The Ramsey Show - App - Focused Training to Grow Your Small Business (Hour 2)

Episode Date: June 29, 2018

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, this is the Dave Ramsey Show. It's where America is hanging out to have a conversation about your life and your money. Sitting in for Dave Ramsey this hour, I am Ken Coleman. I'm joined in studio by Anthony O'Neill. He's the co-author of the Graduate Survival Guide, fellow Ramsey personality. And we are here together this hour to take your calls. 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225.

We'll take your calls about money, life, career. It's open season. Maybe today is your day to get the clarity that you need so that you can confidently step forward in your life. Anthony O'Neill, always good to be with you, sir. Ken Coleman, always good to be with you, sir. What are you up to? Man, actually, I'm up to nothing, man.

For the first time in a while, I'm about to step out on vacation and just enjoy and regroup. Good, good, good. So we can come back and impact some more lives. That's right. Well, we're both working on some exciting stuff. Maybe we'll talk about that a little bit later, but we are here for you. As I said, 888-825-5225. You can also submit your question via Twitter.

That's at RamseyShow on Twitter or on Dave's Facebook page, facebook.com slash Dave Ramsey. Let's start it off with Chris, who's on the line in Naples. Chris, how can we help? Hi, guys. Thank you for taking my call. Sure. My wife and I have sort of been jockeying around the idea of me actually going back into W-2 life. I've been self-employed for about seven years, and the business model is dwindling where I live. And we are sort of medically stationed here. In other words, we've got some health issues in the family that we can't really leave.

So where we are, there's some specific needs that are able to be addressed here under specific circumstances, but my business is failing. And the problem is that the business I'm in has nothing to do with my college degree, and I've been out for about a decade. And so last year we made very little money, and my wife and I are playing it, and what do we do? Because if I go to work full time, that puts a strain on family life at home with the medical issues that we have going on on because I'm physically able to help.

But if I stay home, we've got to find another source of entrepreneurial income fast because with the health issues comes greater expenses. And it's a very tight rope to walk, and we're not really sure how to approach it. I've been accepted to grad school, but we're incredibly nervous because we are trying to pay down some medical debt. And at my income last year, there's no way that I could afford to pay my way through grad school. But in talking with various employers and feel that I received my degree, they're all looking at me like I wasted a whole bunch of time because I haven't used it in over a decade and times have changed. And so I don't really know what to do.

Yeah, well, you've got a very complex situation, but I can tell you don't pursue grad school. It's not a financial option for you. It's not even close to an option. So let's go ahead and put grad school way way way way way down the line almost completely off the map right now because it's not even an option so there's one thing let's get some clarity on that the second thing is i i want you to be a little bit more diligent to find out how could you replace yourself at home. I understand you've got a medical issue,

and you working for yourself allows you to be at home to help out with that burden. However, can you replace yourself? If you go work for somebody else, the scenario that you gave us was, if you go work for somebody else, that's going to create more tension at home because you're not there and they kind of rely on you. I would suggest that the medical issue and you helping out at home on that very serious issue is hurting your business, which has kind of got you in the situation you're in.

So you've got to get some stability. You've got to get your head above water because right now your nose, you're just barely, you're just treading water and you're exhausted. So I think that if you go get a job working for somebody else, number one, it's going to take massive pressure off of you. Am I right? If the financial situation was able to improve so we could better afford all the medical bills, yes.

So the answer is yes. It's going to take massive financial pressure off of you because you're bringing in more money and you're doing a job, you're working for somebody else else and then maybe that extra money or you go do a side gig to be able to hire somebody who can be there at the house and fill in some of that gap that you have been filling i just think that's a way better plan and more efficient for you because you can't go to school starting another entrepreneurial venture ch, is not solving the problem. And I think the source of the problem is you want to and feel like you need to give help

at home. Am I right? Yes. Right. So replace yourself. And if you replace yourself, two things are going to happen, Anthony. Number one, he's going to be able to go make more money because he worked with

somebody else and he's not stressed out trying to serve in that home, medical, whatever that situation is, and make money. Now he's just out making money, providing, and even if he has to work a second job, rather than put that time and energy into that

to pay for that person to come in the home and fill in his gap. Yeah. You hit it right on there, Kent. I couldn't even add nothing to it, man, because you're hitting them dead on. Get the foundation taken care of. Once you get the foundation taken care of with money

