Digital Social Hour - From Stutter to 8-Figure Success: 21-Year-Old's Journey | Anthony Cirino DSH #926

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

From struggling with a severe stutter to building an 8-figure roofing empire at just 21 years old - Anthony's story proves that limitations only exist in our minds! 🚀 Watch as Anthony shares his incredible transformation from a high school student who emailed teachers to avoid speaking in class, to a successful entrepreneur crushing it in door-to-door sales. Learn how he turned his perceived weakness into his greatest strength, using his stutter to connect with clients on a deeper level. Discover the pivotal moments that changed everything: from getting kicked out of his house, connecting with his mentor Moe Fala, and making the bold decision to skip college despite D1 football offers. Anthony breaks down how he built his multimillion-dollar roofing business, shares the mindset shifts that propelled his success, and reveals the spiritual awakening that helped him overcome his fears. This raw, honest conversation will inspire you to push past your own perceived limitations and show you that success isn't about waiting for perfect conditions - it's about taking action despite your fears. 💪 #Entrepreneurship #BusinessSuccess #PersonalDevelopment #Motivation #SalesSuccess #RoofingBusiness #YoungEntrepreneur #Inspiration #speechtherapy #howtostopstuttering #freefromstutter #overcomestutter #5inspiringindividuals CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:35 - Leaving College and Overcoming Stutter 08:11 - Triggers for Stuttering 11:35 - History of Your Stutter 12:49 - Traumatic Incident and Stutter 15:47 - Getting Into Roofing 18:17 - Passion for Roofing 20:54 - Benefits of Commission Work 22:33 - Using Stutter to Your Advantage 27:00 - Hailstorms and Their Impact 27:30 - Storm Chasing Adventures 28:42 - Finding Anthony Online APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail] GUEST: Anthony Cirino https://www.instagram.com/_anthonycirino/ https://www.instagram.com/lifetimerestorations/ LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BetMGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA, has your back all season long. From tip-off to the final buzzer, you're always taken care of with the sportsbook Born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with BetMGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player, or your style, there's something every NBA fan will love about BetMGM. Download the app today and discover why BetMGM is your basketball home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with BetMGM, a sportsbook worth a slam dunk,

and authorized gaming partner of the NBA. BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement

with iGaming Ontario. Light up Black Friday with Freedom Mobile and get 50 gigs to use in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico for just $35 a month for 18 months. Plus get a one-time gift of 5 gigs of Rome Beyond Data. Condition supply details at freedommobile.ca. Was only a problem because I let it hold me back and like actually let it hold me back and like actually become a problem. When I just chose like consciously to not let this

be a problem anymore, it just went away. All right guys, one of the youngest guests I've had on out of a thousand, we got Anthony here today. 21 years old, man. Wow. And already killing it financially, too. Yeah. I mean, when I graduated high school back in 2022, I basically just dropped out of college and left, went across the country to do sales. And now you jump ahead two years and I'm running an eight figure business doing it.

Wait, you left the country, you said? No, I am back in high school. I graduated 2022 and then June 2022, I went from Ohio to full order to door to door sales door to door sales. And I learned a lot doing sales got it So you just left on a whim or did you have someone there doing it already? Um, I had a mentor if you know Mo follow No, yeah. Yeah, he's been on the show. Yeah small world. He He's my mentor. I just had a call with him like an hour ago nice, but he ran these

solar company that I went to work with and stuff. But yeah, I mean, it was crazy. Because I went from back in high school, I didn't really speak to people. I would literally email teachers to get out of speaking in front of the class or like it was 12th grade I had a teacher call on me and I was just like oh crap why'd she call me and then

I wrote her an email and I was scared and was like, please don't call on me ever again, because I was stuttered, and I was like, Jesus sucks. And then, once I graduated high school, I had a couple Division I hoffers to play football, and I didn't go. And my parents were like, what are you doing? Like, why don't you go to school? You have all these offers.

You can go to school, and you don't have to pay. And I was like, I'm not going to go to the NFL. Like, I don't want to go then. Because if I went to school school yes, I would get a Degree, but like it wouldn't lead to any kind of job that I wanted so when I

Told my parents that I wasn't going to school. They were like okay, well then You got to leave like I was like all okay, well then you gotta leave. I was like, all right. So I hit up Mo and I was like, hey, pretty much I am getting kicked out of the house right now. I know you hate college too, and I know that you run a successful company.

