Produced By - Flip-Flops & 7-Figure Courses: The Secret to Laid-Back Success | #SPECIAL: Virgil Brewster

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

Virgil Brewster is a 7-figure Course Strategist & Notorious Chiller, living the dream on a tropical island while helping coaches launch and sell successful courses. Once a high school dropout, Virgil's entrepreneurial spirit led him to discover the potential of digital products. After countless failed projects, he cracked the code, building a $10M business in just four years. He’s now a proud recipient of the prestigious ClickFunnels 2 Comma Club X Award and has helped clients generate over $500K in course sales. With a no-fluff, action-oriented approach, Virgil teaches how to package knowledge into courses that resonate with audiences and scale them without burnout. Whether it’s mastering email marketing, creating systems, or building multiple digital products, his strategies are built on real-world experience. Tune in to learn how to build, sell, and scale your course like a pro—and maybe pick up some chill island vibes along the way. Connect with Virgil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/virgilbrewster/ https://virgilbrewster.com/ https://x.com/thevirgilbrew  Connect with Tommen: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠⁠⁠  Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠⁠⁠  X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/TomasLoucky⁠⁠⁠⁠  Podcast: Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠⁠⁠  Support: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ProducedByPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠  Produced (email newsletter): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://produced.beehiiv.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ More: Trailblazed (marketing agency): ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://trailblazed.digital/⁠⁠⁠⁠  EpiXtory (podcasting agency): https://www.epixtory.digital/   Produced (LinkedIn newsletter): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7092551882589528065⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Produced By with Tommen is your weekly dose of inspiration where ambition meets creativity. Join us as we dive into the journeys of content creators, entrepreneurs, and other remarkable individuals who break barriers and redefine success. Each episode shares unique stories, challenges, and triumphs. From heartfelt struggles to incredible successes, these conversations will motivate you to push beyond your limits and chase your own dreams. Whether you're on a creative path or just love great stories, tune in and become part of a community that constantly strives to push the boundaries. Sit back, relax and enjoy. Connect with Tomas:X: https://x.com/TomasLoucky⁠⁠⁠Stan: https://stan.store/TommenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠Unproduced:Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIWMore:Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://producednewsletter.substack.com/⁠The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/Tools & gear that support the show:Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZKRiverside: https://riverside.sjv.io/vDnDodFavikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommenRa Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bfSome links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You could go on, you know, ages and make more millions and more millions. But when you don't enjoy anymore what you do, what is going to feel like a job? And what's the point? What am I going to do now? Because then obviously financially, I did really well. I need to worry about income. But, and I really thought for a long time, like, oh, right, and I can retire, quote on quote, then everything is okay.

I need to do shit. I can do with my PlayStation and do nothing. I tried it for a year. And I enjoyed that we traveled and did stuff and do all kinds of crazy. stuff and then in the end I felt bored. That's weird. It's a really weird sensation. For years you are chasing money and all of the sudden you have it all and then you

realize that you don't have it all. That is sad in a way, right? And that comes to the final piece of the puzzle when you start out is that you need to have it simple. You need to have fun, but you also need to have a purpose. You need to understand like Simon Sinek says why you get up out of bad into your thing. Before we dive into today's episode, please hit that subscribe button. Your support helps us grow and inspire more people on their journeys.

Thank you. Hello, Virgil. Thank you for joining us today and welcome to the show. I'm happy to be here, Thomas. It's an honor. So be here live and direct from my boiling hot Bali with a lot of wind. I would just say that it's complete opposite of weather in London, so we are jealous. Yes, it is. Yeah, you know, I'm born and raised in Holland, right? So I know what you go through. It's like always in Holland you have 300, 300 plus day, gray sky. And here on this side, the world is exactly the opposite. So yeah, it's a lifestyle you can choose, right? I love it.

That's a good point. So Virgil, Ferdogh, Ferdogneur, can you please introduce yourself? Well, I'm Virgil. I am a Dutch guy. You can hear my accent. I live abroad for over 17, 18 years now. started in Ibiza Spain for over 10 years and now here in Bali on the other side of the world. What I do, I built with two business partners, a course business that we really blew up. And after a while, we decided to do something different. And after a year of being in a sort of sabbatical, quote-unquote, people started to reach out to me and say, hey, what are you doing? And then I said, well, nothing much. But what are you used to do?

And then I said, yeah, I did something with courses. Oh, can you help me out? And that's basically how this whole consulting thing started. Is that what I do now? I consult high-level coaches with their courses and, yeah, make them pop. That's what I do in a nutshell. Yeah. And just to come back to your background, because when I was trying to do some research,

if I remember correctly, have you got either your parents or do you originally come from South America? That's correct, yeah. My parents are from a little country in the north of South America. That's really funny. Next to Venezuela, I like a little country called Suriname. and Suriname used to be a colony of Holland. So that's how the relationship with Holland came to be. My parents who left their country when they were 30 years old,

they were moving to Holland to get a better life. They got my sister and myself as two children. And yeah, that's how I came to end up as a mix of cultures in Holland. So those are my roots. So where are we actually born in Holland or were we born in Suriname and then you moved? No, I was born in Holland, born and raised in Holland. Yeah, that's the case, a typical Amsterdam boy, guy. Everything comes along with the Amsterdam and Dutch way of living.

So, yeah, literally born and raised in Holland. And out of curiosity, I feel like I've never met anyone from Suriname. So have you actually been to the country? And if so, what is it like there? Well, yeah, Suriname is, let's say, 95% and jungle and then we have the capital of Surinamara Boats, like a small place. Yeah, I've been. I have to be honest, I haven't been there for a long time, so I have to go back quickly.

