Crafting Success Amidst Tension

Navigating the labyrinth of entrepreneurship and personal accountability, we've unearthed the powerful, yet often silent, tales of black male experience, a journey where resilience meets vulnerability. Our dialogue with Marcellus Clay, a seasoned painting company owner, peels back the layers of leadership, the weight it carries, and the unwavering support from those nearest to us that bolsters our climb. This episode stitches together the threads of emotional expression, the mentorship that fuels our growth, and the art of balancing life's multifaceted demands with the finesse of a craftsman.

Emotional support, an elusive haven for many men, stands at the forefront as we dissect the necessity of creating spaces where feelings are not foes but allies in the odyssey of manhood. Our candid exchanges traverse the landscape of familial business dynamics, teaching accountability to the next generation, and the intricate dance of work-life equilibrium. We reveal personal anecdotes that resonate with anyone who's juggled the hats of entrepreneur, partner, and parent, and how each role molds a tapestry of shared success.

As we wrap this soul-stirring episode, we take stock of how self-belief and dedication are the twin engines propelling us forward in business and marriage alike. We tackle the gritty realities faced when payrolls challenge our resolve, and we draw strength from the unity found in collaborative ventures with family. This isn't just a conversation — it's a heartfelt testimony to the relentless spirit of entrepreneurship and the profound impact it has on carving out legacies, one brushstroke at a time.

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All merch made by @nessas_crafty_nest,
All music, production, and vocals edited by Chief Ali,
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Chapters

• 0:01 Accountability and the Black Man's Experience
• 5:17 Men Seeking Emotional Support and Expressing
• 15:17 Mentors and Support for Black Community
• 22:33 Procrastination and Growth in Business
• 32:12 Balancing Work and Relationship Challenges
• 41:04 Collaboration and Financial Success
• 49:16 Belief, Confidence, Dedication in Marriage+Business
• 53:38 The Difference Between Fun and Funds
• 58:18 Real-Life Entrepreneur Issue
• 1:08:26 Accepting Responsibility and Hiring Family
• 1:12:47 Working With Family in Business

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Here, let's go.

Speaker 2: 0:30

If you're running a business, if it doesn't do anything else for anybody, it should make you feel more accountable for your life, the decisions that you make, the time that you spend, how you feel mentally happy in the moment, and then, when you don't feel happy as a business owner, you're supposed to be able to analyze everything about business. Your business is your child. You're supposed to be so honed in with that shit that when something goes wrong, you know what it is that went wrong and you can fix it right away. I remember hearing on this one podcast, the Zo Williams.

Speaker 2: 1:06

Everybody typically tends to say that he's like you know, sexist against women or whatever, but it's more so like he's with women.

Speaker 2: 1:13

But the fact of the matter is that most people don't bother to talk about how men are acts, how black men, black men no, I'm like this black women and children. They have far surpassed the slave error, in my opinion, far surpassed it, because now the government and everybody else looks out for women and children because you're black ones. But when it comes to a man, when it comes to a man, everybody in Cleveland, everybody, every man that's on child support, what do you honestly think will really happen to the county's economy because a black man is not working for them, nor is he working for a house, so he lives in. The black man will nap. The black man, acer, had this one song called I'm gonna think of it, but pretty much he just said no matter how much money or how much work he puts in, I will forever be a field nigga. My painting business has made I'm 50 grand short of 400,000, and that's in three and a half years.

Speaker 2: 2:32

I'm not looking for accolades and all praises. Let's suck a nigga dick every time we see him. My accent for that? I don't think any black man has an accent for that. I think what the black man is asking for is to be heard the same way how a child wants to be heard and the same way how a woman wants to be heard.

Speaker 2: 2:51

A black man is not black man or not heard, it can just don't matter. We can fucking commit infidelity. It can just be like well, you cheated two years ago, but then you don't cook no more. At the end of the day, you fucked up. The world has made it so. Nobody else takes account of these for themselves, but a man and but a black man. Forever a field nigga. And I realized that yesterday, the nigga black man. We only matter to ourselves and, as I think of the day, that's all we, that's all who we could really just matter to is just to ourselves. Nobody else is going to take us seriously besides black, besides ourselves as black men. Nobody's going to sit here and put that stock into us. That's the whole entire reason why Drake's album for their dogs. I praise that shit. I praise it. You know why he's actually. You got artists like six black, got artists like Brent Fias that are actually really bold with how men feel. Drake's album was just like.

Speaker 1: 4:03

Regardless of how you bitches feel, I'm going to tell you how a dog feels I just got hip to that, like just listening to my album, listening to her, so getting a chance to hear that album, and just kind of hear, like you said, man, a man being vulnerable, a man, as one of the lines that I think he did say and I'm a fan of Drake too me like, man, you don't make records for people who don't get pussy. You know what I'm saying. So if you, if you're getting you with some ass here and there, come with some feeling, come with some emotion as much, as as much as us, as men, try to sometimes put into a perspective that we can just fucking be gone in majority cases we can, okay. However, sometimes that you feelings can get involved, especially when you become romantic, and your feelings can get hurt, you can be on the sucker end of the deal. You know what I'm saying. You can be on the, on the, on the do not capitalize, and then not even really knowing being able to talk to people, communicate with people, being able to do this man, being able to kind of speak about the real like.

Speaker 1: 5:17

One of the things that we talk about is like the real men emotions, a real men segment, how we feel with you, know what our, our thoughts are in a complete form of. This is how I feel about my woman and what we doing and what we trying to do. This is how I feel about my, my children, my kids. I'm trying to make sure I'm giving them a good something to see, a good example. I'm trying to figure certain things out. I'm new to this, it's my first time, you know. So, looking for some grace, giving some grace, looking for some some praise in there, looking for even some suggestions, I'm open to it. The last thing I think most men most of it, I know most men most definitely don't want is a level of criticism, especially when I'm.

Speaker 1: 6:04

When you try it. You know you sit here, you try and you're trying to put in some work, you're trying to figure it out, man, sometimes not having a good teacher or that kind of male role model that's around or somebody that's probably been through what you're going through that you can pull that information from. So it is crucial that we communicate heavy and it's crucial that we talk to each other and we speak freely, most definitely here, at permission to speak freely, podcast. This is the platform where most definitely for men, give it a, get that, get that out. Think about that. Be able to detox, vent. It's healthy, bro, it's necessary man, and in all in all, it's still inspiring, it's still a level of amen.

Speaker 1: 6:51

Look where I was here and I'm here now. I can measure my growth. I was able to speak to a homie about X, y and Z. It helped him, it helped me. We both got to laugh about it. We linked back up to kind of check status. Like bros need that, men need that, we need that checking in with each other, that accountability type of thing, that even that level of like hierarchy, of like man, I look up to you, you look up to me, we work together, we work as a team, type of thing. Very, very difficult to loan with it man.

Speaker 2: 7:25

That's why I was hitting you up so heavy. I was like I was like I was like are you busy? And it's like that. Like I know you're busy, like just understand that I know. Like you say you got rescheduled, understand that, I understand, I ain't salty about, but I'm like I get it. But at the same time I was just like, yeah, like you need that, and the word I mean, like the word that you said was grace, and I think that's something that men need to.

