um you can be the most [01:33:52] ethical Christian person on there, but [01:33:54] when you're constantly surrounded by [01:33:55] [ __ ] [01:33:56] >> you turn into [ __ ] [01:33:57] >> It's tough. You turn into [ __ ] You do. [01:33:59] >> So, I try to get [ __ ] out of my life. [01:34:02] >> Done a damn good job. [laughter] [01:34:04] >> What do What do you think about What do [01:34:07] you think about Ohio? I mean, VC's [01:34:09] running there. I don't know. I haven't [01:34:11] checked in a while, but [01:34:13] >> last time I did check, he had a pretty [01:34:15] good lead and he's talking about taking [01:34:18] the state tax-free and Dural [01:34:20] headquarters is there now. I mean, [01:34:23] >> it's a catalyst. [01:34:24] >> It's a catalyst. I think you've got more [01:34:26] traditional values there. You've had VC [01:34:29] on your show here before. I think the [01:34:30] things he's talked about conceptually, [01:34:33] right? We only we can only vote what [01:34:34] they talk about. Whether they go in [01:34:36] there and they're able to execute or [01:34:37] want to execute on that, we don't know. [01:34:39] But conceptually, like you said with [01:34:40] Anduro, um, with VC going there, the [01:34:43] prices are pretty low right now in terms [01:34:45] of national standards, that's what I'm [01:34:48] talking about. Is it guaranteed you buy [01:34:50] real estate in Ohio and make money? Of [01:34:52] course not. But there's every catalyst [01:34:55] for that to happen. So, would I rather [01:34:57] buy it there than New York or [01:34:59] California? Of course I would. [01:35:00] >> So, that's the other thing we got to [01:35:01] like everything we're talking about is a [01:35:03] shift in mindset. And that's why I said [01:35:05] earlier about New York real estate [01:35:06] always comes back. It's not coming back [01:35:09] this time. [01:35:11] I don't I believe that and people again [01:35:12] just like the crypto you don't know [01:35:14] anything about. Okay, we'll see. I hope [01:35:16] I'm wrong. My son was born in New York. [01:35:18] My my my wife there lived there for a [01:35:20] long time. My grandfather helped build [01:35:22] that city. I love the idea of New York, [01:35:26] but it wasn't the buildings in Central [01:35:28] Park. It was the people, the culture [01:35:30] that built that and made that great. Now [01:35:32] that they're gone and it's been replaced [01:35:34] by a whole new immigrant that doesn't [01:35:35] care about this country, that doesn't [01:35:37] care about Christian values, that's [01:35:39] tearing it down, that's out to get what [01:35:40] they can and pill for uh New York and [01:35:43] this country and then they'll leave once [01:35:44] it's all gone. That's not going to allow [01:35:46] real estate New York to come back. [01:35:48] >> Yep. Yep. [01:35:50] >> There's no culture there. [01:35:51] >> There's no culture. [01:35:53] It's just just buildings sky like lights [01:35:55] on s on Fifth Avenue. I don't know. It's [01:35:58] not enough for me. [01:35:59] >> Yeah. You you said something earlier, [01:36:01] you know, and I've been thinking of this [01:36:02] for a long time about, you know, there's [01:36:04] this this, [01:36:06] you know, well, you get what you vote [01:36:07] for [01:36:09] >> and and you know, I've been I've been [01:36:11] guilty of this. It's like, oh, you [01:36:12] [ __ ] voted for that. You live in that [01:36:14] [ __ ] [01:36:14] >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [clears throat] [01:36:15] Exactly. [01:36:15] >> And, [01:36:17] you know, now I I don't feel like that. [01:36:20] And now I'm like, this [ __ ] is way too [01:36:23] close to home. [01:36:24] >> Mhm. [01:36:24] >> And it is spreading just like you're [01:36:26] saying, it's percolating. Mhm. [01:36:28] >> It's getting bigger in [01:36:29] >> I mean you see it here in certain parts [01:36:31] of Tennessee already. [01:36:32] >> Yep. [01:36:33] >> Unfortunately. [01:36:34] >> Nashville. [01:36:35] >> Yeah. [01:36:35] >> Said in