But literally, if you can imagine Surinam as a country is like a jungle with a city and a mixture of different races blending together. Because like I said, Suriname used to be a colony of Holland. So a lot of people were imported to the country there. And so you have Chinese people, we have people from India. We have people from literally the native Indians. We have people from Africa. We have people from everywhere.

So it's like this big cultural mix spot. And that's what I am the result of, a big mix. That's interesting. Is it a tourist place or how popular is it among the tourists? Well, it's not really say touristic. you know, people who like the jungle and, you know, that vibe of Amazon area. That is great, yeah. So it's not really like a popular holiday destination, but we have people who actually come there to really explore the Amazon rainforest,

which is obviously amazing. So yeah, that's interesting. So then moving to Holland, what was it like growing up in Amsterdam and, you know, experience Dutch culture? Well, let me say, I'm a kid of the streets, right? I grew up and I was not really a kid that was good with school. I couldn't really, you know, all the hard skills that you need to have at school like meds and economics and all that sort of stuff. But I never was never good at it. So I never really fit in.

And yeah, growing up in Amsterdam, it was during the 90s, the age of hip-hop, Tupac and Biggie Smalls were ruling the hippocene. You know, I grew up with that. And obviously, Amsterdam was very, very open-minded. A little bit less now, but back then we were really open-minded. So you can imagine, like, weed was a thing, smoking joints. We were one of the first countries who used, like, magic mushrooms. Back in the day, when they were not regulated, they were so strong that people were jumping out of buildings and did trade itself, and they regulated the whole lot.

And then you know that Holland's number one extra product is ecstasy. So, yeah, then you can say what kind of youth I had. I was into the party scene, into the music scene, and it was an incredible place to grow up. And I, like you mentioned, you were listening to hip-hop, because I was reading this article, I think you wrote on Medium, and it started, I was listening to Tupac song, and then my mom's something.

So it stuck in my mind. And because someone who likes or used to listen to rap and hip-hop, I'm glad to hear that. Oh, cool. You know, it was a mixture of hip-hop and R&B, that were the two things. And growing up in that culture is really, really who made me today because hip-hop in general is like a global movement

where people rally behind. And that's the early days where music creates communities among youngsters, different colors, different races. but all bound people together because of the music. And I think that's a very, very strong component, which translates very well in building communities for your business and in business in general as well.

So, yeah, I've been sort of, you could say, schooled by the streets in that way, and that applied that in later on in life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then during your education, what is it actually that you are interested in, such as what to pursue later on in your career? well growing up was a little bit like like being a rebel right going all over the place

my parents obviously they immigrated from a from a country to get a better life so obviously they wanted us me and my sister not to have to struggle so they really wanted us to go study become a doctor a lawyer and that sort of things with any parents who would want for their child right like this typical things but for some reason i never really fitted in that that mold so i became the rebel child and sometimes also the black sheep of the family because my parents didn't know what to do with me. So very

early on I started to get a job quickly. I finished my high school and that was it because I simply couldn't. I simply couldn't I didn't have the interest in let you go and study. So I started working on a very young age and yeah there can be a good thing or a bad thing is not for everybody.

But that's a little bit my educational history. That's where I came from. but I realized very, very quickly that you learn things hands-on, right, by doing them. That was one of the things that I really, really got on early on, and that serves me well, later than my journey. And did you know, or did you have an idea? What was it that interested you, such as, you know, to start a business or to continue with this specific area or that?

Well, my father was an amateur photographer, and I remember that he was in the kitchen always playing around with this we need in the little dark room and all this magic of images appear on paper was really astonishing to me at a time so i knew that that that something creative would be in my in the most logical thing and i did different stuff in order to get there and i did sales jobs and all kinds of jobs but creativity part always stuck with me and then one day in the newspaper i read an article an advert that said we were looking for a cameraman for Dutch television. And I'm like, wow, that's cool.

That sounds cool. So I applied. It was a company in the middle of Holland. And the company did outdoor broadcasting, basically. So they did big sport events and big music events. And I applied. And for some unknown reason, people saw something in me and accepted me in the educational program and hired me.

And I did that for over 12 years. So I'm not new. Let me say, I'm a business owner and entrepreneur for over two decades now, but I started out literally as an employee, and I've learned a lot from it. So that's a thing. It sounds like... Such a coincidence saw the ad in the newspaper and stayed there for 12 years. It's impressive.

Did you then enjoy it since you've been there for such a long time? Well, yeah, the thing was, it's a little, really a glitter and glamorous lifestyle in a way, behind a glass window, so to speak, because I used to travel the world. I've seen in those years, I've seen the whole world, we did concerts all over the world, worked with big artists and different projects, and it was amazing. But the thing was, I was always close to glitter and glamour and wealth, but not fully 100% on that side of the line. I always was like the crew or the camera crew.

So I always was one step in and one step out. And that always, that sort of sunk because I really wanted to be on the other side of the glass, right? I wanted to be where the money, the freedom and everything that comes with, quote-unquote, the fame that those artists had. So that was for me a trigger after so many years, like, hang on a minute. I'm doing here something where I trading time for money, which is super cool in the beginning. But as I was getting older, I realized this is not something that's sustainable. because if I do this for 20 more years, I would earn the same thing

and nothing happens, right? So that was the first opening that I needed to explore entrepreneurship because that was the only way how you can move forward. I think that a lot of people can relate to what you just said. But then it might be challenging to do the first steps or how to start or what to do first. So what would be your advice or even what you did when you had this realization? Well, for me, the most logical step.