Speaker 2: 7:48

Men need to closely associate the word grace along with strength, along with pride, cause, like strength is cool, pride is okay in some situations, but you have to understand. Like one thing I've kind of understand as far as being a man and growing up and even still now, is that you have to be able to show grace. A lot of people, a lot of men, they hope that they, they take on stuff that happened to them back when they were a child. Some things aren't right, and I'm not just fine anything, but some things that do happen or have happened. You can, if you want clear understanding, you just ask. You ask what happened, you ask what's going on Back right there. You're giving somebody a chance, whether it's as a man, whether it's a mother, a father or a big mama or wife, child it all, it all goes on through and through. You have to be able to show grace. You have to be able to show grace is a level of growth. Grace is understanding that. Grace is understanding that it's not just about me.

Speaker 2: 8:58

Let me hear what this other person has to say about this situation. If they want to talk, cool, we talk. If I don't like what's happening here, at least I get an opportunity to speak and I had the choice to accept it or not accept it. But when you don't give grace, all you do is pretty much you, you, you. You harbor so much resentment and anger all throughout your whole entire life, especially as a man, that to the point where it keeps you from reaching, like that King status. That King status if you watch them Kings on Game of Thrones, they, they being hit with more shit than me and you being a famine over in the field somewhere. You know the leather isn't coming out correctly, you know it's all types of shit, but he sits there on his throne, he just like. We'll handle it, we'll deal with it. The King can compartmentalize each, every single situation because each and every single situation deserves a different reaction, a different type of feeling.

Speaker 2: 10:03

Hey, I think you should repeat that Each and every single situation requires a different type of action and a different type of feeling. When you, as a man, give 100% of what you don't need to be getting to a situation, what are you going to blame? Not the Ghostbusters, you're going to blame you, the Black man. Blame the Black.

Speaker 1: 10:22

Man. Yeah, so I'll say this man, I really like that quote that you just used and that kind of plays towards the role of the man or the person who provides, who kind of put things in play, that you're going to be the one viewed and looked at as the issue when things don't kind of go that way and say for myself recently, man, I caught me in a place where I've been given and that's kind of like the human in me, you know, that's the human in me, me just kind of constantly giving, helping out, being there to, to assist man, it's twigs to a Titan. I have it to be able to do and to assist. And there's another thing that you would say, man, that I actually like to adopt. It was like I take care of everybody because I can, even though I have to learn, and I'm learning to compartmentalize just the person. So I give you example with some of my family and friends, but recently borrowed money and I'm the person that they normally come and borrow money from. I'm Kenny Ting Bank.

Speaker 2: 11:31

You know what I'm saying so.

Speaker 1: 11:33

I don't mind loaning and lending now, especially if we got that relationship of like hey, this is this, is we trading services or goods or materials or whatever it is, so I'm cool with it. But when we have a you know a relationship with each other and say you borrow something and you don't pay it back, I look at that as a a trust exercise. Of like, hey, man, we had an exercise on trusting each other on a give and take bartering system right here and it didn't work out. So it puts me in a position not to trust you any further. But on this, not just discard the entire person but just compartmentalize. Of like, hey, I don't trust giving this person money, I don't trust my kids with this person, or I don't trust you know X, y, z, not that I'm just going. Hey, this person has just throw the whole person in the trash. It's like no, I just hey, we bought to get ready to fight and one of our guys is in a fighter. I'm not mad at him and he's not a fighter, but don't lie saying you're going to fight.

Speaker 1: 12:40

If you're not, you can still be very useful. You can pop the trunk and you can call the police. You could get the drive to get away. You could do whatever, but you know you can still be useful. You're not entirely, uh, you're useless. You know what I'm saying, but gotta kind of know where you sit and you know the strong suits of that. So being able to compartmentalize certain things is, uh, it's, very healthy man, it's problem solving, especially as being the man, the provider, the head, the well, why didn't you? You know being questioned on your decision sometimes. If why didn't you do this or do that, if, hey, this person made a mistake.

Speaker 2: 13:19

they're not an enemy or real quick, or real quick, or even if you, or even if you take that, or even if you take a certain step that you think might be good for your family, you still got to deal with the ridicule sometimes. You know what I'm saying. Like it might be, uh, hey, can, can't remember something. This guy looking at me, oh oh yeah, hey, you motherfucker was nah, but then you go back to the table. Why did you do all that? You know what I'm like. I'll try to say that Nah, you, I'm not. I wasn't even that serious, right, but you make it seem like it kind of was.

Speaker 1: 13:58

So you making it seem like it was more than what it is and it really wasn't. So let me ask you this, man, let me ask you this how is your mental health now?

Speaker 2: 14:08

I'm saying my mental health is getting better and better by the day. Only because of the fact that what I?

Speaker 2: 14:16

only because of the fact that I look at what I, what it is that I'm going through, like I, I, I, I, I, I. I text my mom. When all this stuff was going on with my kid, I asked my mom I'm like, is this retribution or judgment for me? Is this me actually having to relook in the mirror at myself? I actually questioned myself for a half minute and I'm like no, no, I said because the track history and track record has shown I've done all. I've done all that I can. What did Drake say on the GMB? Could I have done any better? Not at all, not at all.

Speaker 2: 14:55

So, with that mentality of knowing that if I could do better, okay, I'll do better, but if I can't do any better, I've done all I can. What more is there for me to do? So, as a black man, how am I dealing with my mental health? Every single day, I make sure that shit gets better. I make sure that shit gets better and better every day because at the end of the day, like you said, we take care of a lot of stuff.

Speaker 2: 15:17

This time, thursdays, black man, we do a lot of shit, so it's easy for us to get mixed up in our emotions, mixed up in our how we feel mentally and think that we're not doing enough because some people, some people are coming down on us. We're not doing enough. But then when you sit back and you realize that I talk, that I work, that I pay all the bills I could, that I try to be the best when I could, if you can check off yes to all those as a black man like everyone else does, then why can't you fill out a captain today? Why are you not allowed to fill out a captain today? It's not a question of asking myself no more, I'm allowed to fill out a captain today.

Speaker 1: 15:55

I'm allowed to and at the beginning, at the freedom speakers for anybody that's out there that deals with any form of mental health, we want to let you know that it's okay not to be okay and to be able to seek assistance and help wherever that you find comfortable.

Speaker 1: 16:19

If that's venting to a friend, family member, a co-worker, potentially a charge of job, different types of programs that may be in your city, or if you are creative beings such as ourselves, you can reach out to us here at Permission to Speak Freely podcast. You can DM me on IG and we can be able to have face-to-face conversations via the internet to be able to help you walk through and unpack just emotional and mental things that you're going through. You are not alone, people. You are not alone. So thank you for listening to everybody that's tuning in to everything that we do. We have Marcellus Clay, owner of Full Service Painting Company, in the studio with us today, being able to just talk that real about what it is to be a man, to feel, to have emotions, to be the head of everything and still be looked down on.