Nashville. [01:36:36] >> Yeah. [01:36:36] >> But um [01:36:39] >> yeah, people really got to start paying [01:36:41] attention and you can't you this is I I [01:36:43] mean [01:36:45] everybody warned me about diving into [01:36:47] politics. [01:36:48] >> Mhm. [01:36:49] >> Now I get it. [01:36:50] >> It's all It's all connected though, man. [01:36:53] It's not just politics. You're right. [01:36:55] >> You know, I know Maria Baroma. She left [01:36:57] CNBC years ago to Fox and they [01:37:00] criticized her like for making a [01:37:01] political move and talking about [01:37:03] politics and she's like, "You don't [01:37:04] think politics drive the economy and the [01:37:07] stock market. You think you can totally [01:37:08] disassociate yourself from that?" It's [01:37:10] it's it's all connected. Politics is the [01:37:13] way you feed your kids. Uh it's how safe [01:37:16] or not safe that you feel like your [01:37:18] health care. Are those three things not [01:37:21] important to you? Mhm. [01:37:23] >> But yet we make political decisions [01:37:25] based off of 20 30 second news clips. [01:37:27] And like you said, like the thing is as [01:37:29] I get older, right? I realize how much I [01:37:33] don't know. Uh and I start to realize [01:37:36] that it's the world is a lot more gray [01:37:39] than it is black and white. And you have [01:37:41] to be comfortable living with [01:37:42] uncertainty. And whenever you vote for [01:37:44] somebody, you're not going to get 100% [01:37:46] of what you think you're going to get, [01:37:48] right? Whether they can't do that or [01:37:50] they don't want to do that. So you have [01:37:51] to make going back to investing. [01:37:53] >> Might not even get 1%. [01:37:54] >> You might not even get 1% of it, right? [01:37:56] Yeah. [01:37:57] >> So is [clears throat] that frustrating? [01:37:58] Of course it is. So what do you do? You [01:38:00] just crawl into a ball and leave. Like I [01:38:02] I love this country and I've been into a [01:38:04] lot of other places and every single [01:38:06] time I'm really happy to come back here [01:38:09] no matter what. [01:38:10] >> I mean, I'll tell you what you do. You [01:38:11] [ __ ] figure it out. [01:38:12] >> You figure it out. You [01:38:13] >> find another way. Just like we were [01:38:15] talking about earlier. You you quit [01:38:17] putting all your faith in a [ __ ] [01:38:20] political prostitute and you make [ __ ] [01:38:22] happen for yourself instead of thinking [01:38:24] instead of [ __ ] voting for a handout [01:38:26] or voting for somebody to come save your [01:38:28] ass. That [ __ ] isn't going to [01:38:29] save your ass. You're going to save your [01:38:31] ass. [01:38:31] >> Yeah. [01:38:32] >> You got to find your way out. You got to [01:38:34] find a new way. That [ __ ] [ __ ] [01:38:35] isn't going to do it for you. [01:38:37] >> On either side, Sean. [01:38:39] >> That's what I'm getting at. That's what [01:38:40] I'm getting. [01:38:41] >> Yeah. On on either side. Right. And I [01:38:43] think and a lot of that even like I said [01:38:46] coming to Tennessee and you were part of [01:38:49] that decision. I saw how you were living [01:38:51] and I was like it's just that right like [01:38:53] like I said at the beginning I don't [01:38:55] need [ __ ] from the government. I don't [01:38:57] want [ __ ] I don't need I just need them [01:38:59] to stay the f out of my my life and let [01:39:02] me create things for myself because I'm [01:39:04] capable of doing that. Now does [01:39:05] everybody in America have that [01:39:08] opportunity? No. If you're disabled, uh [01:39:11] you're mentally ill, you're a veteran [01:39:13] who's come back and you're destroyed [01:39:15] because of the situation, I think we [01:39:17] should help those people. But I think [01:39:18] there's things in place, they could be [01:39:20] better to do that. But the vast majority [01:39:22] of Americans are just getting soft and [01:39:24] lazy and they don't want to take the [01:39:26] hard medicine. They don't want to work. [01:39:28] And I've got a