and then maybe down the road, you can come back into the entrepreneur, but get this stress off of you, which is the money stress. It's not going to to clear everything but at least get this one thing off their back yeah that's exactly right 888-825-5225 to get in here on the dave ramsey show next let's go to duane who's on the line in burlington north carolina duane how can we help hello yes um i currently have 62 000 in student loan and our plan between my wife and i was to sell our house and use the money to pay off the student loan

while we rent for a year and to save up for a house we currently got a market appraisal in our house and it's worth a lot less than what we thought it was. And also, we look at rental properties that are more than what we're paying in mortgage. So my question is, do we continue to live there to pay off the student loan, or do we decide to rent? Hey, Dwayne, real quick, what is your yearly income between you and your wife?

$112,000. $112,000, Okay. And then how much total debt do you have right now? $62,000? Is that total or is that just your student loans? We currently have $62,000 in student loans and we have about $5,000 left on a

car lease. Okay. So we're looking at about $70,000. Okay. And then you're saying that you're looking at your renting mortgage. I mean, your rent is going to be more than your mortgage payment right now. How much equity is in your home? Currently, $55,000. You're looking at $55,000.

Then you'll have about $7,000 left in debt? Correct. Dwayne, I'm selling your house. That's simple math right there. I'm going to go ahead and sell the house. Now, I understand this. What you're looking at is that your mortgage payment is going to be a little bit less than your rent can.

But here's the thing. Once you get that debt knocked off, you're going to save some money. You're going to save in your light bill, electricity bill, other bills around. Save, get back into that area. But I'm saving, not saving. But I'm selling that house, and I'm getting out of debt real quick. That's right. What a great opportunity.

Absolutely. And by the way, you're moving forward. What seems like going backwards is actually moving forward here financially. Absolutely. Which is huge. Really good stuff. Thanks for the call, Dwayne. Okay, coming up, more of your calls about your life and your money.

Ken Coleman, Anthony O'Neill, sitting in for Dave Ramsey. You're listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. Are high health care costs getting you down? Are you confused trying to navigate your options? Do you wish you could find an affordable, biblical solution to your health care costs? Based on New Testament principles, Christian Health Care Ministries, or CHM, helps Christian families, churches, and ministries join together as the body of Christ to share their major health care costs. Christian Health Care Ministries is the original health cost-sharing ministry. A Better Business Bureau-accredited organization, CHM members share to pay each other's medical bills. It's not insurance. It's Christians financially and spiritually supporting each other. It's what Christian Healthcare Ministries has done for over 35

years, and our members have shared over $2.5 billion in medical bills. To learn more, visit chministries.org. That's chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. chministries.org. You're listening to The Dave Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to talk about your life and your money. I'm Ken Coleman, joined in studio by Anthony O'Neill this hour. As we sit in for Dave Ramsey, thrilled to have your call today, 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. We start off with Shelly in Las Vegas. Shelly, how can we help?

Hi. So I have a 17-year-old son, or 18-year-old son now, who through high school straight A average, all AP classes, is a math whiz beyond, and had a scholarship to go to college. And then our walls pretty much crumbled around us, and we found out he was doing some severe drugs and stuck him right in rehab. And thankful to say that next month he's going to be a year clean. Yay.

However, yes. However, now, once he got out of rehab, we gave him two options. He could go to school and have a part-time job and live at home, or he could work full-time, and he would have to pay us rent and help pay for all of his car insurance and everything else that goes along with it because we wanted him to understand what the real world is like. He now has come to a dead end where he, you know... Shelly?

Hello? Go ahead. You said you broke up. You said he's come to a dead end. Yes. So now we're at a head. He's almost a year clean. Granted, he's 18.

He decided to work full time, working just above minimum wage at a restaurant. And so now we're starting to go, okay. working just above minimum wage at a restaurant. And so now we're starting to go, okay, so now you're taking baby steps into adulthood and we had a hiccup and we're on the right path now. You need to decide what your next step is in terms of a career because working in a fast food restaurant is not a career sure and so we started trying to give him options of you know going to school because the first two years is general ed anyway and he could kind of figure himself out there or if he wanted to go

to work career-wise we told him to look into a trade like an electrician or a plumber because those are in demand. And he could eventually, you know, he's a smart guy. He could eventually own his own business or, you know, work for a good company. And he keeps at a dead stand still because he's overwhelmed. He's like, I don't know what I want to do. I don't know what I want to do. I don't know where to begin. Shelly, Shelly, Shelly, Shelly.