Speaker 2: 17:12

You miss one thing too. I'll say you miss one thing, and one thing that you miss is that if you actually, if you're circle and that's the thing like me, like I know a lot, same thing like you you know a lot of people, but that circle is so small only because of the level of respect that you're trying, the level of respect that you have for your efforts, what you're trying to do with your life, and it's not a knock against people. But you got to understand if the people who are in your corner are encouraging you, they're not like saying like, hey, you could do it with a ruble Then you need to read, you need to check if, if, if, if, if, as a black man, if each and every single time you go to get fucking advice and it just seems more like, instead of like, encouragement, it seems more like a beatdown, you really need to check who is in your circle. You have a check who's in your circle. We all know a lot of people, but I know for myself writing, I know for myself, period.

Speaker 2: 18:17

Yeah, I keep about. I got about folk. I got about maybe like four or five people, men that I talk like, like, like friends, like like male friends, including my, my brother that I talked to, and it's only because of the fact that, it's not because of the fact that you know we're all business owners, but it's because of the fact that the level of mentality that I need in this moment you know what I'm saying it's a level, it's the level of mentality that you need for the moment. So, as black men, if you are listening to this and you do have, like somebody else, a bit more experience and knows more, a bit more about life, and you trust them, those are the people who you need to be running to. You need to be going to them.

Speaker 1: 18:59

For sure, for sure, um, for it's always promoted heavily for men to have mentors or OGs that they're able to pull information from. They can guide them and teach them, and I'm a big, I'm a big believer in them and I'm a big homie to a lot of people myself. I'm a teacher, a sensei, you know, a person that's looked to for guidance. So I believe in that being something serious for men to have. But I also believe that is very serious for women to have as well, that women can benefit from having a healthy woman's group that can be able to speak to women who say, for example, they have husbands or men who are in powerful positions, their councilmen, their businessmen, their principals, teachers, their uh chairmen. They're just, they have a position where they're in charge. Most of the time. It is stressful, uh, they have a certain expectation placed upon them, they have a certain view placed upon them.

Speaker 1: 20:13

Hey, being the wife of this uh husband, to this husband of this type of man, of this caliber, how do you do it? How do you uh tend to this man who is so demanding, because the position he holds is demanding of him? You know how is he taken care of? How can you reciprocate this energy? How can you know? How do you ease his mind, men? So how do you make his day better for him? Uh, you kind of get to see, when he's going out here fighting the world, what he's up against. Can you make the last place he has to fight at home, can you? Can you make that happen for him?

Speaker 2: 20:51

And you be told it doesn't. It doesn't, in my opinion, it doesn't make a woman. It doesn't make uh, uh opportunists. It doesn't make a woman opportunists to see that she has a man, she's with somebody who is striving for something and then, on top of that, if she feels that same thing that man feels inside, something in her is taking over. She got to break it down, bust it open. You know she, she got to, she got to let people know and understand that that backing that I just said right there, as far as like for a man goes, because he's pretty much letting you know If I can do it, you can do it and with the more knowledge that I'm absorbing and I'm learning, I can help you.

Speaker 2: 21:38

I got put you in a position where it's not even put it like, it's not even like, put up positions Like like do like anything, like nothing. Well, it could be a major in your business, but it could also be something for themselves. Like you said, if you got enough experience in life that you know some things and this is our third how can you pass that knowledge on to other? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 22:02

So freedom speakers, one of the things I like for y'all to do this week, if you can, is look out and reach out and find you a mentor if you do not have one, or become a big homie or mentor or teacher or somebody. And if you already that men, expand your teaching, expand your reach and your message to more and more people out there. You can find me at permission, the number two underscore, speak freely podcast on IG. So I mean, I got another question for you. When it comes to business, do you ever find yourself in a place of procrastination?

Speaker 2: 22:43

Yeah, I over, like the last, like you know things going on, I found myself doing a bit more drinking and just trying to figure things out, versus just let me, just let me not drink for the day and let me actually just process and figure things out and just stay busy with what I need to do. Like, um, procrastination is one of my biggest things you mentioned, like on the last episode that I went when I was here. Last time you was like you decided your wife said that you were the type of person that went. Only time you perform really well is when you back into a corner. It's only because you have no choice and I'm the same way Like the gym, like I'm the same way.

Speaker 1: 23:32

Can be a powerful if you use correctly.

Speaker 2: 23:38

So pretty much like. So pretty much like. To like.

Speaker 2: 23:41

Sum it up like what we just said about being a procrastiners and like business owners, you're in like your first couple of years of business Okay, like you still finding your rule in your roof or things. But once you actually come to the understanding and that's a thing like I remember, like growing up as a kid with the Bible studies, like that when you come to a level of understanding, that's what makes you accountable. At that point you can acknowledge in your brain or you can not acknowledge in words, all out and make sure accountable. So, as a business owner, to be a procrastinator, you know to like, literally like, try to run your business. Procrastinating. What I have found is the fact that because I have been running my business or like going like you know this year right here be going like just like my fourth full year running my business what I found out is that when you actually stay 10 toes down to your business and say dedicate to your business, after a certain amount of time goes by, business starts to become kind of regular.

Speaker 1: 24:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah, some stuff hit automatic.

Speaker 2: 24:43

Yeah, some stuff starts to roll around automatically. If you have not learned to compartmentalize and to deal with situations, Eventually the goals that you want to reach as far as being a business owner will be for nothing. Why? Because you have not yet learned or told yourself that I can't procrastinate no more, Since an urgency isn't there anymore, Though you might hit your goals last year. And guess what? Because you hit your goals last year, you're automatically 9% out of 10, so you stay consistent and don't procrastinate anymore. You're gonna hit your goals again. But the more and more you do, the longer you're running your business, the more ways you're trying to find ways to expand. So when you're trying to expand, if you're having a hard time procrastinating, if you procrastinate about the one business that you're running, how you going to add 2, 3, 4 more to your business?

Speaker 1: 25:38

Yeah, yeah, trying to add multiple services. Yeah, you're right. So let me read you something real quick. I had a quote, but I'm pretty good at quotes. I'm gonna look out people for my motivational calendar and for my 365 motivational, inspirational quotes coming soon on the ebook.

Speaker 2: 25:59

So one of Hold on, man, I just I gotta clap no for real, I gotta clap to that, because that's no, that's dope. Oh man, my wife, bro, is she helping me? Yeah, like, yeah, it matters.

Speaker 1: 26:28

So freedom of speakers. If anyone follows me on IG or on Facebook primarily Facebook I put a lot of motivational, inspirational quotes up there and a lot of employer tips as well. So my wife had seen me put up employer tips and she had seen me put up motivational things and just our hashtag, chief Ali. You know chief Ali, my hashtag. So one of the things that I put up the other day was one day in business is a long time. One day you're a week behind procrastinator week. You're a month behind procrastinator month. You get the picture. It's like the last thing you want to do is possibly the first thing your ass should be doing. Get to work.