So I would say 99% of the people started with a job. There are not many people who just are born and raised and they are going to start the business. There are some, but there will only be many. Always somebody starts with a job. So my very first advice would be that you need to understand what it is to charge for a product or service and earn money on your own. Without having a company who's doing the whole salary, the whole administration, the whole thing. So the very first thing that I would advise if you are in a job at this moment is do the same thing as a freelancer. Because it's going to give you a couple of things.

First of all, you don't need to worry what type of thing do I need to do as an entrepreneur. You just do the same thing as you do at your regular day job. But when you become a freelancer, you all of a sudden have to deal with different elements that comes with entrepreneurship. Think about your marketing. How do you reach out to clients? How do you make connections with clients? How do you form relationships or people keep on hiring you?

How do you going to do manage your money flows? You're going to learn so many things from being a freelancer and that doesn't mean that you need to become a freelancer for many years because in the end of the day you're still going to do the same thing because you're still going to trade time for money only for a higher payout

and still that is not ideal but that's a great great spot to start. That's what I would do. And is that actually what you did when you had this realization or did you do something different? Yes. I did exactly that because I was a cameraman, a camera operator and I became really good at what I did. I built a lot of relationship in that entertainment industry. So the most logical sense for me was to quit my job with my boss, obviously was not happy with.

But all of a sudden, I was there as the cameraman doing the same trick that I was doing for all these years, only for three times more at the page. and I could choose that's really cool because I could choose with people I could work with who I enjoyed working with and the ones I didn't enjoy I didn't do so that made a huge difference

and yes it's exactly what I did but also there I hit the glass wall for the second time because now I was again I was working for myself I was the entrepreneur I was making more money but I was still working a lot of hours

So then a new realization I couldn't like hang on a minute I need to change something and that's a negative can you say what was like the period

maybe how long it took before you had this another realization well I could say so I was working for a long time for a boss and then I would say I was working two two and a half years as a freelancer

roughly when I realized hang on a minute I'm doing the same thing because I still was exhausted I still didn't have time to go anywhere I made more money but I had no time to spend it. So that was the realization that, like, I realized it faster because as you grow older,

you start to realize that time is sticking for you. And in the beginning, you don't realize that. When you are in your, when you're a teenager, or in your 20s, or in your 30s, you don't realize that one day your clock will stop. And that's a hard realization, right? But the older you get, and the more you are into your, in your entrepreneurial or freelancing world, sociality. You're going to realize that time is not on your hand anymore.

There will be a point that it stops. And basically when it stops, you die. It sounds harsh, but that's the only thing that bind us all. We all bound it to the same faith. We all will die at some point. So we need to realize what we am going to do with the time that we have left.

So that I realized again, if I would be freelancing over and over again, I would die doing this. Is this what I want? No. But that was the realization. me to change again. And did you at least still enjoy doing the work of a camera person or doing the videos and stuff like that? I have to be, it's funny that you asked it because I was thinking about this a few weeks ago. What was the most enjoyable time in your entire life? And I had really cool stuff

growing up as a kid, you know, in Amsterdam smoking weed and do all crazy stuff. Going into the entertainment industry where I became a cameraman and I worked with big artists and did concerts and events around the world. And after that, transition into running my own business and then transition towards an educational business in the form of courses. I have to be honest that the most enjoyable time was the time that I was actually doing that camera work,

looking back. Because that was something. That's really weird because you might think, oh, there was not enough money, but it formed me. It created. I learned every skill that I could use later in all the other businesses, I learned during my freelancing time where I had a lot of fun. And that is an important part.

Everybody I work with and people who watch for my other stuff or my content, there's one thing that is so important. And it is not about marketing, funnels, conversion, clients, or marketing or whatsoever. It is that you have fun in what you do. That's the only thing that is going to keep you moving because you will fall down. when you run your own building. So yeah, that's a great point. And since you've got experience from this industry,

can you say how tough or actually if it's tough to get into the industry? Because from my experience, like to get into the, let's say, film industry or I spoke recently with someone who does the video and production work. It's quite competitive and obviously a lot of people want to get in. So from our experience, what would you say that what is it like? It's a good question. I love that question. You know why? Because this is not specifically to the entertainment industry.

It's in every industry. In every industry, you will encounter a lot of competition. Because in the end of the day, if you go in a market where nobody offers a product or service, there might be a reason for that it doesn't happen. Or you must be a Steve job innovator and Elon Musk's type of mind who can do incredible things. Well, that is not going to happen with 99% of the people. so you need to be in an environment where you know that there is a supply and a demand, that there's a problem that you can solve.

And often the problem that you will solve is not unique. That's often being solved many, many times by many other people. So competitiveness is something you have to deal with. You need to go with it. So my thing with it was, what can you do to stand out? Now, the very first thing that I always share with people is, when everybody goes left, you go right. To give you an example, when I was applying for my job as a cameraman, everybody would write the standard letters, right? Back then, Internet was not a big thing, so it was very slow at the time.

But the things that you could read, all the people did the same thing. Yeah, I would love to work for you. Your company is amazing. You know, they would write the same way. Like everything in every industry. So what I did, being a rebel, I literally didn't give a fuck. And that sounds hard. Because I learned when you are willing to walk away from a deal,

the chances that you are getting it are way bigger. So that's how I approach my letter to them, right? To apply. So I literally said, I really love it. I'm really good and I'm creative. I wouldn't mind it all if you would. I couldn't hire me because I really love what I do right now. But if you give me a chance, I will show you that I kick ass in a nutshell that's what I did.