problem with that. And so [01:39:30] when I came here, this is like the [01:39:32] opportunity to where like I look at [01:39:34] things like you have of farmland and [01:39:37] place like, hey, let me just let me let [01:39:39] me be responsible for my family. Let me [01:39:41] surround myself with friends and family [01:39:44] who are like-minded who put God first. [01:39:46] And at the end of the day, we might not [01:39:47] be big enough, but we're going to put up [01:39:49] a damn good fight if if something [01:39:51] happens. And I'm not relying on anyone [01:39:53] to protect my family or feed my family. [01:39:55] And I and I never will until I take my [01:39:58] last breath. I will work. I will work to [01:40:00] get better at everything I'm doing. I I [01:40:02] don't need [ __ ] And um I only surround [01:40:06] myself with people that think that way. [01:40:07] >> Yep. [01:40:09] >> Yeah. You can still make it happen. [01:40:11] >> Yep. Yep. [01:40:13] >> Well, Rob, [sighs and gasps] did we miss [01:40:15] anything? [laughter] [01:40:17] >> Taxes. [01:40:18] >> We got on taxes. [01:40:19] >> It's kind of like off another topic now. [01:40:21] I We could end it. [01:40:22] >> Hit it. Is there any We got any good [01:40:24] news? We getting some tax cuts. [01:40:25] >> Some tax stuff. Should we hit that? Is [01:40:27] it for everybody or just the top? [01:40:28] [clears throat] [01:40:29] >> At [laughter] the top. [01:40:32] >> Um, [01:40:34] yeah. I mean, if you got money is where [01:40:35] Well, here's the thing about taxes. If [01:40:37] you don't make money, you don't pay [01:40:38] taxes anyway. So, who really gives a [01:40:40] [ __ ] [01:40:40] >> That's a good point. [laughter] [01:40:42] >> Yeah. We have a progressive tax system, [01:40:44] right? So, the first 40 50 grand, you [01:40:45] don't pay any taxes on it anyway, right? [01:40:47] So, if you're making money, right? And [01:40:50] like, dude, my goal in being on this [01:40:53] show, right? which is a huge opportunity [01:40:55] for me to be on here. Why? Because I'm [01:40:57] fighting for the American dream. I'm [01:40:59] fighting for Christian values. And what [01:41:00] you've created is a platform for people, [01:41:02] whatever their message is, is to get [01:41:04] that out to a larger audience. And so we [01:41:06] talk about how do we change things as [01:41:08] you [ __ ] speak up and you give people [01:41:09] tools that are going to allow them to be [01:41:11] the type of American and create this [01:41:13] country that's going to get us the [01:41:14] ability to compete. And so the tax [01:41:16] system, uh, look, you've got to use it [01:41:19] to your if you're making money, do you [01:41:21] want to give more to the government or [01:41:22] less than the government? So you have to [01:41:24] be proactive. And so when you think [01:41:26] about some of the tax incentives that [01:41:28] have come back, you talked about real [01:41:29] estate. Okay? So there's a couple things [01:41:31] with real estate. Um, number one, [01:41:33] there's something that's called cost [01:41:35] segmentation, bonus depreciation. So [01:41:37] when you buy a piece of real estate, [01:41:39] there's really three different [01:41:40] components of what make it real [01:41:42] investing in real estate good. Um, there [01:41:45] income that you can get off of real [01:41:46] estate. There's appreciation that you [01:41:48] can get off of real estate over time, [01:41:50] whether it's raw land or a single family [01:41:52] or a commercial building. And there's [01:41:54] also tax advantages of depreciation that [01:41:56] you can get from real estate. So, all in [01:41:58] all, when you take 5% from a piece of [01:42:01] real estate versus 5% from a from a [01:42:04] government bond, real estate is better [01:42:06] because you don't pay taxes on that full [01:42:08] thing. So, you're getting actually a [01:42:09] higher yield. So, two things now with [01:42:12] the new administration that I will give [01:42:13] them credit for. A lot of it may be [01:42:14] self- serving because they own a lot of [01:42:16] real estate. Um, but you get bonus [01:42:18] depreciation now reset back to 100%. So, [01:42:21] instead of having to let's say [01:42:24] depreciate a building over 30 something [01:42:26] years, right? There's a big percentage [01:42:27] of that now that could be taken in year [01:42:29] one. And so, that'll dollar for dollar [01:42:32] help lower your income. So, it makes [01:42:34] investing in real estate more attractive [01:42:36] now. So, if you're starting to make some [01:42:38] money, you're going to be able to lower [01:42:39] your tax bases. So, you get to buy an [01:42:41] asset, not pay as much to the [01:42:42] government. That's one thing. What I [01:42:44] also like about in terms of how do we [01:42:47] create an incentivize [01:42:49] people uh to do more build the economy [01:42:52] there's something called opportunity [01:42:53] zones where if you go to disadvantaged [01:42:55] areas pretty much in any state where [01:42:57] there's not a lot of economic growth out [01:42:59] there and you invest in qualified [01:43:01] opportunity zone funds which there's [01:43:03] companies like Caner Fitzgerald that are [01:43:05] out there that put them together. I [01:43:07] think Blackstone will probably create [01:43:08] them next year now that this is back cuz [01:43:10] they can make some money off of it. If [01:43:12] you want to do it yourself, you could [01:43:13] set up your own LLC. If you buy in those [01:43:16] areas and you invest money into those [01:43:18] properties, two things that are really [01:43:20] cool, you can roll capital gains into [01:43:23] here. Meaning, let's say you bought a [01:43:25] property 10 years ago for 100,000. Now [01:43:28] it's worth a million in Tennessee. That [01:43:30] that's happened, right? You've got [01:43:31] 900,000 in gains. You could pay taxes to [01:43:33] the IRS on that if you want. Probably [01:43:35] don't want to do that. or you can roll [01:43:37] it into this opportunity zone fund, kind [01:43:39] of like a 1031 exchange, but you don't [01:43:42] pay taxes on that money that you made [01:43:44] that 900 grand. The other cool thing is [01:43:46] when you put it into this fund, if you [01:43:48] hold it for 10 years, now you, let's [01:43:50] say, have a million dollar that goes [01:43:51] into this opportunity zone fund, that [01:43:54] grows to $3 million, that $2 million, if [01:43:57] you hold it for 10 years, is tax-free. [01:43:59] You never pay $1 on it. you put it into [01:44:02] a fund or you buy real estate in the [01:44:04] >> So, you're buying real estate, but it [01:44:06] has to be structured a certain way. You [01:44:07] can do it as an individual. We do it for [01:44:09] clients, you set up an LLC that's [01:44:11] structured to meet all the requirements. [01:44:13] But for a lot of people, if it's a [01:44:14] smaller amount or they don't want to [01:44:16] deal with that, there's companies that [01:44:18] structure those funds out there for you. [01:44:20] So, you can invest in alongside other [01:44:22] institutions and still get that same [01:44:23] benefit. The the the difference there is [01:44:25] you don't have as much control over [01:44:27] doing that. So this is something that's [01:44:29] come back that was gone in 2022 that [01:44:31] you're starting to see people now. So [01:44:33] two things if you're a real estate [01:44:34] investor again to your question should I [01:44:36] invest in real estate now it's more [01:44:38] attractive especially if you do that [01:44:40] than it was before uh in in terms of [01:44:43] investing in real estate. [01:44:44] >> So is this is this [01:44:47] where are these zones? Is this Memphis [01:44:51] Baltimore? It's it's pretty much [01:44:53] everything. Yeah, it would be like [01:44:54] Memphis, maybe uh in Tennessee. It would [01:44:58] be areas of Los Angeles. There's zones [01:44:59] that you can go [01:45:00] >> New York. [01:45:01] >> Uh yeah, the whole Manhattan. Uh you [01:45:04] know, but basically you can go look it [01:45:06] up. Use