Speaker 2: 27:18

Hey with one of those man just.

Speaker 1: 27:21

I understand, say, for the year 2023,. Man, I procrastinated a lot trying to find a level of normalcy. We were able to do well, but not as well as we could have if we weren't dragging our feet on a lot of tedious things. A lot of new came into play. Still, we did grow, but we did take some ill, so we didn't grow or maximize as much as we could. We just kind of got a little ahead on just a smidgen percentage.

Speaker 1: 27:52

But we get the chance to kind of see myself of what this new vision is that I have and this new place that I want to take us and gaining a lot of notoriety within the city of Cleveland, ohio. Man, two on six, wanting to show the city a different level of beauty. That comes from people such as myself, a thinker, intellectual person that takes a non-traditional route but looks like I know which way is up. So I want to be able to connect with other people with that and give this information to like-minded individuals such as you is how we partnered up and how we work together and we have this relationship where we got each other as family man, business man, entrepreneurs, and build a core, as another quote of mine that I have is they call me the weirdo or the urkel and I'm like that's cool man. I'm the square that takes care of my circle.

Speaker 1: 28:53

I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with being the square that takes care of my circle. That's how it's supposed to be. These people are.

Speaker 1: 29:04

I want to say that's how it's supposed to be, that kind of takes away a choice I'll say. What I like to say is this is what I've been practicing. Let me show you, or explain to you, how it's been going for me. This is how it's been working out for me. More than oh, you should do it like this. It's like no, this is how it's been working for me. It might not work the same for you. I had the same handle.

Speaker 1: 29:27

But, that being said, I want to be able to show Cleveland, ohio 216, where I was born and raised that, hey, man, beautiful individuals such as myself, with a mindset that I know that they kill people sometime about is in the city, a revolutionary type of person that can show you business and entrepreneurship, can motivate you, inspire you, teach you economic inclusion, but, at the same time, be a human being and be able to show you a level of empathy and sympathy and understanding, which is what we need sometime. But, at the same time, I'll bust your ass and I'll let you sit in your shit just to learn. But it's a lesson in. There is not to be malicious, but it's hey, you got to figure this one out on your own.

Speaker 2: 30:14

Literally. No, no, real talk. The one thing that can't, the one thing that the one thing that can't why I did not say was the fact that this is actually like, right now, what's going on. This is actually a mentor, oh, this is my sensei.

Speaker 2: 30:31

You know, this month, like everything that you hear right now is going on on a pot. These experiences like what are you saying? You got to understand this is actually going on in real time. Right now I blew this man phone up for a minute, blew him up for a minute but also, at the same time, like still understanding that the shit that I'm blowing him up about I'm still in control of it. At the end of the day, it's still in my control. I can come running to him anytime, all the times that I want, but eventually it's going to be like, come on, I'm not you about to do, you know, seriously.

Speaker 2: 31:12

So you know, take advantage of, take advantage of these type of relationships, because you honestly don't like in the moment no, you don't know when it's going to be needed or when it's going to happen or when it's going to, but if you keep these people close and if you understand, like, the level of their importance, if you understand, like, how important they are, not just to the community but to the same effect of, like, your livelihood. One question I wanted to ask you was is you know you may have for your listeners right now? You know a lot of them, a lot of them may, a lot of them may, may have been in business. You know. Same amount of time as you have, maybe a little longer. Same thing with a boom in business. What does a sense of normalcy look like for you?

Speaker 1: 32:03

I said, what does a sense of normalcy looks like for me? That's a pretty good question, man. Thank you for that. Well, a sense of normalcy to me is a premeditated routine, sought out Like I can see it. I see it through from my children back in routine with school, which is really kind of sets the tone of the day getting them off and out the door, checking my corners with my team, my leaders within business, helping them put out any fires, if there are any. Playing from a level of preventative we're being more proactive than reactive. During my meditation time in the morning to myself and then at night, finding like these, these slithers of you know sanctuary like this, this, this little slither of a sanctuary for me, okay, I just pray real quick, be like thankful real quick, just keep telling myself like get out my own way, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. But that's a level of normalcy, even the same routines of this time of year. This is what the workforce is going to be like. This is what finances are going to kind of be like.

Speaker 1: 33:43

Bouncing back from being hit with COVID, as most entrepreneurs, most businesses, like we all, had to shift in some kind of way, shape or form. So finding new rules and that, especially being in healthcare, you know it's all kind of new policies for things of that nature. Trying to get that in place, implement it, you know, train the people on it, find some normalcy with, like this is the new norm. It, you know, it's blended. All you know together A lot of people so I say this as well a lot of people don't know my wife and I. We live together because that's my wife. You know that's how I work, but we work together as well and we own the business together. We have children together. Those are a lot of layers to a relationship for us to be able to balance with one another and a lot of times it's not always, hasn't always been the easy path.

Speaker 1: 34:47

I know for social media it looks really good to be like, oh yeah the spouse and y'all work together, more money and the how, and it is that's the, that's the upside. But when it's one of those like, hey, this show boss talking to you, this ain't your husband, hey, you gonna get your ass fired. Hey, this is what you need to do, this ain't negotiable, it's one of, and then you get to take it out at home I was like that was the boss, but it was Mr Johnson, that wasn't me. Why you mad? Not, why your ass mad.

Speaker 1: 35:16

I know you supposed to do that shit anyway, you know, but it's, how do you balance that? How do you have that and it, it, it's heavy, compartmentalized. You have to Um, like, I'm not upset at her about work things, and it transfers home, um, or things of that nature or vice versa. But one thing that I do, like that transfers over is, say, like the decision making, the problem solving, the teamwork, uh, the collective ideas, the shared responsibility, that it isn't just one person's fault. It happened to us all you know. So those are some things that I do learn and take from you know, work and working together in a relationship of we don't own problem solving, we can use that. You know what I'm saying, but this is how we demonstrate us problem solving together, and it's difficult, but when it's work is beautiful as fuck though it's beautiful, it's a. It's a I don't know who who?

Speaker 1: 36:25

who in charge right now is like it's, it's still me, it don't matter if it's Ken one, mr Johnson, chief, ali K Y, whatever is, is him, he, him in all forms. You know what I'm saying. I'm just being able to learn that and exercise that in a certain level of uh, dominance and confidence that comes with. Okay, I have this person's ear, I have their ear. What do I say to them? Do I, if they're willing to listen to me? Do I play a selfish from my own benefit and they, they just kind of become almost like a slave to me. Or do I play the situation fair, where we both give and we both take, but it's a reciprocal, so that it's one of us is always in a position to be able to assist one another, we not breaking each other. You know, um, real, good, real relationship, exercising the things that are transferable of all relationships, not just business, but even with my, my, my children. So I give you example with KJ man, I always got my, my, my segments with my son, okay, so recently we had an accident in our house. We have, we have two pit bulls, two dogs. We are pit bull parents or puppy parents, and KJ assist us with taking care of the dogs.