Totally different. People brought me on a conversation because of that letter. And later on in life, I always try to do things different based on my personality. The moment you want to be somebody else or try to be somebody else or copy something of somebody else, or somebody else, you will always fail. Because if it was that simple, right, you could take Alex Hermosius his funnel, go out there, run it, and you would be, you make a hundred millions as well. Why is it that you don't have the same results?

Why? Because you're one not Alex Harmosey. You don't have that energy. You don't have that effort to work in that way. There's so many nuances to why something works for somebody. and the main, main idea behind it is when you are yourself and you go to the left and everybody goes to the right, you will stand out. And that's what you want. That's a great, you explained it really well. I'm glad that I have this question.

And I think something that confirms what you said is that when I came across your profile for the first time, which I believe was on LinkedIn, what immediately caught my attention was your tagline, Notorious Chiller, which I had. I think is just perfect, just amazing. I haven't seen that before. And then obviously because I've been reading or doing some research about your work or about yourself, I feel like that your voice stands out and that is something that I just enjoy because it's different. It's unique, it's funny.

So I just can confirm what you said that you are doing it well and encourage listeners to have a loop or even to follow. So you said it really well. Thank you. I would then ask you the same question that I asked before. from your transition to freelance work. So now when you're about to transition to entrepreneurship to start your own business, what were, again, your steps or what would be advised for someone who would want to go through the same upgrade or transition? Yeah.

So the very first advice that I can give you, and I wish that somebody told me that years ago, is to keep it simple. Because people make things so complex. really in your mind you believe you're going to need a website you're going to need a business cards you're going to need to have experience you need to have certifications you need to do all kinds of things

so that people will believe you what you have to offer into that world and I'm here to say to you that you don't need any of those well I don't say dive into an industry where you have no clue about and just make shit up and buy to sell it that's not what I say

but everything on the other side of the spectrum is that you immediately need to go out there because you need to understand this. You only need to be one step ahead of the people you help. And if you are the entrepreneur and are willing to build this business, you will always move faster forward than your audience or your clients.

That's human nature. There's an unfortunate thing in human mind, in the human mind is that they stop themselves and you do the same. But the thing is that you just need to be only one step ahead and then keep it simple. So that means you only take one problem or for one solution for one type of client. So be very specific who you help. Be very specific what type of problem that you solve. And here comes then the uniqueness of you that everybody has how you approach.

the problem. Not how Virgil, Thomas, Alex Amossey, Steve Jobs, Tony Robbins, Gary Vee, God knows who. They probably solve the same problem as you, but how do you solve? What is your story?

What is your uniqueness? What is your angle to it? Because in the end of the day, you need to realize that one, people love simplicity because they don't have time. And second, they are going to go for people they resonate with. In other words, people don't buy products.

People buy people. So you need to be yourself. That is my number one advice. And then you're going to be like 50% of the way. 50%. Yeah. It also reminds me of a book from Simon Sinai. Start with why.

And there is this famous TED Talk when he says, I don't want to misinterpret it, but something like people don't buy what you do, but why you do it if I'm not mistaken. So I feel like that's a similar idea. And again, I think you said it perfectly and some valuable advice. So then with your business experience, it sounds like that you had it figured out.

But I assume, or I would imagine that it wasn't as easy as it seems like. So did you encounter any obstacles or any challenges? Well, yeah. So the thing is, I don't believe that. There's any entrepreneur on any level that haven't faced like off or shit along the way. And I had my fair share, right? I had my fair share.

And I believe that's part of it. Think about moving towards when I was building my course business with two incredible business partners. And we ran in so many things because we basically grew exponentially fast. We grew very fast. We were applying a simple. method that we just explained we had one problem, one solution, one specific

avatar, we were selling an e-commerce course and we grew really fast. Was there such a big such a big demand or you are doing so well or how come? Well, demand was basically, we used a concept that is thought by Russell Bronson and

basically the concept folder, I believe then Kennedy was originator is where you literally ask the audience what they want and you give it to them and that's literally what we do because of what we did. Because most of the time, people are ego-driven. And again, that's a human flaw, human error, right? We believe that we have a great idea and that other people are going to buy in into that idea

because we wholly believe that that is the thing that's going to solve their problem. But 99% of the time, that's not the case. So again, come back to simplicity is where you are going to ask them what they want and then you give to them. So in our case, we are having conversations with our audience. and they were explaining that that e-commerce was a thing and back in the day that was a big thing right 2017-2018 was the time that e-commerce and especially drop shipping in our country holland where we were operating in what became wildly popular so that is where we where we had to watch and the thing was that we nailed all the marketing because we had we read the dot com secret and extract secrets

it was our bible i highly recommend that you go through it and you like to sell something That's what we did. We literally followed it by the book. And the thing is that we grew because of that. But then we needed to hire people. And that's why we had no experience in. We never in our lives hired somebody. We were always an employee or freelancer,

but never were on the other side of the line where you actually need to hire people. So our logical thought process was, okay, we need to hire people for each role. And we started to do that. And we hired our friends and all kinds of people we thought were cool. And it was a nightmare. because it didn't work out.

We had a lot of people. And we didn't know what we were doing. We had a big overhead. Things weren't going well. We basically became like not the rebel that we were outstought out of me. When we started out, we became like this company where things go to almost bureaucratic ways. And it was again a moment. Like a boring corporation.