So first thing, I can literally hear the tension in this mom's voice. And I get it, Shelly, but you're going to have to relax for a moment. I want you to just breathe. Because you've got an 18-year-old kid who is one year clean, which is huge. Huge. This kid got himself in some massive massive problems and by god's grace help he's on a good track and as a mom i know what you're feeling trust me i got three kids you're trying to get this kid and keep him on the straight and narrow and he doesn't even know what the straight is so let him keep working at the restaurant. Stop putting pressure on him to go to a trade school.

Stop putting pressure on him to go to school. What you want to do is come around your son right now, you and your husband, and any other close family friends that he has a great relationship with. And this kid needs to feel celebrated and loved for being clean for a year. Secondly, you come around him and say, hey, you know what? We've been putting a lot of pressure on you.

We want to take a step back. And what we want to do is instead of telling you what you need to look at and what you have to look at, we want to work with you to identify things that you've always done very well, talents and passions. And, Shelly, I do this every day on the Ken Coleman Show on SiriusXM that leads into Dave's show. And I've got adults of all ages who call me, and I deal with so many men who are in the position that your son is in right now, and they're now 40, and they're calling me, and they're miserable because their parents pushed them into something.

And this kid's already in a delicate situation. So here's a simple process that I want to give you to work with your son on, and this will get him started in discovering who he is because that's the core problem. He doesn't know what he wants to do, and you pushing him isn't going to make it better. Here's what you need to do. You need to, you and your husband,

make a list of his top three or four talents, things that he's always been very, very good at. You mentioned one early on that he was a math whiz. What has he always done well, whether he's good with his hands, maybe he's great at solving problems, puzzles, whatever, and begin to list them out as his parents. Then list out what you think his passions have been to this point in his life, meaning what he loves to spend his time on doing. Now, video games doesn't count, okay? However, there are some things that he's always been interested in. So what you do is you write out the list of things that you think he loves to do,

and then you share the list with him and go, hey, will you correct this list or add to this list? Because we really think that if we can help you figure out what you're really good at and what you love to do most, that's what your purpose is, to use what you do best to do what you love most. Start to have a conversation with this young man. Take the pressure off of him. He's 18. Anthony, you deal with this from a pastoral counseling side when you were in the church.

Then you do this one to thousands with young kids who have a lot of pressure to figure out what they want to do. You know, Shelly represents a lot of mothers in America. And I think that her calling in is helping a lot of a lot of people in America. And one thing I really want to address here, Ken, because what you're saying is so true. She has to relax and she has to calm down and celebrate one that her son, like you said, has been clean. Then, too, she says something that i want to disagree with respectfully and she said that working in a fast food place is not a job no that

is a job for an 18 year old we're still talking to a young kid who really is he's not a young man yet he's growing into that so celebrate the fact that he is working and while's working, let's figure out what you're talking about. Okay. Hey, what do you enjoy about this Burger King place? Or what do you like about this? Do you like dealing with parents? I mean, not parents. Do you like dealing with people?

Do you like the burgers? He may be a cook and you don't even know about it. And he can go start his own restaurant. So let's, one, like you said, find out the talents and his passion. But then two, let's celebrate pretty much. Let's be be in the present with him with where he's at right now yeah and then we'll guide him there but but again you said it very up front she loves her son sure she wants the best for her son and shelly represents half of these mothers in america like i just want it i just want it and sometimes that love and that passion

can come off wrong to the kid because they're saying, this is what I want you to do. And you never ask, what do you want to do? Like, son, I'm so proud of you. If we could just pause, answer that question, ask that question, man, she'll see a difference in her son. That's right. And by just, just suggesting things and letting him identify what he's good at and things he's enjoyed, that math whiz could turn into multiple things. Maybe he would want to go into engineering. Maybe he does pick a trait. But you've got to let him try some things

and be proud of him for working full-time at that restaurant. And, Ken, something that you and I talk about often, and you talk about this on your show, is I disagree with forcing him to go to a community college. I agree. And I don't think him to go to a community college. I agree. And I don't think that may be the route right now. Yeah. Let's wait till he say, Mom, Dad, I'm thinking about going to community college right now.