Speaker 1: 37:55

I completely can understand this man having to let the dogs out and not letting them do a number one and a number two. And the dogs, you know it might be cold, it might be hot and be eager to come back in the house, but they go do their number one and then, kind of, you know, we're back in. When they really got to do a number one and two, they just say not their longer. So this man accidentally did not allow the dogs enough time to do their business and they had an accident in the house. So the lesson I expressed to him is hey, you know when let the dogs out, make sure they out there a certain amount of time. They doing what they need to do, boom, boom, boom. And once they do that, your job is through.

Speaker 1: 38:47

When the dogs poop outside, that's my job. I picked that up. Don't know Bali volunteer to help me. But when they poop in the house, it happens to everybody because everybody's responsible for taking. You know the dogs in and out, but I told him like a big handsome is your job first, as a part of your rules, your routine every day.

Speaker 1: 39:10

So now the date and shit in his house you getting to learn first hand how you clean up somebody else's shit, literally. Hopefully in this lesson you learn to give the dogs their time so that you ain't got to pick up no shit, because it's going to be some shit going to have to be picked up one way or another. When it's outside, it ain't your problem. When it's inside is everybody problem but yours first. So we haven't had any accidents moving forward. That day has been my job, just picking up all the shit. We letting them stay out there a little too long now. But is hey, you didn't do nothing wrong. But here's some critiquing on doing something Right, because who clearly want to clean up somebody else's shit when it can be prevented? You feel me Biggest thing is it's preventative.

Speaker 2: 40:11

Like I tell my kids, I tell I'm glad you said that too, because it kind of go back to what I've been telling my wife. But we've been trying to take years. Is that pretty much like? If you don't do the dishes at night, what you end up doing is, especially on the weekend or if y'all break from the holidays, like y'all, like y'all want to be. My one daughter she always want eggs and like eggs or something. The other, my other daughter, the twin daughter, my twin daughter, she uh, my other twin daughter, she can't eat eggs, but the one twin, she always want eggs and sausage.

Speaker 2: 40:44

So I always try to tell them is it's important for you to do the dishes at nighttime and also make sure that they're clean. I say it comes from one, unless you're gonna actually eat off of this plate yourself while it looks like this, I don't think that you would want us to eat off of it as well. But then for two, if you don't do the dishes at nighttime, you also mess up breakfast. If you all want breakfast in the morning, who don't want to cook breakfast first thing in the morning with like no clean dishes and nothing like that? I ain't gonna want something to do fucking dishes we ain't doing.

Speaker 2: 41:14

It's about them understand like I'm trying to like instill in them to understand, like, when you all get to a certain age, you up with a good, good job and Whatever you will is cashier, fry station waiter, whatever case might be Understand that your role is very important if for what you're doing, because if you fuck up your role, then you fuck up the next process, the process after that, and then everything is in chaos and then it falls back on you a level of responsibility and accountability. So, no, I like I fuck with that and then, as well, like I like the fact that you also said that like it's like the, it's like a couple's like Perfect, it's like the couple's exercise, because for the most part, like most households, you know everybody going a different ways to make that money and waste. Talking about you know how can we get it together. When you talking about how you can get it together, that's a bit different.

Speaker 1: 42:16

Yeah, yeah, man, that's a Getting it together is a beautiful thing if it works, but it takes a lot of Role play. It takes a lot of of. She's a leader, I'm a leader, but I'm in charge right now. When it's when she gives us the best benefit to to win, she's in charge. When it comes to me giving us the best benefit to win, I'm in charge. But the other person has learned to become Complementary. Or you match me or you respectfully just get the fuck out my way. Well, the other person's way you feel me is just one of those of we're not looking to be negative in any kind of way, shape or form. What we're looking to do is To win collectively. We attain, we attain. So I'm just in charge right now on this one.

Speaker 1: 43:22

So We've learned that it have to break through to each other to know that we're not here to hurt each other, that we do have each other's best interest, and a lot of times that only comes through test, it comes through the word of mouth. Of course we'll say anything, a lot, let anybody tell it, but when circumstance comes into play and it's like hey, can you assist me? Yeah, I got you on this one, or no, I ain't got you on that one, but I've come in to be able to be, you know, a pillar for you, be able to come and help you up and sustain some things. It. It has to be Taken into accountability like okay, thank you, so much level of appreciation compared to gotcha bitch and I'm helping you survive temporarily. You know I'm saying so.

Speaker 1: 44:11

We've, we were still learning man I love that woman on what we are learning together and looking at each other, just on some mental blocks and things that we weren't really you know sure about with each other very early on. And just Keeping in mind you know this, I'm trying to express to someone a vision that I have and convince them like this is what the lifestyle is going to be and what we get to do, and you know how we get to give back, but then we get to be able to do X Y Z, but just how it, how it can. It can be a little bit of a challenge to X Y Z, but just how it, how it can it, how we can be what it is now and what it's gonna continue to grow into. It's a very difficult challenge to express to somebody that you know what's in your head into the world very to convince them Can actually work for sure.

Speaker 2: 44:59

All right, so okay. So permission to speak freely, so. So the flip coin to that, so so the flip side to that, when you all get to sit down and then you all look at what you all have done, what you all have made, what you have accomplished Telemetry and launch condition.

Speaker 2: 45:19

The question I guess I want to ask you is is the process that you are going through, the things that you are dealing with, like you said, at the end of the day, when you all sit back at the other day and I sit back and relax and have your shot and your drinks, it's worth it, isn't it?

Speaker 1: 45:35

Fuck, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's. Bro, you gonna give me emotional now.

Speaker 2: 45:42

Permission, permission to get emotional, my nigga permission. Because no, no, no, no, no, because the reason why I'm doing this is because what I want your listeners to understand is that, no matter if it's running a business together or just going y'all separate ways To make money, that it's still like Everything. Like everything still matters. But even still, if you are running a business together, how you all have, how, like you said, pretty much like is you know, since you want the vision you know it's like you know you, like you say you pass on information, but then you get to sit back, you relax. How does that make you feel at the end of the day? How's it after year, after year, bro, like I know I've never actually this Like I quit, like I asked myself, like, how do I feel after you're done? Like sometimes the same, how do you feel when you look, cuz I see that you elevate every single year?

Speaker 1: 46:46

Oh, that's a really good question, man. So first I'll say On the emotional part, it is always worth it, with my wife doing it, and it pays off in a steel pan off because we, we had to believe in each other and use each other in the best benefit For us and our family and what we believed in with the business From her you know, getting on payroll, coming off payroll to help with tax purposes for her to be able to Grow her position and sharpen her skills and mix in all of her creativity with she's coming from and what she does like. Almost, like I said, almost any merch you see me wear on the show or anything within the core in our home that you can see on social media, anything at our office spaces, at our rental properties these are all of her designs. This is where she gets to be creative and us together we were able to create these other outlets for her to be able to say hey, I went from, you know, drawing and painting and canvassing in my room as an outlet to hey, now I have a. I'm picking out colors of countertops and floors and paint colors For rental properties for someone else to have a sustainable living but comfortable as well. Stylish, like a like I would like to live in here, one of those type of things that it's still getting to show who she is and like it, shit like that, that it blossoms more than like heavy punching the clock every day to pay bills.