No, we weren't really boring corporation of that sense. But, you know, we had the element. of it, right? A lot of meetings, long-winded talks and decisions were slow. And when we started out, we were fast. We were just with a free of us. We're going to do this, you do this, let's go. Boom, we bring it out. And all of the sudden, we were making products and it took like weeks, but we normally were doing days, right? So something was tough. So that is where investing in yourself becomes a thing, because you can try to figure it out on your own. Or you can invest in a consultant or a coach who shows you the shortcut and keeps you accountable.

And that is an amazing hack for people. If you're stuck, don't go on YouTube. Don't try to read books because the answer is there, but you will not execute because of your mind. But go hire a consultant or mentor who is done what you're about to do successfully. And what happens then is that you should get shortcut. And probably you will not learn anything new. right it's not that you're going to learn something groundbreaking new we already know but the big thing is is that you're going to get the steps to execute and you get somebody who's going to keep you accountable

who's going to push you through it that's the power investing and that's what we did and then things started to change then we were exponentially started growing because we were investing in ourselves we're applying the concepts that we were learning and then everything went way smoother and obviously we made mistakes but that's part of it. Yeah, yeah. Again, you said it really well. And I think also because if you invest into coach or mentor, obviously you need to pay for it.

So I think that's also another element that makes you follow up. Because for example, if you read a book, of course, you can buy it, maybe you can download it or whatever. But I'm actually going to apply it. Yes, some people do. Some people do not. But mentorship or working with some is not as cheap. So it's another element why I think makes you stick with it.

And of course it saves you so much time, headache, tears and I don't know what else. So great. Yeah. 100% true. If you want to save you a ton of time. So then how did it go with the business? Did you continue growing? Did you still enjoy the journey?

What are the next steps? So that's interesting, right? Because to answer that question, you need to understand first this, is that life and business and everything goes in seasons. You have like spring where everything is new and fresh. Then you have summer. You have highlights. Then it stalls a little bit. You're going to make mistakes.

Then it is winter. And then you don't know what to do. Well, literally, our course business went through that. So we went to spring where we created cool products. We went to summer where we started to explore and grew and grew and grew. The sky was the limit. And then all of a sudden autumn comes in. And what does it mean?

Because we were doing basically one. thing really well. We kept to our, you know, keep it simple. It is what we did. We had an e-commerce course where we taught people to buy stuff in China and sell it on the Dutch Amazon. That basically was what we did. So it's nothing complex. And although there's a lot of excitement around running that business and earning that money and hosting workshops and events and all that sort of stuff, but eventually that thing, we started to lose our interest in that. We were evolving as people, but also as entrepreneurs we were evolving. So we didn't start to feel it anymore.

And then what happened is that basically that trickles down into your whole business. First of all, in your products and the offers that you make, a little tiny mistake start to come there. Your team starts to pick up that something isn't working right. Stuff starts to go not in the right way. So then you can say, okay, we're going to close the door and we're going to sell everything.

That could be an option. The only problem to that was that one of my business partners was the face. So you cannot, that was not a sellable asset that we created. We can debate now looking back at the smart idea. Shouldn't we build a business versus like a, now quote-unquote lifestyle business or where somebody was the face. So we couldn't literally sell the concept to somebody else. But because of the face, the business was literally not useless,

but not as worth as original state. So we decided to bring it down, to dial it down, obviously run into a lot of things among people and that sort of stuff. But it shaped all of us of who we are today. Because it teaches, again, an important lesson is that you always need to follow your gut and every your mind, you know? You could say, we could go on, you know, for ages and make more millions and more millions. but when you don't enjoy anymore what you do,

then it's going to feel like a job, and what's the point? It's not going to work anymore. And that was a point where all three of us decided to do different things. And for me, it was, okay, what am I going to do now, right? Because then obviously financially I did really well, right? So I didn't need to worry about income. But, and I really thought for a long time, like, oh, right,

when I can retire, quote, unquote, then everything is okay. I need to do shit. I can do with my PlayStation and do nothing. And I tried for a year. Literally I tried. I tried that for a year. And I enjoyed that we traveled and this stuff

and did all kinds of crazy stuff. And then in the end, I felt bored. So that's weird. There's a really weird sensation. For years you're chasing money and all of the sudden you have it all and then you realize that you don't have it all. That is sad in a way, right?

And that comes to the final piece of the puzzle when you start out is that you need to have, keep it simple, you need to have fun, but you also need to have a purpose. You need to understand, like Simon Sinek says, why you get out of bed into your thing. In my situation right now is all those years, I love to see people blow up, people do well. You know, I guide people in a certain direction,

they pick up and they change their own. life. I got so much from that and that is what I was missing in my year doing nothing. And that led me going back to actually consulting people and help people who are really want to make a mark. And that gives me now so much purpose. And again, it doesn't feel like work anymore. This is not work. And never has been, to be honest. But, you know, I really enjoy what I do right now. And that's really, really important in life. That sounds like, you know, one of those stories that you read about in books or you see in the films. So it's really nice to hear it.

Great. To hear such a realization who actually went through it, you know, you could retire, be on a beach every day. But it's not as fulfilling as many people think. So it's good to hear it actually from someone who experienced it. Are you looking to elevate your online presents? Check out Trailblazed, our digital marketing agency. Whether it's standing out on social media, crafting a stunning new website or developing impact visuals, Trailblazed has got your back.