Let's keep him in a happy place. Let's grow him up. That's exactly right. A lot of confusion going on there. What we don't know. But again, you've dealt with this. Yes. When a kid gets into drugs.

Yeah. It's an escape. Yeah. From something. But again, you've dealt with this. When a kid gets into drugs, it's an escape from something. And he's trying to fill a void. Yeah. So one thing we didn't say, let's just go ahead and say this, and I'm sure that they're dealing with this. He's a year clean. He's had some professional help. That doesn't stop.

No. If I'm the parent of an 18-year-old who's had some substance abuse issues, I want to continue to support and continue to get that counseling, continue to just get healthy, figure out what was the source of that. The drug use was a symptomatic issue. It's a symptom of a bigger problem. And so it's very important, and I want to address what Anthony said here, because a lot of parents think, okay, let's send him to school. She said he can figure things out while he's at school.

No, they're not going to figure anything out at school. He's going to be more and more miserable. And then he's more and more tempted to actually escape back into the substance abuse. Folks. Folks, come on. If you don't need to go to school, don't go to school. Which means, what I mean by that is this. Unless it is the only way you can get where you want to go, it doesn't have to be the option.

More of your calls. 888-825-5225. More of your calls about your life and your money here on The Dave Ramsey Show. Okay, I need you to listen to this, because one normal routine that everyone does can cause total chaos in your life. I'm talking about the simple act of using Wi-Fi. When you're on Wi-Fi anywhere in public or at home, you're at risk of hackers easily seeing every site you visit and every search you're doing online. It doesn't matter if you're on your cell or your laptop.

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You can be secure in seconds. Download Hotspot Shield by Anchor Free today. Welcome back, America. You're listening to The Dave Ramsey Show, where one call at a time, we talk about life and money. 888-825-5225 is the number. I'm Ken Coleman sitting in for Dave this hour

and joined by my pal, fellow Ramsey personality, Anthony O'Neill, as we take your calls about your life, your money, your career. We're here for you.

888-825-5225. Let's go to Andrew who's on the line in Houston, Texas. Andrew, how can we help? Hey, guys. Thank you for taking my call. Sure. So I'm a college student. I went to my local community college for the past two years,

and I cash flowed that all the way. Now I'm at the point where I'm ready to transfer to a local state university. And so I've been working three jobs this past summer to save as much money as I can. I have about a $5,500 gap that isn't being met after grants and scholarships that they want to throw loans at me at, but I'm trying to avoid that by working as much as I can to avoid debt. So in the past, tithing has been a very significant part of my walk with Christ, but I only worked about 15 hours in the past, and my tithe was very little. But now I'm working over 70 hours a week, and my tithe has gotten a lot bigger, and I have a lot

of people whispering in my ear that maybe I should just be putting all that money towards going off to school debt-free, and I just wanted to get your guys' thoughts on if I'm going in the right direction, or should I really be going in the right direction with tithing or should I really be putting all of my money away for school? Oh, no, Andrew, you're going the 110% right direction with tithing. I believe us as Christians, what I never want to do is make God feel as if he is second. I always want to make sure that he knows that he is ahead of my life

so that if I was you, Andrew, I will continue paying that tithe and figure out how to cash flow. Five thousand dollars is not a lot of money. We can find out between family, friends, parents and just getting maybe some extra hours in there or getting a side job. Can you really get that five thousand dollars? But one thing you said is that when I was making little, it was easy to tithe. When I'm making a lot now now it's hard to tithe. You never want to make God feel as if it's an easy thing or you can be up and down.

Continue, and you never know the doors that God may open for you. Let's go to Jamie, who's on the line in New York City. How can we help, Jamie? Hi, it's a pleasure to speak with you both. I'm great. How are you guys? We're having a blast. How can we help?

Okay, so a little bit about me. I graduated with my BA in sociology August 2017, and I've been searching for work since then, and I'm currently working on my baby steps. Now, my question is that I'm in $82,000 in debt because of student loans, car note, and a private loan, and two credit cards. I've been able to pay off five credit cards so far. But I wanted to know if it would be logical for me to start a business now because I've been wanting to have my own business since I was a teenager, but I don't know if it's smart for me to do it now, and I just want some advice. What business would you like to start? My own nail salon. Do you have any idea what the startup cost would be for a nail salon?