Speaker 1: 48:15

But With this, with our reality that we're building, what else are we? The elevation comes when we Expand ourselves more than just what we've built to be to sustain. Okay, so I'm a huge person that believes that money fused the future. People are trying things because people have astronomical amounts of money to put into research and development to make things happen. People who are going to the bottom of the ocean Billionaires and millionaires are going to the bottom of the ocean because they got enough money to pay some scientists to build a Pop can that can go maybe a couple hundred feet under water. But their finance put that research and development into play to for exploration, for their excitement you know what I'm saying for their discovery, all kind of different things that can be. But money made that happen. Money makes going to space happen.

Speaker 2: 49:16

But also the belief that something is a thought, but also the belief that something great could come from what they're trying to do.

Speaker 1: 49:25

You have to almost be delusional. You have to almost be in a place of Venice another quarter mile, being confident and fuck, you are your neighbors. You're going to have to get to know them very, very fucking well. You're going to have to get to know them very, very well. You're going to have to be very confident in yourself, your moves and things that you want to make in your vision that nobody can deter you from that path. And for those that do, and they try to, your fuck you game has to be so strong, okay, backed by a spell of belief. All right, so I say this to makes me emotional as well I gotta put a spell of belief on my soul so strong that no mortal man can break it. You can't. You can't convince me to be something that I, that I know that I'm not. You can't convince me to be something that I don't want to be, something I don't want to do. I'm, I'm my own man, I'm sure of it, like I'll hear you out, but I'm just as potent with my yes as I am with my no. Like no, I'm okay and I'll stand on it for my own reasons.

Speaker 1: 50:38

So Building my self up and learning myself wasn't a journey by my own. My wife was there. She got a chance to see what I am and what I wasn't, and how I have grown and develop myself. And I challenge myself. Okay, I'm, I will challenge myself, I would challenge myself. I am huge on self discipline. I'm huge, I come up, I'm a very huge self starter on my own. As I tell my son, I'm like hey, nobody who wakes me up in the morning, he's like God, like you're not wrong, of course. Yeah, I'm like, thank God, whatever one at work that day, for that for sure I'm like. But after that man who wakes me, who wakes me up, he was like nobody I'm like who wakes you up like you do. So it was just giving the the steps of like, hey, man, my job is to get you up and make sure that you're getting up and you're getting things done, because if I'm late, then you're late, then this is late, then that's late, and then you don't know, nobody has any breathing room. Yeah, everything gets completely out of whack. You trying to remember that procrastination quota man, you late, one day, you week behind. Procrastinate one day, you week behind, so on and so forth.

Speaker 1: 52:00

So Learning to and still learning to be able to challenge ourselves, to be able to make goals, to work to not be at odds with each other and and know like this is a joint venture. This is like with marriages. This is what business is like. There is no difference to me in my philosophy and theories of it. There is no difference in being married to my woman and being married to my business.

Speaker 1: 52:31

I am dedicated to both of them every day, even though I may not respectfully give them my all, but I'm dedicated to it. I'm here, I'm defending it, I'm taking care of it, I'm making sure that I'm bringing in what's necessary to keep things operational. I need to grow with it. I'm in love with the motherfucker. I have to be very understanding. You know what I'm saying, but it's the. I gotta be better to it. I gotta be better than me.

Speaker 1: 53:05

We haven't always been the best to each other. We didn't really recognize fully what each other was. I'm talking about not my wife, but my business. It's the same thing, but in a retrospect of it, my wife is the same way. We had to make sure and recognize that we both were something to each other that like, hey, not, not only am I the only, I'm not the only man attracted to her as just as she's not the only woman attracted to me.

Speaker 1: 53:35

That a we have to keep our scope of like a. It's a difference between fun and funds. Somebody over here that you just happened an experience with and then somebody over here you're living an experience with. It's a really big difference there, like when we, when we in business, like we ain't playing, this ain't no game, motherfucker, this is serious, this is life or death, no matter what industry you in. So part of that man who won't his shit, that ain't got time to play. And any realm man, he on his shit, he ain't got time to play. So don't play no games with him, because then he gonna show you his options and you get to see how regular you are but you know, it is not even.

Speaker 2: 54:22

It's not even about that for me, in my opinion about the options.

Speaker 2: 54:26

It's a simple fact that, a fact that I've mentioned to you, that I've told you that I kind of feel like entrepreneurs were like I say demigods because, you know, in my experience and from like what I, you have to really you really have to say forget the, you know, I mean shed a few tears, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna figure it out, but think about it.

Speaker 2: 54:56

Figure it out and think about it only because I got so much to lose and, at the same time, I've been spending so many years trying to get people to believe in me and like, and that's what's so powerful? And I actually them questions because, like you got understand, like what you're doing right now, like I don't, you know, not everybody is really like comfortable with the idea of business but for you to actually go ahead and be able to have this vision of a world for yourself and for your family, for you to actually be able to do that and then be able to convince somebody else who might not have been there or might have been thinking like that at that point in time. He convinced them and now they're following you and now you're building a level of structure inside of your house with your children, to the point where yeah, like the only thing that could really go wrong for real is just you, because I'm showing you that it's fucking different out here.

Speaker 2: 55:59

Like I had that experience. My oldest daughter she spent. She spent like a lot of time you like over all of these and stuff. But, like you know, we was like I was able to show her, like what I do in the basement, like it ain't glamorous, it ain't glorious Like my fucking camera. Stand, don't hold them, work as my epoxy fucked it up, so like it just stays at a certain level. So you just see hands, like, but I showed her, like you put your mind to something and then you make that your. You you think about the idea and then you figure out the process to it and then you make it your reality. But you, we live in a reality already because we're born into this world that's already structured and that's falling apart and that's fucked up already. But as us, as entrepreneurs, what we're doing is we're like fucking.

Speaker 2: 56:53

I can't remember what the character is in the Marvel comics, but I think it's. Is it a professor Xavier's son or I don't know? Probably one of the fantastic four kids, but anyway, he was so powerful as, even as a kid, a psychic that he was able to make inside, like it's in the comic books, like in like one, like in his jeans. He made a pocket universe for himself. So all we're doing right now as entrepreneurs, we're living in a reality that already exists, but we're building our own pocket universe. Right now, we're building a universe that even so long as we go, so long as we go by by the IRS and buy by them laws or something like that, we're living in our own universe. It's like the certain shit that we used to deal with before is like I don't even recognize that shit no more. It's to the point where it's like, yeah, I keep my old paychecks by. You know, I look at them, shit sometimes. It'd be like yeah.

Speaker 1: 57:56

So let me ask you this Well, I say this, man, thank you for thank you for that, thank you for a level of acknowledging what it is that you know I'm doing and my wife is doing and expose, given that it has to be people like you to tell people what we're doing. If I continue to say what we're doing is just like, ah, fool, whatever.