And what do you do? I didn't even understand what you did. How'd you find his page? So he actually grew up 12 houses away from me. Oh, your neighbors? When I was a kid. He was my neighbor. I knew him. like 12 houses away from me. Oh, your neighbors? When I was a kid, like, yeah, he was my neighbor. I knew him, like, he's about eight years older.

He's in my older brother's grade. Yeah, yeah. And he'd hang out with him, and I was like 12 years old. He was in high school, yeah 12, and he was probably 20 or Whatever and I'd hang out with them, and I was like hey, well I gotta hang out with them and then I Had him on like I believe Instagram or Twitter, and I was just like always like oh geez he's out doing whatever, like what the heck's this guy doing?

And then basically just out of desperation, I just hit him up and I was just like, dude. Bet MGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA has your back all season long. From tip off to the final buzzer, you're always taken care of with the sports bookbook Born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with BetMGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player,

or your style, there's something every NBA fan will love about BetMGM. Download the app today and discover why BetMGM is your basketball home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with BetMGM, a sportsbook worth a slam dunk, and authorized gaming partner of the NBA, betmgm.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please

contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. McPops from McCafe are a new sweet treat available in three delicious flavors. Berry, white chocolate, and hazelnut and cocoa. Perfect to add onto a small $1 plus tax premium roast coffee. It's a match made by Nick Cafe. At participating McDonald's restaurants, prices exclude delivery.

Dude, what do you do? I'm pretty much getting kicked out of the house. How can you help me? You're like, hey, man. And then he had me on an interview. And next thing you know, I was in In Florida Speaking to people every day doing door-to-door sales Wow. Yeah, so you had to overcome your fear through going door-to-door Yeah, I went through I

Remember when I got to Florida I was just like what am I doing here? I was like what is the job? I didn't know what it was. He's like you make a lot of money doing it like you can help a lot of people out. I was like cool whatever I'll come like game have to come if I Do not have a choice basically so I went and and I Remember at a young age. I was probably eight to ten years old I had a speech Speech therapist yes, and I

Remember I was like eight years old and we drew like a line down the middle on a piece of paper and it was like Tranks and on a piece of paper, and it was like shrinks and weaknesses. And it was all these things like shrinks. I was like young, I was eight years old, and it was just like all these things. And then the one problem that I had was my speech.

One problem that I had was my speech. And at a young age, I kind of ingrained it that it was a problem and that it would hold me back in life and it would prohibit me from ever helping people or ever being able to actually do what I want to do. And from eight years old up until like 20, I was just like, it's a problem. It'll hold me back.

And it was pretty scary even like Doing the podcast and Just kind of tough is pretty scary too, but like my Hunter's toad that like if I don't allow this to Be a problem then it won't hold me

Back at all and it's just like you probably haven't ever had a You probably haven't ever had a guest on here who has a stutter, I'm assuming, have you? Not to your level. No. Not to your level. I've had some that had like a minor one maybe, but this sounds like something you've been dealing with your whole life. Yeah, I mean I've had it and there are times where it isn't that bad and then there are times where it is bad.

What do you think triggers that difference when it's bad versus just not as bad? I think the main trigger is when I like, am extremely conscious of like what I'm speaking about. When you speak, you're on autopilot probably and it just kind of rulls off your mouth, right? But when I speak and I try to speak in a way I speak and I try to speak in a way that I have to actually process what I want to say. That's when it happens.

Interesting. So when you have to think about what you're saying. What I'm going to say. I'm going to stutter. Because if I'm just like here talking, I don't really stutter. Isn't that weird? That's what I noticed. Because some of your sentences, you're just crystal clear. But then when you have to think of the word or the thing you're thinking about, I notice that's when it kicks in. Well, it's just like when you speak, like I said, you're on autopilot when I speak to a homeowner or a client and it's...