No. The SBA.gov website has three consultations and counseling, so I have to look into finding a location to seek the counseling. Right. Well, what you need to do is go talk to somebody who's running a nail salon. You can go to that website. I'm fine with that. But go talk to somebody who's actually opened up

a nail salon in your area and get an idea of what those startup costs are. I mean, that's the best advice I can give you to get a sense

of what that's like. But you're $82,000 in debt. I don't think you need to be starting a business right now. Not unless the cost of starting a nail salon is so low

that you can save up for it currently while still paying off debt. I just don't like it, Anthony. I think that you can save up for it currently while still paying off debt. I just don't like it, Anthony. I think that you need to go work for somebody, and you need to knock this debt out and be aggressive, and then build up, and then start the business down the road. And I would say, Anthony, I'm going to turn this over to you,

but one idea I have is whatever work she needs to be doing part-time working in an ale salon might be a good one because she can learn and get in the business that she eventually wants to open up and run. Yeah, I agree. Jamie, how old are you? 30. You're 30 years old? Okay. She's still young, real young. Jamie.

Oh, plenty of time. Plenty of time. I could have missed this, but are you currently working? If so, where are you and how much are you bringing in a year? So I am working, but as a temp. So I'm only bringing in $545 on a weekly basis. So I've been searching for a career job that would pay me a decent salary. That's something I've also been struggling with as well.

Cool. You know, Jamie, you represent the millennials out there, man. And can we have a hard time understanding just laying a solid foundation? We want to jump out there, get a lot of money, start a business. But you know what, Jamie? Here's what I want to recommend to you to do is, number one, is go get you a full-time job. You have the correct mindset with wanting to become an entrepreneur. But entrepreneur needs to be put on pause for right now so that we can get a job, get out of debt.

I do not want you to start a business like Ken said until you are out of debt and your personal life has a solid foundation. So that's babysat pretty much one through three. You have a thousand dollars emergency fund. You're completely debt free. You have three to six months of expenses. Then you can start saving for your nail salon and get a part time job while you're working one, two, three. And you're getting money. And also you're learning the space of where you want to eventually get into. But the key thing here, what I'm teaching millennials can all the time is we have to lay down a solid financial foundation for us and for our future family. Especially as a young lady, 30 years old, she could be out of debt if she gets a nice

job within the next two to three years if she really hustles and had a gazelle spirit. And by the time she turns 35 to 40 years old, she's wealthy. She's starting her own business. That's right. Yeah, it's absolutely doable. You can do it, but you're going to have to do what you have to do so that you can do what you want to do. Walk the baby steps out.

And, again, I can't express enough to get some experience in a nail salon and talk to people who are running successful nail salons. Goodness gracious. It's such valuable information. Sam is on the line in San Antonio, Texas. How can we help, Sam? Hey, Ken and Anthony. How are you all doing today?

We're doing fantastic. How can we help? Well, I'm at a kind of crossroads in my life right now. I'm not sure if I want to switch career paths, and I just want to get your guys' opinion on it. Okay. See if it's worth the change. All right. Give us the crossroads.

Where do you want to go? Well, right now, I'm a data analyst for a health clinic, but I'm looking into going into law enforcement right now. Okay. A state trooper. Okay. So what's your specific question about that? I mean, I guess given all the time and effort that I've gotten to get my degree, do you think it's worth even changing careers at this point?

It's absolutely worth it at some point if, in fact, that being a data analyst or the field that you're in, let's think of a analyst or the field that you're in let's think of a higher level field that that you're in so technology if you will right if you really want to be a state trooper and you know that that is what you were created to do meaning you've got the talents and the skills to be able to pull it off and then you love the idea of being a state trooper everything that that the job entails that you embody that and that work the idea of that a state trooper, everything that the job entails, that you embody that and that work, the idea of that, and that role thrills your soul. Is that the case?

Yeah. I mean, the current environment I'm at, I just feel like I have more to offer. And, I don't know, being a public servant just feels, I guess, a sense of accomplishment in myself. Okay. So the next question I have is, do you know what the process is to become a state trooper? Have you looked into that? Yes, I have.

I've done my research. All right. How long is it going to take? It's going to take maybe about close to around two years from the time you apply and then from the time of graduation. Okay. How much is it going to cost? That I have not looked up yet. You need to.