Visit Trailbased.digital and reach your online potentials a day. And are you then now in the position when you keep enjoying your work, which means that you want to continue? Or are you again like in the point when I don't know you hope to retire or you want to retire one day? Or what's the situation like? Well, you know, I turned 50. year and I was thinking like oh, when I was looking at my dad

turning 50, I remember it was a big party with music in our country we have music and food and stuff like that when somebody became 50 and I remember that I was thinking that day, wow, if I'm 50, where would I be? What would I do? And now that I reach that age myself I realized

that really weirdly enough, it's actually the beginning. It starts. And I never expected that to say that. Why? Because when you reach a certain age over 30, you're always going to bring a lot of experience to the table. Even if you believe that you are older or that you're not going to make it or that it's your end of the line for you, you have to realize that the baggage that you carry with you, that you have accumulated over the years,

all those experience is so valuable to people who are starting out or who are just two steps behind you. it's so valuable and understand and understand that that then you can give all that experience that you have accumulated over time. You can literally give back to others. Obviously for a monetary exchange, you could give it away free, obviously, at some point.

But we're talking about business here, right? People who are running a business and starting out. So, no, nothing really changes yet. Obviously, you do stuff and they think, oh, shit, I do it. For example, I love coaching people one-on-one. I do that a lot. And sometimes I think, should I keep coaching people?

Shouldn't do other things. Obviously, you know, I teach people to build courses and I sell courses myself. So I like the idea to always push the needle forward. Always expand my horizon. Always learn a new skill. That will keep you fresh. It will keep you excited. It will keep it an adventure.

For me, I was always behind the scenes with personal brands and everything else. I never built one for myself. And now I'm building one for the first time for myself in my 50s, right? And you know, I learned to write. Writing is a skill is the most underrated skill that people should have because it's going to bring you everywhere. Every business you are at. So I'm learning how to write. I enjoy writing a daily newsletter, which I'm doing.

I really like to move more towards that newsletter thing because it's just an interesting business model where you just can share your thoughts and your ideas. into the world and people read it and I've not I've not the biggest email is I believe my is over 3,000 people but every day over a thousand people are reading what I have to say every single day and that's insane if you think about it right so yeah and I subscribe recently so I've been receiving as well and it's it's great and the idea that basically someone is daily or regular reading your thoughts it's just you know it's because obviously people spend their time by reading what you talk about, so it's great.

But before, my question was, when you were talking about the business that one of your colleagues or one of your friends was the face of the business, if it was like a lesson for you that in the future, you should also focus on branding of yourself. It's very important. You know, for me, for me, it was not really to make the transition to do something completely solo, which I basically never done. I always had business partners, and I think that's great. If you have somebody who can compliment you what you'll make to miss, that's great.

This was the first time that I really did everything myself, which is a new environment for me, which I really enjoy doing because then I really think for myself, you know, I have nobody to bounce. I guess I have. I have some people I talk to, but not in that capacity as a business partner. And personal branding is a very, very important thing. And that's one thing I regret, if I look back, that I have. haven't started that sooner. If I would have known this, I would have started that way back. So yes, if you are in any space, even if you are beginning, choose a platform. No matter what it is,

everybody has a favorite one and some said, this is good. I'm going to tell you, all of them are great. It's how you are feeling and how you interact with people on their platform. Pick one, go on and then start building, building your brand. Share your story, be yourself, be different. and then over time you're going to have some people and the misconception that people have is that they want to be the next Justin Wells or Sahil Bloom

know it hundreds of thousands of followers and I don't say that shouldn't be your aim, it should be but here this that small audiences can make you a good income small audiences where you are in touch with let's say under

a 10,000 and you have great offers in place like courses, services, digital products of any kind, you are going to find that it is easy to make a good income from a small audience. So don't stare yourself blindly on. I need to become big first before. No, start selling from day one.

If you have one person, 10 person, 100, 10,000 people, doesn't matter. Start making offer from day one and you will get better ready. Yeah. Do you want to then tell us more about your strategy, such as what are your favorite or the best performing platforms, what did you choose and why, and how is it going there? Yes, so I've been, in my years of a magical, so to speak,

I was drawn to X because I used to trade like NFTs back in the day, lost a ton of money, didn't know what I was doing by far no X. The platform for NFTs at the time was Twitter, now X. and I was spending there a lot of time so I thought hey that was the most because I knew that I knew that platform that you can be very open you can just be yourself and talk shit and you know you can and so that's what I started doing

so I love tax and then Elon Musk took over and I love Elon Musk but something happened changed on the platform algorithmic or maybe it's me maybe it's my content I don't know something happens I didn't get all the leads or the growth that I would want for my newsletter at the time

and so I again I slowly started to transition to LinkedIn, which I always found a boring platform. And to be honest, until this day, I still find it a boring platform. It's not like X. But the thing is this, the people who are there are amazing. And maybe everybody follows the same thing for each other and do the same content, the same type of thing. But the people behind that content that follows each other are amazing people. And the power of it is that most of them are decision makers. And they money to spend and they understand that LinkedIn is a place to offer a service for a product. That's the whole idea of LinkedIn. On X, that's different, right? On X, if you start selling,

they go, like, what do you do? You don't want to share your latest NFD with next Bitcoin prediction. But on LinkedIn is, and again, don't get obsessed by it by then sending cold DMs and start being a dick and it starts selling off the get-go. No, still, a, yeah, yeah. human communication rules apply on every platform, no matter where you are. But given structure in the DNA of LinkedIn is that it's easier to start conversations about sales and anywhere else. And I enjoyed the incredible growth possibilities there. There are billions of users.

And I believe less than 10% is actually using the platform for content. So that gives you an unlimited, unlimited possibility there for you to share your voice and being unique. So yeah, that's where I am. Like lead generation wise and social media LinkedIn. I agree because that's also the way, basically how we met, which was random, I don't know, coincidents interacting on some posts or something like that. So LinkedIn is a really great way, how to meet new people. You never know whom you meet and interact, have some fun, inspiration or even learn. So I can really agree. Other than any platforms that you plan to explore in the future or that you are interested in?