After decades of shaky hands caused by debilitating tremors, Sunnybrook was the only hospital in Canada who could provide Andy with something special. Three neurosurgeons, two scientists, one movement disorders coordinator, 58 answered questions, two focused ultrasound procedures, one specially developed helmet, thousands of high intensity focused ultrasound waves,

zero incisions, and that very same day, two steady hands. From innovation to action, Sunnybrook is special. Learn more at sunnybrook.ca slash special. The script that I've used hundreds of times, it's really like get on really tutter at all. Oh wow. Because I only learned that from getting over this and just speaking to people because I mean for 12 years I say from from kindergarten up until when I Graduated high school. I didn't speak to people and I would just be like no, I'm not talking to anyone today like whatever but

Once I like had to speak and it was like okay like you got to give I was giving 20 plus presentations to homeowners like Every day and Within that after about one week. It was almost gone. My stutter. Wow. Yeah, which is crazy. That is great and then if I um like when I handle stuff that

is pretty uncomfortable and I just handle it often and I just consistently do stuff that is uncomfortable, stuff that is uncomfortable then the speech problem kind of goes away when I do that. That's fascinating. Isn't that weird? Yeah I didn't know that about people that had a stutter. I thought you just had it in all aspects. No and it is a pretty crazy that like I haven't had it my whole life it just like kind of spawned in like in fourth grade it just like spawned and I was like I have a stutter I guess was it like a specific incident you remember yeah, it was I've it was Fourth grade I was giving a presentation

And I just couldn't speak well and everyone was like laughing and I was like What the heck is embarrassing? I don't relate to this it's just like It like can piled and then the heck is embarrassing. I can relate to this. It just like, it like compiled. And then after the presentation, the teacher was like, hey, come here. And then it was like, you have a stutter. Like, you got to have this helped out. And like, whatever.

And I was like, oh, well, I guess I have a stutter. Helped out and like whatever and I was like, oh boy. I guess I have a stutter. Mm-hmm But Prior to that I don't have any Recollection of like having a stutter interesting so it's like a traumatic incident triggered it almost I guess you know, yeah Well not dude when I had to give presentations in school. Yeah, I would purposely either skip Yeah, or just take it zero really that's how scared I was you just didn't do it. I hated it. It was so uncomfortable I know and I just thought that's the thing right you gotta The biggest growth is when you overcome your fears. Yeah, so yeah now

I'm talking like I'm doing public speaking now to be honest and like yeah I'm speaking at Erwin McManus event in a couple weeks. I'll probably be the biggest crowd I've ever spoken at so At least a thousand I'd assume he's got a huge church and everything. So that's scary stuff. Yeah It's good. Yeah, I'm a little nervous, but I know there's tremendous growth through that. So yeah, no, I mean that's one of like the like it hit me 2022 I would say

October of 2022 is when I understood that like the only problems and only Limits are created in your own head like it isn't even real like any Problem or any stuff that like holds you Back

His just created in your own head and understood that and I understood that like The in your own head and understood that and understood that like The Dutter was only a problem Because I let it hold me back and like actually become a problem when I just chose like consciously to not let this be a problem anymore, it just went away. And it was like it didn't hold me back from speaking to people anymore. Like if you were to have hit me up when I was in high school and asked me to hop on a podcast, I would just be like, no, no way. when you guys hit me up, I was just like, sure, because it's just like, I've already spoken to

tens of thousands of homeowners in what I do, and I didn't let that hold me back with that aspect, so I can't let it hold me back from this too. Absolutely I love that mindset yeah we'll get into the business side of things because you're crushing it there so when you were at home did you have a stutter with your parents? You said you had a brother too? Yeah so when I was around my parents, the stutter wasn't bad at all. The stutter really wasn't there. It only happens, again, when I have to consciously process

what I'm speaking about. When I'm around my parents or friends is not bad. And it's because I'm just kind of rolling. I'm just speaking and it just kind of rolls off my tongue. Where it's at. So if people have a stutter and they are hearing this, have a stutter and they are hearing this, like it didn't like hold me back. Once I understood that one,

one thing that happened, I would say October again that happened, I would say, October again of 2022, is when I became, like, Christian again, if that makes sense. And it's in the Bible that the Lord wouldn't give you any problem that you Can't handle and it's like whatever you have happening You can handle it and it's like anything that like you that you question Oh What I'd be able to get through it or any thing like that,

you can. Wow, so you've rediscovered Christianity. You went through a time when you went away from that. Yeah, high school, I grew up Catholic. We went to church up until like high school and then we stopped and then rediscovered it in 2022. I feel like that's common. I think a lot of people stop in middle school, high school. That's when I stopped too. Yeah.