That's your next homework assignment. So you know how long it's going to take and what steps are. I just want you to know how much it's going to cost you because that allows you to put that into your current financial plan. And then after you figure out how much it's going to cost, you're looking at once I do the test or whatever and I get in, then I can move right out of where I'm at into that. So for you, that's not a Geronimo jump off a cliff. It's a really smart move.

So if you figured all that out, I don't think there's anything for you to be worried about. But I would stay where you're at. You've got a good gig. You're good at it. It's not killing you. And let that be your home base, your stability as you do what you have to do to become that state trooper. But the question was, is it worth it? You better believe it's worth it.

I talk to people every day on the Ken Coleman Show, leading to the Dave Ramsey Show, and they're miserable. They're stuck. In fact, Anthony, latest data is that 68% of Americans are disengaged at work. Yes, it is worth it. I'll tell you what else is worth it. Hanging out with us. We've got one more segment to take your calls about your life and your money. This is the Dave Ramsey Show.

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joined by fellow Ramsey personality and the co-author of the best-selling book, The Graduate Survival Guide, Five Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make in College. He is Anthony O'Neill, and we're taking your calls about your life, money. We'll take your career calls. We are here for you. 888-825-5225. It's 888-825-5225. Brian is on the line in Greenville, South Carolina. Brian, how can we help? Hey, guys. It's an honor to speak with you both. Oh, thank you. How can we help you? I'm looking into getting, I'm a student pastor and

I'm looking into getting some speaking gigs as kind of a side hustle at camps and different things. I have a background in education, but I just don't know how to book those first few spots, first few speaking opportunities. You know, Brian, that's a good question, man. You know, I started my career in the youth pastor business, not business, but in the youth pastor ministry for quite a while, for 12 years. And here's one thing, and Ken can speak from the tactical side of things, but I'm going to speak from the spiritual side of things. I didn't necessarily go looking for opportunities.

I created my own opportunities. What I mean by that is I invited other youth organizations, other youth ministries, the community to my church, and I held youth conferences, and I was one of the speakers. So what I did is I brought everything to me. Once I showed the community that, one, I loved the community, and I loved my youth that I had opportunity to serve, That opened up more doors. You know, our gifts will make room for us. Now, from the tactical side, Ken can hit on that from a career perspective.

But for me, one thing that I've seen was I was faithful where I was serving. I was faithful in my community. And because of that, my community and that local church elevated me on my platform. And that opened up the doors to be looked at some big names across the world. I won't name them, but clearly that's how I got here with Dave Ramsey. I like that advice. I'm going to add to that. I think that's really good, bringing opportunities in. And Brian's in a similar position as a student pastor. He's got a venue, if you will. He's got a platform. So, Brian, you really want to listen to that advice. And then I would just add to that by saying,

if that's the bring it in strategy, I want to tell you how to look out. And then I would just add to that by saying, if that's the bring it in strategy, I want to tell you how to look out. Yeah. And the way that you need to do that is to be super, super humble. That's good. And humility means I'm going to go out and speak to a group of 12 kids. Yeah. I'm going to go speak to a group of 18 kids, and I'm going to keep speaking to them.

Yeah. And I'm going to look for every opportunity to go speak, whether it be a breakout session at a local youth event in your area. It's not about size of the audience. It's about impact. And when I talk to people who want to be speakers and authors, like Anthony and I are blessed to be, people sometimes overlook how small Anthony and I started. We can both tell some stories of how we just had to put ourselves out there and show that, one, we had the right heart. Two, we had something to say.

And three, that we had the potential to get better at saying it. That's good. You know, sometimes people forget that when you're in the business of content, as a speaker, a writer, a radio show host, at the end of the day, the audience is going to tell you whether or not you're good enough. Come on, man. You've got to move people. Got to move. You've got to help them. Yeah.

And, you know, a pastor will not make it very long if he's awful at delivering sermons. That's true. Am I right? No, no, you need to put yourself out there and get some gigs for this purpose to get feedback. Then once you get the feedback. Work on it. You know, can another way to get the feedback is that way, getting some gigs, but also using your social media to deliver your message, your content, what you want to be known for. And if you're good, you're going to see more likes.