So like I said, I'm going to focus on the newsletter happy because I believe all the social media platforms are what I call rented platforms. You never know what can happen. Like with me on X, I was doing really well on X and all of a sudden to some changes, all all all traffic died. And it might be mean, maybe I was doing something wrong, maybe the algorithm. The point is that I'm not in control of what happens there. So that's why I love the newsletter so much, and I want everybody on that newsletter.

So other platforms I'm looking at to answer your question is I love video. Obviously, my background is video. I come from television backgrounds or videos natural to me. So, yeah, YouTube or TikTok-lite type of things are something that's appealing to me. But on the other end, I don't want to spread myself too thin because I understand that if you are going to start, you need to go for it and stick to it. So that's why I'm really careful with expanding. For now, it is great, but you never know.

But those are the two platforms, the video-based platform, where I look at in combination with writing, because LinkedIn and X are more on writing. So, yeah, those are the things. I think you should go for YouTube, because I would have big expectations, and I can imagine you get some great experience about the content creation. So I would love to see some of your work.

It would be awesome. A lot of people say that and I have to be honest, it needs to happen at some point. I know, it needs to happen. And since you've been actually making videos back in a day, do you still create any type of content, like video content? I don't know whether for yourself or as fun or share it somewhere. Well, yeah, being always good with the camera, obviously I try to make the video that I create a little bit different. Yes, it's not that I actively create stuff. I bought myself a drone a couple of months ago, which I think is really cool.

I don't even use it that much, but I think that's cool to create different angles with shots and that sort of thing. But no, not actively, but when I do, I try to go a little bit over the top or a bit different than other people do. I love video. I think video is a huge. I agree. And especially what I've been reading lately, as we discussed LinkedIn, that it seems like that video is going to be. be a big thing on LinkedIn as well, so it might be a good idea. 100% yes.

So yeah, they're great with these type of conversations, right? We can take little snippets of this and share little snippets because that's the power. It's the power of repurposing. And yes, I agree. Video is going to be very, very big on every platform. So yeah, you should go on video, even if you don't think you can do it, you can. Yeah. And then coming back to your course or the courses or people you help with the courses,

I saw that you worked with, again, as we discussed LinkedIn, with some big names. So do you want to tell us whether it's any case studies or people you worked with or any types of work that you enjoy for some reason? Yeah. So with people, working with people, I'm looking really with people. I really enjoy working with it. So for me, I know I can get the best result when somebody already is established. Not that it's easier, but they're way more to work with to make something big.

That doesn't mean that you cannot launch a course and be successful if you are smaller. That's not the case. Only you need to work a little bit harder on different things, like building your audience, generating your newsletter, getting newsletters off because the newsletter is the sole of every course launched in my book. So some of the people I work with is Talyn Simmons. It's a great creator who has a big vision. I worked with an AI guy, who's name is Olli.

Oli Lehman. He created a course called. AI solopreneur back in the day when AI was just starting out. And we did make magnificent numbers over there. You know, all of them were most of those things were six-figure launches. At this moment, I work again with two AI guys. For some reason, AI is really a hot topic. Who are really doing something mind-blowing,

which already did two six-figure launches on their own. So they really are already quite savvy marketers. But then they came to me and said, you know, I really want to hit the 250K mark, like big. So we really went into the process and looked at the loan from different angles. And also what can we add to get that result? So, yeah, to answer the question about my experience with those people is that most of the time people who are established and have already a big audience, they're not shy from hard work. Because the reason why they're there is because they work very,

really, really hard. And I love that mentality. I love that work ethic. And a lot of people don't have that, unfortunately. Not because they are lazy, but because the mind is stopping them. Oh, I cannot do it. It's not the right time and stuff like that. So those people are willing to go to X-R-Mile and then you're already immediately going to get a result because those people are going to go all in to make their dream a reality. And that gives me so much energy. And that's why I love to work type of people but yeah in a nutshell that is what i do and as you worked with lots of people you know excited and challenging ideas have you experienced like let's say too challenging idea that maybe you thought wow this is too much we may not reach it or i don't know how to approach it or it

didn't go as you were hoping and if so can you share example so yeah so obviously we all always share our success stories, right? Everything that goes great and oh, look at all the testimonials. But to be honest, not every launch pops. Even I cannot make it work. And there are so many nuances to it. And for example, that can be multiple factors. But to give you the most common ones is that when you can lead a horse to the water, but you can make it drink. Right. And there were occasions where I laid down the exact same concept that I used for my successful launch, working with big creators, for people who are willing to want the same results. Only they didn't want to put in the effort.

So that's then on the side of the people you work with, right, so that they don't put in the work and then it fails. I cannot do it for them. I wish I could than I would because of my name on it. But that is one side of it. And on the other side, you have circumstances, yes, no control of. So, for example, in the Steyland example, for example, to give you an idea what went wrong, and we did incredibly well eventually.

But we realized when we were launching that things weren't going in the plan. We did everything by the book. Everything was done like, oh, it always worked well. Of some reason, things weren't popping. Things weren't converting. Sales weren't coming. Well, that is quite normal in a four-day launch, that your first few days is really not so good. And most of the sales come at the end.

That is normal. but in our situation it's stalled for a long time, too long. And that is when we started to jump in and then be light on our feet. And that's what you need to be as an entrepreneurial, in a course launch, in a business, or with everything you do,

you need to be able to pivot fast, you need to be able to be light on your feet and adjust stuff to make it work because things will break. And again, it doesn't have to do with a concept or a blueprint, but purely about a situation. Things can happen that something doesn't work out as you plan.