chat to be Google. It'll kind of [01:45:08] break down maps of these zones. You can [01:45:10] go to some of these large sponsors. Like [01:45:11] I don't even know if they have them open [01:45:13] right now, but now that this has just [01:45:14] been passed, I'm sure you'll see in 2026 [01:45:18] like all these big companies will be [01:45:19] coming out with new opportunity funds to [01:45:21] >> I mean what do you think about that? So [01:45:23] >> when you're talking about New York and [01:45:25] you're saying this isn't coming back, [01:45:27] >> you know, and in [01:45:29] >> I would I would I mean I guess I [01:45:31] shouldn't make assumptions, but I would [01:45:32] I am assuming that [01:45:34] >> you know the the majority of these [01:45:36] places are in areas that probably aren't [01:45:38] coming back. I mean when you look at [01:45:39] Detroit, St. [01:45:41] these areas. I mean, manufacturing left. [01:45:43] Ford's gone. McDonald Douglas is gone. [01:45:46] Boeing is gone. I mean, St. Louis is [01:45:49] >> [ __ ] destroyed. [01:45:50] >> Exact. I There's going to be some areas [01:45:53] that [01:45:53] >> there's no industry coming back. [01:45:55] >> Yeah. Yeah. I think there's going to be [01:45:56] some areas like even in Tennessee, and I [01:45:58] don't have the map in front of me, where [01:46:00] you've got all these values and [01:46:01] everything that we're talking about, [01:46:02] there just hasn't been a lot of economic [01:46:04] growth there. So those could be [01:46:06] opportunities in those areas to where [01:46:08] it's like, hey, Williamson County mount [01:46:10] is maybe a little bit more expensive, [01:46:12] but let me move further south into some [01:46:14] of these areas which still have a lot of [01:46:15] the same benefits. There just hasn't [01:46:17] been as much economic growth or [01:46:19] investment in those areas. [01:46:20] >> Okay. So it's not necess holes in the [01:46:23] [laughter] [01:46:24] there's a lot of [01:46:25] >> it's not all the d most dangerous [01:46:27] most likely to get killed opportunities. [01:46:29] No, it's it's not only it's a lot of [01:46:31] that. Yeah. But again, back to doing [01:46:33] your due diligence and doing the [01:46:34] investment and hand selecting it and [01:46:36] making sure that there's a viable [01:46:37] strategy and catalyst for this to work. [01:46:39] You can look at that. Um, but then the [01:46:41] bon then but for everybody the bonus [01:46:44] depreciation of now being able to write [01:46:46] off a lot of that, especially if you're [01:46:47] having a good year, um, you're selling [01:46:50] an asset, a business or something, [01:46:52] you're selling some Apple stock that you [01:46:53] bought 20 years ago, you could take some [01:46:55] of that profit and put it into real [01:46:57] estate and get a lot of, uh, uh, to use [01:47:00] that to offset some of that. Right. [01:47:01] Interesting. [01:47:02] >> Now, there's there's caveats around all [01:47:03] this stuff. So, talk with your CPA and [01:47:05] everything like that, but these are [01:47:06] things people need to be aware of. [01:47:08] Another one I want to talk about, [01:47:09] >> that's pretty I like that. That's really [01:47:10] cool. Yeah, I like that. I'd rather [01:47:12] invest in these areas versus just give [01:47:14] people more social programs, right? Um [01:47:17] the other thing that's really really [01:47:18] cool that we've talked about is uh for [01:47:21] small businesses, qualified small [01:47:23] business stocks, I think it's section [01:47:24] 1202. Um you can set up a CC Corp today. [01:47:28] So, hey, you're going to start a new [01:47:29] business. I talked about, hey, I think [01:47:31] there's huge opportunities in plumbing [01:47:33] and HVAC and dog care and land, you [01:47:36] know, all these things, right? to get in [01:47:38] there, work your ass off, scale, um, [01:47:40] over under promise, overd deliver, and [01:47:42] you can build real businesses today. [01:47:44] Well, the cool thing is, again, this is [01:47:47] why