You're going to see more views. You're going to see more reposts. And you can see what content is being relatable to the audience that you're trying to reach. So I would say for any youth pastor, for anyone who wants to be a speaker, hey, I'm going to take my hat off to you, but it's not just that easy. You have to make sure that your content is relatable to the audience that you're trying to reach. So instead of you posting selfies, instead of you posting what shoes you're wearing, the clothes you're wearing today, turn your page into a, hey, I'm going to deliver good content that's going to help your life or transfer your life. And if it happens good, you're going to get speaking engagements off of that. Well, as a student pastor, to your point,

he's teaching already on some level. Start taping it. Put it on a YouTube page. Put it on your Facebook page. And then do one little mini teaching. How about a little blog post? A little devotional. Start creating stuff and show your work.

By the way, Brian, I'm going to recommend a great book for you. A little teeny tiny book. You can read it in 20 minutes or less. It's called Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. Go get that book and start doing what he says. It's going to really help you. All right, next, let's go to Al, who's on the line in Orlando. Al, how can we help? Hi, Ken. Thanks for taking the call. Sure. And Anthony also. Thanks, Al. I've been trying to call Ken for a while because you talk regularly about networking with people. I'm a 56-year-old AC technician in Florida, and I want to go in the business of consulting afterwards,

start to kind of semi-retire out of being in the field. And considering, obviously, that we work long hours most of the year, how do you work on networking with these groups, you know, homeowners associations and businesses that are actually as busy as I am? What's a good ratio to use as far as the time that you want to spend networking to build this up correctly? Sure. Let me just ask a quick question on what you mean by you want to move into consulting. Consulting on what and who are you consulting?

Homeowners on what they do and don't know about their homes and their AC systems and buying new ones, realtors that may be having a problem with passing home inspections for homes for sale, technicians on specific sales skills. I've got some pretty good sales skills, trying to make sure that their customer service skills are up, and then also their technical aspect. But I want to move away from the technical a little bit and more into the customer service section. Gotcha. Right.

So here's what you have to do. You have to essentially create this business idea. Is anybody else doing this locally? That would ask myself that question. And so the answer is no. And it does seem like a niche role. So you're going to have to make this thing a relationship game, and I'm glad that that's the question you're asking.

So I call it the proximity principle. So the proximity principle says this, Al. In order to do what I want to do, I've got to be around people that are doing it and in places that it is happening. In this particular situation, nobody else is doing what you're concepting. So now it's about the places where that work is happening and you're going to have to sit down and interview those people that you listed out i think you're off to a really good start on the list so you want to sit

down with realtors you want to sit down with other hvac uh companies or technicians and you know those guys you're hanging out with them having lunch them, or you're picking up the van in the same parking lot as these guys, whoever else you think is going to be your end customer. And then you go sit down and talk with them and say, here's what I'd eventually like to do. Now, I know you're busy, but you're not busy enough that you can't strategically over a period of four to six weeks have four to six meetings or however long it's going to take. But you get the point.

And you sit down with these people and go, here's what I'd like to do. I'd like to offer this. Does this seem like this is of value to you? Because this is important for you, Al, to figure out, is this actually a viable business idea? I think that's your first step here. But if it is viable and you feel like, okay, enough people are saying, yeah, I could use an owl in my life that helped me in this area. Now you know, okay, there's a market for this. This is viable.

But you're continuing that process, adding four to six new people every four to six weeks that you're sitting down and having a face-to-face. Spending time with people that are decision makers in those spaces. You've got to get in proximity. You know the proximity. Start hanging out with realtors. Start hanging out with home, you know, meet homeowners in your neighborhood. Start in your zip code of making connections with people and touting your service and see who raises their hand and says, Anthony, hey, you know, this is what I want to do.

It's all about proximity, Al, and that's what you've got to do. Good teaching. I think people need to realize that when you've got an idea, that it is just simply putting yourself out there. Now, this means swallowing your pride, stepping into your fear. Pride and fear are going to keep you from putting yourself out there. But if you can step into those, then you're going to find that you're going to get good feedback. Anthony O'Neill, thank you, my man, for hanging out with me. Thank you, sir.

Big fun. Thanks to Zach Bennett, who's sitting in for our James Childs today, and our associate producer, Kelly Daniel, and you, America. Thank you for listening. This has been The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm excited to announce that we're now carried on 600 radio stations across the country. To find one near you, head to DaveRamsey.com slash show. Did you catch the news story about hackers targeting schools

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