Yeah. You just get so wrapped up with sports and I was playing like five different sports. Plus I didn't like church to be honest. Yeah. As a kid it's like church to be honest. Yeah as a kid It's like, you know, you want to jump off the wall Well, dude now you got an eight-figure roofing company I just 21 years old yeah and you have the stutter It's like honestly super inspirational. I need to hear like how so you see you've worked with Mo, right? So he was sort of your mentor mentor. Yeah, and he is still, he's my coach.

Got it. I pay him. And then what was that next step once you were working for him for a bit? With Mo, I worked there from June of 2022 up until April of 2023. And then I got into And then I got into Roofing in Ohio. Mm-hmm. Do you move back move back to Ohio? and from April to

August I was like 20 back then right I made 190 grand Wow I was just like alright, that's all commission. This is yeah all commission based like everything's just all commission and I Love that About like this industry is that like if you have a skill like you get rewarded in correlation to kill level and like when I understood that the income that I make is directly correlated to like what what I like produce I understood that like This is the closest thing to actually honing a business without actually having to own a business right because like if

You don't produce You don't make money. It's Just like you owning a business like you have to Generate Revenue to make a living that's how It is in this as well. That's why I personally like Commission. Yeah, I would never take a seller job Never you know what I mean? It's not smart just because I believe in myself

And I've done commission jobs in the past and done well and you could translate commission Like mentality to almost any industry too if you're good at sales, which is what you are. Well, yeah, I mean I went from it hit me in August of 2022 that I was like, okay, I'm pretty good at sales. Like I can use this and it's because like when you have a. Tutor like, and you speak to a homeowner or any kind of prospect, it almost makes you a human to the homeowner. And if a homeowner, let's say,

I knocked on his home and was like, hey, what's up? And I start to utter, he like hears me out. And he, hey, what's up? And I start to utter. He like hears me out and he's like, what's this kid talking about? I feel like. And then if he hears it out, then he's gonna do it because it's just like, it's either,

solar is like an absolute no brainer. And the way that we're doing roofing is like an absolute no-brainer. And the way that we're doing roofing is as well. It's just like, okay, I mean, it can help me, like, why not? So when you're in sales, like, your job when you, like, cold call is just to get the homeowner to hear you out. And if he hears you out, he's gonna do it because it's just like, dude, this makes a lot of sense.

So having the speech impediment helped me in this industry where I wouldn't have ever understood that if I didn't take a risk, though. And I wasn't like, I'm just going to do it. I got out of my comfort zone, and I wasn't like, I'm just gonna do it. I got out of my comfort zone and I was just like, I'm gonna do it. And then it ended up working out. Crazy.

So I was in awe that it worked. Yeah, you used it to your advantage, the stutter, instead of like, like you said, the first 10 years, you thought it was like a disadvantage. You looked at it really negatively. You didn't talk to anyone. It held me back, yeah. Right, so it's just a mindset shift. That's nice. That's really fascinating

Yeah, dude, I'm gonna hit you up for solar cuz my energy bill last month two thousand dollars. What? Yeah, $2,200 In Vegas. Yeah, isn't that crazy? Yeah, and it's not like I use the energy that often. I wasn't even home half the month I was traveling. 2000 bucks. $2,200. That's insane. Yeah, it's nuts. That's a big house though. I wonder what the average savings on solar are compared to electrical.

Here, I don't know here, but where I was doing it in Florida, it would pretty much cut the bill by like 20% at least. Wow. And keep it locked in for like 20 years, 20 plus years. And that's where you save the most because they'd be raising those rates out here. Oh my god. Yeah, we're getting wrecked out here. Really?