knowledge is power. If you set that [01:47:49] today up in the right structure, uh, it [01:47:51] has to be a C corp, right? There's some, [01:47:54] again, look, talk to your CPA about it. [01:47:56] You can set up this company. [01:47:59] If you hold it for five years, so you [01:48:02] set it up today, you put 10,000 to get [01:48:04] it started. In five years, you build up [01:48:07] this great land lawn landscaping [01:48:09] business. You build up this great pest [01:48:11] control business or this mobile dog [01:48:13] grooming business or fencing business, [01:48:15] whatever it is. You get offered by [01:48:17] somebody and I think there's going to be [01:48:18] a lot of M&A mergers and acquisitions, [01:48:20] people buying businesses going on the [01:48:22] next 5 years. You build it up to a $15 [01:48:25] million asset, $10 million asset, $5 [01:48:27] million asset. Anything up to $15 [01:48:30] million is tax-free. [01:48:34] >> What? taxfree. Wow. As long as it's [01:48:36] structured that way. The first 15 [01:48:38] million, there's some caveats around [01:48:40] there, but it's not really that [01:48:41] difficult. The main thing is before you [01:48:43] start making money or you have some [01:48:44] other entity set up, it has to be [01:48:46] structured the right way from the [01:48:47] beginning. You have to hold it for 5 [01:48:49] years. Now, I think after 2 years, it's [01:48:50] like 50% taxree. But at 5 years, 100% of [01:48:54] that is taxree. And that's huge. [01:48:56] >> Wow. [01:48:56] >> For small businesses, right? Versus [01:48:58] giving 20% of that to the government [01:49:00] plus whatever your state is. So, if [01:49:02] you're in California, 34% of that go to [01:49:04] them. If you're in California, even uh [01:49:06] you'd have to pay the California tax, [01:49:07] but the federal on that is zero. You pay [01:49:09] zero federal tax on that. So, [01:49:11] >> that's something a lot of people don't [01:49:12] know. The other one that I just want to [01:49:13] hit on [01:49:14] >> um is R&D credits have been restored [01:49:17] back. Now, R&D credits a little bit more [01:49:19] complex, but every business, your [01:49:22] business, my business, all has research [01:49:24] and development. We're trying to expand [01:49:26] new products, especially with AI. We're [01:49:28] trying to see how can we use AI to [01:49:30] create new processes or procedures. And [01:49:32] so there's some metrics that need to be [01:49:35] established. So if you talk to your CPA, [01:49:38] a qualified team, we're doing it. We [01:49:40] have tons of work in R&D right now. [01:49:43] Everything from the products you buy to [01:49:45] the big thing for people we talked about [01:49:46] is labor cost. The percentage of time [01:49:49] that your people are spending on that [01:49:51] that can be associated towards this R&D [01:49:53] credit. There's no limit on that. It's [01:49:56] as much as you need to to offset your [01:49:58] taxes. If you're just starting up and [01:50:00] you're not profitable, the only thing [01:50:02] you could really do is offset payroll [01:50:04] taxes. And there's a half a million [01:50:05] dollar, I believe, exemption there. But [01:50:07] what you'll see is a lot of what [01:50:09] everyone's doing today, their time, what [01:50:11] they're spending on does qualify for [01:50:13] this. A lot of people don't know about [01:50:14] it, don't talk about it. CPAs don't know [01:50:16] how to do the work. What you will see is [01:50:19] you will save, you talk about how are we [01:50:21] going to save you some taxes. R&D [01:50:23] credits are huge because they're [01:50:25] credits. And the difference between, if [01:50:27] you don't know, a tax deduction and a [01:50:30] tax credit is a du deduction. If you get [01:50:33] a $100,000 deduction for buying real [01:50:36] estate, okay? What you get to write off [01:50:39] is your own tax bracket. So, if you're [01:50:41] at a 30% tax bracket, you don't get to [01:50:44] write 100,000 off the taxes you owe. You [01:50:46] get to write