They need to be able to pick that up and do that. And that's what entrepreneurship is about, not what you do in the highlights of your days, but what are you doing in the laws and shit in the band? What are you doing there? And those are the things that go wrong. So, yeah, I never want to paint a picture where I say, everything I thought comes to gold

because I've done launches for myself where I had like three sales. What the hell? Yeah. This is not good. And then when you look back at it, I realized I broke my own rules. I didn't validate something or I didn't ask people what they're willing to pay for it and just throw price on it. Or I was way too fast launching a thing because I thought, hey, I want to launch something because it's cool.

Versus is it the right time? Is it prepared well? All the preparators are all the checklist done. So there's so many things that go wrong and that's part of it. That's human. And after all, I guess those are the biggest learning lessons, that it helps you to realize something, at least for the next time you will be able to prevent it or avoid it.

And as you said, people share success stories, but don't really talk about this. So I'm glad that you shared us your anger. So then as we will be finishing soon, can you share with us some of your inspirations, such as when it comes to any people that you follow or the books that you read or maybe something else? Yeah, there are a couple of people. over the years I was really growing up I was really the guy who didn't believe in anything

I didn't believe there was a god there was a heaven there was no religion I simply didn't grew up in an environment and obviously there are a lot of business people that I admire and we deserve to be mentioned here but they didn't push a big needle for me like a great aha moment like wow this is mind-blowing different and at some point I was in my sabbatical and I realized I had more time to sit with my thoughts. Normally you are busy and you need to work to do stuff. So you disregard it, right? If you feel bad, you feel bad, you deal with it and keep on going.

But when you don't do anything, the only thing you can do is automatically turn in and sit with those things that are bothering you. And I remember that I was listening to a guy called Ram Dass and he was like a spiritual guy I went to India, I was like a Harvard professor, did LSD, and went to find spirituality. I was listening to stuff. And that was the first time that I started to get in touch with something spiritual, something bigger than myself. And I never believed in that. But looking back at everything that I've done is that there's always some form of intuition or gut feeling that guided me through stuff.

and also guided me in the wrong direction, maybe for the Romano reason. But there was always something that was guiding me through things, if things were bad, but also true things when things were good. And that was an eye opener for me who was not spiritual at all to get that. So one of the biggest people influenced me was this guy, Ram Dass, who opened up my eyes that there's more to the mind than we perceive. and I think that's really powerful for people who are running a business.

I will have to check it out. I'm not going to July. I haven't heard of him. When it comes to any books, are there any impactful or books that tool to recommend? Yeah. So, well, first of all,

obviously, click on which one? I was, because I was reading the post, I think on Medium, and I read it, I was like, wow, this is the one that was impactful to me. So it was rich that,

put that, if I'm not mistaken. I think of that. What's respectful is one of them. Second one is dot-com secrets of Russell Brunson. But game changing. And the third one is the ultimate marketing plan from Dan Kennedy. Those three were literally fundamental for my whole business side.

And for the being human, those spiritual sides. spiritual side is a Hindu scripture book. It's called the Bhagavad Gita. And it just translated is the song of God. It's called, they call it like that. But it has obviously to do with religion, but religion in a practical form, how you can live without being a month, right?

And that was an inspirational piece of work to read from a spiritual perspective, which helps me a lot in business as well. So yeah, that's why the four books is really, really influenced. Sounds great. Something I will have to check out. And before we finish, we've discussed a lot. But where can people find you?

Where can people follow you and even get your services? Well, yeah, everybody can find me on ferjobruster.com. It's my website, my name.com. And on LinkedIn and X, those are my two platforms where I live the most. There you can find me. And through that, you can sign up to my newsletter. and then you can find out everything about me how we could work together

or how I could share and help you without resources or something else. So that's how you can find. Yeah, looking forward to back. I will add everything to the show notes. And before we finish, then is there any final, I don't know, something I forgot to ask you, some final piece of advice or anything that you would like to share?

Final piece of advice is try to smile every single day. Life is short, right? It will help you. It's contagious. Positive energy is contagious. It's going to help you in so many ways to smile at yourself and at people and amazing things. Yeah, one more maybe a question before we finish. If you've got a recipe or advice how we can become notorious chillers as well. Notorious chillers.

Now, the one thing to become a notorious chiller is to learn four basic skills. so one you need to be able to write if you learn to write you can communicate you can sell you can do everything the second one is the ability to speak in public that means in interviews like these on stage on PSLs and sales pages or webinars or workshops or cohorts or whatever

you need the ability the third one is you need the ability to sell yourself. And specifically, I don't say selling, because selling is a very broad concept. But selling you, you need to be able to make offers all the time with ease and not be afraid of charging for what you work. That's why selling yourself is an incredible skill to become a killer.

And the last one, and I think the most important to become a notorious killer, the ability to outsource. because you need to systemize, outsource 90% of your work, and focus on the thing you enjoy and that move the strategic needle in your business. Do these four things and you are going to get very close

to becoming a notorious killer. If you don't remember anything from this interview, at least this last question, which I'm glad that I asked, and this is a perfect takeaway. I want to say a huge thank you. Virgil, it was a pleasure to meet you, to speak with her.

I think it was very insightful for me as well. So I appreciate your time. I will keep following and supporting. And thank you very much. For sure. Thank you for having me. Thanks for listening to Produce by with Tomer. Check out show notes for all the links.

And don't forget to like, subscribe and leave your feedback. Speak soon.