We're the fastest raising state, I believe. Really? It went up a stupid amount last year. It's a good state to do solar then. You might have to explore it here. Really? We're the fastest raising state I believe. Like it went up a stupid amount last year. It's a good state to do solar then. You might have to explore it. And it's super hot out here so there's a lot of sun. Yeah now you're doing roofing which I feel like I want to talk about that transition because solar got kind of saturated right? Yeah. I know a lot of guys that got wrecked so for you to be able to pivot was a smart move looks like I mean, it's just like How I do roofing

here we do it to where if the Homeowner has like a horrible hail storm right and He's got an old roof like let's say usually and he's got an old roof. Let's say usually the homes that I help, it's about a 20 year old roof,

and it's like you have to replace it in the next year or two anyways, but if you have a hail storm and it just crushes the roof, you get your homeowner's insurance to actually cover the whole roof cost. Wow. And I've had homeowners save, like I had one last week on Monday. He had approved for like a hundred and twenty K. Holy crap.

For a roof? It was insurance. They cost that much? Yeah. How big was the house? It was a big house. It was like 12,000 square feet. Oh, okay. Big house.

Still, that's crazy. But it's still a big roof and it was about 20 years old and he was like, if you can get our insurance to handle this roof cost, then I'm all here for it because he he didn't want to spend 120 grand on a roof right it's a lot of money out of pocket at once and just a roof and his hidden currents covered the whole roof cost so so you where do you step in on that to make money exactly? Like you negotiate that? We're doing the roof. Oh, you're the ones actually doing the roof. Okay. And this year we've done eight and a half million this year. Nice. So we're close to, by the end of the year,

we'll probably be over 10 million for sure. That's incredible. Yeah. I mean, yeah, you got time. You'll definitely hit that. I was just in Dallas last week and there was a hail storm. Yeah, big hail. I woke up at 4 a.m.

You heard it? Yeah, it was the second one I've ever been in. I was, where was I? I was in a crazy one one time. Really? Yeah, hail's no joke. Yeah. That shit could definitely damage a roof.

Yeah. And cars too. I wonder if car insurance covers that. Yeah, it does. It does? Usually it does. Wow. Yeah. Damn. So I'll keep an eye out for hailstorms and text you

hail or Tornadoes anything like that. What states do you do this in? I'm in, Ohio. We're in, Ohio but we just had That hurricane that hit down in that that reached Ohio Florida. No it hit Florida and Georgia like pretty bad and We're gonna have their Monday. I'm gonna go there. I got a buddy that yeah, this is storms chase the storms and he makes a lot Yeah, millions. Yeah, as soon as he sees a big storm

He flies out the next morning. Flies. Rents a car and then drives around, looks for damaged buildings, and then finds the owner's number, hits them up. Yeah. Crazy. Yeah. I mean, it sounds fun, actually. I mean, we had a...

I mean, it was a horrible hurricane. And then got ready, like 112 people died from it. Holy crap. Yeah, it was bad that's crazy and homes are just destroyed like it isn't only like the roof that that has to get replaced like gets the whole homes a lot of them so but yeah I was seeing some wild videos it It's nuts. Well dude, it's been really cool getting to know like what goes on behind the scenes,

where can people keep up with you, find you, potentially work with you or work for you. Yeah, I mean, on my Instagram, they can hit me up. I have a link in my bio that they can reach out to me on. But one of the one Things that I want to do like within the next year or two years is like to speak at a conference for

Youth that have like stutters. Mm-hmm, like just speak there. I believe there's like a Foundation For the youth that have a stutter, mmm and they hold like a Conference once a year. So that's like one goal that I have is to speak there and just let the youth understand that like what they have can actually help them if they are in the right Vehicle likes Sales if a kid has like a Hey speech Problem then like they need to

Do sales like giving help on the time. Absolutely. They can make a killing doing it. I mean you're living proof of that man, you're living proof. Yeah, I mean it helps out a ton. I'll do my best to get you on that stage man. I'll see what connections I can make for you. That'd be sick. Awesome dude.

We'll link your Instagram below. Thanks for coming on. Yeah, of course. Yup, thanks for watching guys. Check out the stuff below. I'll link your Instagram below. Thanks for coming on. Yeah, of course. Thanks for watching guys, check out the stuff below. I'll see you next time.