Speaker 2: 58:22

I can't believe it's just today. Let me just talk about it right now. Right now, you appreciate it. You appreciate it because I'm pulling it out of you and you be told, I'm pulling out of you because I want to fuck, I want to fucking know as a student, you know, what I'm saying. You know what I'm saying. You're like as a student.

Speaker 1: 58:40

Yeah, for sure, man. So I say thank you for that man, thank you. It's going to continuously always be a journey with her and not a build it, but it is it. Being able to convince someone about the hopes and dreams and goals and the outcome of it is is a difficult thing, man. It's convincing, it's almost like religion. It's almost like religion is convincing them that one day is going to always is going to be this, that joy comes in the morning and then, when joy don't ever come, you like it's really dark, but you still got to believe that. I still got to believe in belief is very, very powerful. So it's power in the tongue, it's power and belief, and if you actually work and push yourself to things that you believe and you work on it, you will. You will make yourself contagious. You'll make yourself contagious to people who are on the same path as you or similar, or who are looking for guidance or looking for somebody who's willing to give it.

Speaker 1: 59:51

As a person who chooses this platform people, all the listeners, freedom speakers I choose this platform to be able to give this information as a family man, as a businessman, as an entrepreneur, in the most cool, smooth, raw, as authentic way I possibly can of this ain't for the gram of. Hey, man, this is the you can make it. Y'all you got to do is do these five steps and like nah, the five steps are a factor into what you need to do, of course, but is a real life shit of being a business person, real life issues and headaches. Real life triumphs though goals, getting to live out certain things because you, somewhere along the line, you sacrifice something to, you, gave up something to get something later. So you didn't lose anything. You didn't lose it all. So I get freedom speakers.

Speaker 1: 1:00:50

This past Friday, december 29th, I had an issue with my payroll company, had a boo boo. So this is real life entrepreneurship. Right here for a second. So I'm laid up on my couch with my wife, you watch the TV and just finished smashing. I'm hoping I get to smash something else. You know we laid up, but I got a call from the payroll company, mr Johnson, like hello man just speaking.

Speaker 1: 1:01:25

Oh hi, this is Kathy, I just wanted to reach out to you and tell you that we were not able to process payroll for you. We've had some technical difficulties on our end. However, wanted to know. As the years go by, you know. However, wanted to know as do you have any other methods of payment to pay your staff while we work on this issue? Maybe, yeah, I think. Maybe Zell, cash App, paypal or even just writing checks, like we're so sorry, mr Johnson. We hope that you're this doesn't ruin anything between our business relationship. No, we straight, we good, so write checks.

Speaker 2: 1:02:12

Yeah, Cash App, PayPal, any other form of method, Zell, just any other method.

Speaker 1: 1:02:17

But, but thank you for understanding, mr Johnson. Thank you so much. All right, bad, I digress on my story there, my interpretation. But we sent out a message to our team of like, hey, we've had some issues, we're getting them worked out, but please send us your preferred method of payment, either Cash App, zell, paypal, paper check. You're going to let us keep the money, you know that kind of shit, whatever.

Speaker 1: 1:02:47

But people reached out to us on and so forth, but once we started sending money through PayPal and not PayPal through Zell and Cash App in large amounts, it stopped. It was like oh, don't wait a minute there, fella, simmer down, let's simmer down what you doing. So I had to send another message out there. Everybody like oh, some of y'all got paid, some of y'all didn't, but the next morning please come up to the office by 1030 am and get y'all checked. So I had to make sure I was up to the next morning to write Out everybody checks and you can feel the pressure and see everybody I was looking like oh, we first arrived on Mr King about to Jay him real quick.

Speaker 1: 1:03:40

He don't give us our money, but to get to see you know people. Everyone was very understanding, but this was a real live entrepreneur issue of hey, sorry that you didn't get the paycheck at the time that it was supposed to be directed positive, but you did get paid the same day. Along with everybody got eight hours of just holiday PTO, just like here you go, you can have it. And then everybody got like a hundred dollar holiday bonus.

Speaker 2: 1:04:08

So now, while you mentioned real quick how the staff might have felt, how did you feel in that very moment? You got that call?

Speaker 1: 1:04:15

I was very embarrassed, more so because it was me, like I knew better. Not even the blame it on the payroll company was more of me. I had more of a cushion to get in a double and triple check, like I do, like that's promoted for me to do within my own notes of hey, you don't wait to the last, last minute when you do have a couple of days Grace. So me kind of pushing it off to the bitter end and not checking my own corners is what allowed this to happen. Um, they could have. I could have got ahead of it a day before checks could have been mailed or whatever the situation could have been. Or when I processed it, I could have got a feedback a day or two, hey, instead of a few hours, because I processed payroll a few hours before the deadline I could have had, could have really used the grace period that was in there. So I felt embarrassed myself to sitting there and I'm I'm being transparent with everyone and explaining to them like, oh, yeah, it was happening to us too. They sitting in all yeah, it's cool, it's cool, it's cool. But in the back of their minds, who is? I just checked by now, motherfucking bounce. I know that shit.

Speaker 1: 1:05:21

Mr King got a fresh haircut. That's where our money went. Beat his ass. I've been on the other side of the other table too.

Speaker 2: 1:05:27

So I know like oh man, what the fuck, I'm about to take some shit.

Speaker 1: 1:05:31

I'm about to take some shit I gotta do. My kids got to eat. You know what I'm saying. So I felt embarrassed but I also felt like, hey, we're exercising and showing how we still are. I just, I, just, I, just, I, just, I, just, I, just, I, just, I, just, I just. I just started showing how we still are adaptive as a company and being able to make do for everybody, and I posted a check. When I posted it, I dated the check for a day before and not the day of. And I explained it to some people and they was like what I'm like, if I wrote a, wrote today's date on there and you cast a check, it wasn't clear to tomorrow, which is Saturday, so I wrote it for Thursday. So when you put it in the check, the can't like the account today. It's your clear. Today. You should get your money today. So that, oh cool. Thank you, mr Ken. And bro, I'm writing out checks. Bro, I ain't not a speller thousand, like I haven't written down the word thousand.

Speaker 2: 1:06:31

You know what I'm saying, I'm just kind of like I had that put up on Google at one point in time to. I asked Alexa real quick when I was in there.

Speaker 1: 1:06:39

But it was one of them. Like man, I have him. That's just a certain penmanship I needed to, you know, kind of get back in play. But you know, man, just my walls, from sewer to entrepreneur, man, just little, little small things that happened, just hiccups, but was able to just do like I said come to the, come to the, a staff work for the money that got, the money was able to be paid, was embarrassed that I wasn't, you know, on more on top of my shit like I should have been. I didn't not shifting any blame on anybody or anything, it's clearly on me. I could, like I said, I had more grace in that, in that place, in that time frame, to be able to submit in paperwork or numbers earlier and then still had the grace to be able to see if there was any errors, like I usually do. But I've been really excited with a lot of new things and moving and I was pushing the envelope with Tom and it was just one of them, larry, I procrastinated and look what happened.