off 30,000 off the tax you [01:50:48] owe. a $100,000 R&D tax credit. It's a [01:50:52] $100,000 to offset income. So, you get a [01:50:56] hundred,000 of that. And there's [01:50:57] companies we're working with right now [01:50:58] when you start taking the percentage of [01:51:00] people's salary and the things that they [01:51:02] spend and new locations, there's [01:51:03] hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax [01:51:05] credits that are now available that [01:51:08] reset back that people should be looking [01:51:09] to those R&D tax credits. [01:51:10] >> Interesting. [01:51:11] >> So, again, there's never been a better [01:51:13] time. That's one thing I would say with [01:51:15] this administration, too. the barrier to [01:51:17] entry, um the ability for M&A to happen, [01:51:20] uh the taxes, taxes aren't going any [01:51:22] lower, guys. If anything, if you look at [01:51:24] the deficit and all these things we're [01:51:26] talking about, taxes are going higher. [01:51:28] So, you want to structure that. And then [01:51:29] there's that's the tax work, but there's [01:51:32] estate planning work that we've talked [01:51:33] about that you can do trusts to maybe [01:51:37] double that $15,000 exemption where your [01:51:39] trust owns some and you own some, now [01:51:41] it's 30 million. But this is the idea, [01:51:43] like I said before, Sean, of the people [01:51:45] that are going to win are the allstars, [01:51:46] just like they always have. The [01:51:47] all-stars in sports, the allstars in [01:51:49] business, and you want to be working [01:51:51] with the A-list. Do you want to be [01:51:53] working with the Joe Schmo in the shop [01:51:55] who doesn't have any resources and just [01:51:56] telling you just be grateful to pay your [01:51:58] taxes because you made money this year, [01:52:00] or do you want to work with the team who [01:52:02] kind of understands the code? Uh, do you [01:52:04] want to self-educate yourself to make [01:52:05] sure that you're taking advantage of [01:52:06] these things? Because the difference [01:52:08] between people who are poor and people [01:52:10] who are wealthy isn't because they're, [01:52:12] you know, doing anything that much [01:52:13] different because they have knowledge, [01:52:15] right? And that knowledge is power and [01:52:16] it turns into dollars. So the tax code [01:52:19] is there for everyone to access. It's up [01:52:21] to you whether or not you know how to [01:52:23] use it and if you want to use it. And [01:52:24] again, if you're not making money, don't [01:52:25] worry about it. It's not going to help [01:52:26] you. Don't listen to this. But if you're [01:52:27] making some money, you probably want to [01:52:28] pay less in taxes. [01:52:31] >> Man, great interview. Thanks, man. Lots [01:52:34] of knowledge there. [01:52:35] >> Thank you. Yeah, that's interesting you [01:52:37] said that because that's what my last [01:52:38] guy told me. This is the price of [01:52:41] success. Congratulations. [01:52:43] >> Yeah, it's funny. I told [01:52:44] >> I said [01:52:46] >> wrong answer. You're [ __ ] [laughter] [01:52:47] fired. [01:52:50] >> Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Well, [01:52:51] >> but well, Rob, [01:52:53] >> seriously, man. Thank you for all the [01:52:55] knowledge and uh yeah, what a like [01:52:57] really good discussion. I think this is [01:52:59] a perfect way to kick off the year and [01:53:01] and um you know as always man I just I [01:53:04] wish you the best of success. Good luck [01:53:06] with Valtry. [01:53:07] >> Send to you. Thanks man. [01:53:08] >> Cheers. [01:53:08] >> Thanks. [01:53:11] [music] [01:53:18] >> [music] [01:53:22] >> No matter where you're watching Shawn [01:53:24] Ryan Show from, if you get anything out [01:53:26] of this, please like, comment, [01:53:28] subscribe, and most importantly, share [01:53:31] this everywhere you possibly can. And if [01:53:34] you're feeling extra generous, please [01:53:37] leave us a review on Apple and Spotify [01:53:40] podcasts.