Speaker 2: 1:07:36

There you go and then you know it and that's funny how you ended it off right there, because that's how we start the conversation pretty much. You know what I'm saying. We started off like you know I was a procrastination, hurt, a entrepreneur, especially during the time of expansion and growth, and you know, shit happens and it is where it is. But you know, this is an example of this, is a. This is not. I'm probably like this. This is an example of a person who is actually like not just trying to just like grind the metal in one direction, but he's actually trying to, he's actually trying to get multiple gears started for like a giant machine. So it was cool, Like it's okay. It's okay to accept the fact that you know things could have been slightly, a bit more better.

Speaker 2: 1:08:34

As an entrepreneur or just even as a regular person, it's okay to accept that amount of responsibility because what you're working for, what you're trying to do, All you're being is just a maintenance man to your own machine and that's really it. I like that. You're your own maintenance man to your own machine. That's why I said, and Jupy told, like that's why. That's why I said before I don't necessarily there are instances where I do stress about my business, but for the most part I know that shit is getting to the point where it's automated. I'm getting to the point where, like now, if I actually had accepted a certain level of responsibility years ago when I started my business, then, who knows, I may have been at this point right now where I'm at, and some things are just a little bit more automated than other ones.

Speaker 2: 1:09:39

Some money comes with a little less trouble and problems than other money, but for the most part I've come to accept the fact that If I didn't buy that, if I didn't learn to try and spray jobs of my own, or if I didn't learn to do certain larger drywall jobs of my own, or just even something as simple as just not procrastinating my schedule and putting off, I said that wrong. More so, me not paying more attention with my schedule and getting kind of just comfortable a little bit, it's kind of helped me to be a lot more sharper with things, a little less reactive, and just I can listen now word for word and dissect it and figure it out. But I can also tell myself as well that, alright, look like if you want to play it three strikes with yourself cool. That's fine. It's up to you, but I'm choosing not to and I don't want to.

Speaker 1: 1:10:49

You're going to pay for it one way or another. Man.

Speaker 2: 1:10:52

One way or the other. And the thing is is that the longer that you're running your business, the more and more you become a con before, because the more and more you're going to do, the more and more people are going to want you to do certain stuff, the more and more you're going to want to grow as a business, add certain services to your business. It's all going to require much more time and much more sacrifice, but at the end of the day, if you are a thorough maintenance man for yourself, if you take accountability for yourself not just as a black man, but just as a business owner, just a regular or just whoever or just whatever, so long as you can take just a certain level of accountability and responsibility for what you have going on and you know that you need to make it better to be able to make a better future, then you yourself could be your own demi-god.

Speaker 1: 1:11:50

What is your view and experience with working and hiring family?

Speaker 2: 1:11:56

I'm for it. Just I mean honestly. I'm for it only because of the fact that you know, if they give you the time and they want something, you know and they, I like this. If you actually truly want to have something out of life and then you actually have an opportunity whether it's like with a family member or with like a friend or whatever case might be I personally feel like you should give it a chance. Not everything is bad, not everything is taboo. Like you know, you shouldn't hire family. I think it's more so just a matter of being able to compartmentalize, like where they're, like their position, as far as like whether they're at any regular life, then also in business life.

Speaker 2: 1:12:47

You know I use my brother often for marketing. You know I use him for all the marketing. I ask him for his advice and everything else. He got his own thing going on. Sometimes he can get to me right away, sometimes he can't. Am I going to sit here and be the, you know, sensitive per? Oh, hey, little man, hey, little bro, are you not going to answer my call? Like what's going on?

Speaker 1: 1:13:10

No, he got his own shit going on.

Speaker 2: 1:13:13

It's cool, I understand it. But so long as he knows that, understand, I'm trying to build with you. I want you to be a part of what's going on and we're moving in that direction. It's okay. I meet my cousin. I hired my cousin to work with me.

Speaker 2: 1:13:32

Like we worked together like pretty strong for like a strong year, just painting, like you know, I showed him that. You know, even though I got the ADD going on and whatnot you know, and no, like my business didn't really start off the greatest. I'm trying to, you know, I want to show you, like you know, it's possible that even for you, for you having your own painting business, and when I'm writing, when I'm writing him his checks, or when I you know, whatever case might be like, am I paying you by your name, I'm paying you by your business name. So it's like everybody can, everybody can. Everybody can fit in you. Just, in my opinion, you have to just be able to, you have to be able to figure. You have to be able to figure that out as well, while still trying to inspire them to still believe in you. Because it's often times I told my little brother like you look like a. I talk to you like you're my big brother sometimes. You know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know what I'm saying. We sit down, we'll sit down, do the same thing that me and you doing, and you know we smoking and everything else. And he just like look, you need to make your videos.

Speaker 2: 1:14:39

This transition is faster, like so, I'm listening, I'm listening to him, I'm listening to him, I'm listening to him and I'm grateful for that Because it's like, even though he may not be, even though he how can I put it Even though he may not be, I guess, as intertwined with what I'm doing, with what I have going on as much as I would really want him to be. But that's the selfish part of me I'm grateful for the fact that I can still incorporate him somehow some way in my business and even, at the same time, still hear from him that I've inspired him and that he looked to me. You know I'm automatic booking and everything. I'm looking at you too, like it's all intertwined. But so, even if your family members aren't working directly under you and you can inspire them to continue on their own personal entrepreneur journey, and y'all still still I'll sit over here and I'll sit over here, as I was one day, and we was waiting for this one DJ to premiere, like his song, like all these, like new songs by ours, and so I'll sit over there with him and, alright, it's coming up. It's coming up. Oh, not again.

Speaker 2: 1:16:01

Like you know, I'm over there, like I'm hyped for him because he made the video and I'm like dude, like I'm about to be part of this, like I want to be in the video, like I'm gonna run a clip, but like it's the support he wrote with me to DC. We drove like three hours just smoking, just three. It was a blown out of our mind and then installed this portrait in the house and just it was the greatest because, like, not only it's like alright, like it was, like it was like a you know, a family vacation, but it was like I got a chance to be able to spend quality time with my brother but also business time with him, because he got a chance to see my vision and see what it is that I'm doing and it's inspiring him. So, no, I'm not against. I know I might have like fumbled like the intro, like to your question, but like I wasn't expecting it, but like.

Speaker 2: 1:16:52

I'm not against hiring and working with family. I think it's more so just a matter of just like still getting them to understand and believe in you so that even if their business isn't even something, that if their business is something that can be intertwined with yours, then bet, let's get this money, let's get it somehow, because I think that a day is 24 hours. In a day, you work eight hours, I work eight hours, I'm working a little bit less, don't matter, but if I can still inspire you to show you that it's possible, that if you utilize your 24 hours the best way that you can by being your own maintenance man, you're going to be okay, yeah yeah, hey, you heard it here first people, marcellus Clay, a full surface painting company, giving you his living truth and information as a entrepreneur in 2024.

Speaker 1: 1:17:56

Greatly appreciate you all listening and tuning in to next time. Freedom Speakers, peace out.