A.I. Will Be Here For The Rest of Our Lives
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00:00 world wide web, like everyone uses the yellow pages.
00:03 And I was like, John, everybody used to ride a fucking
00:07 horse to work, now we use a car.
00:09 Attention is the number one asset.
00:12 - Gary, I'm looking right at you again.
00:15 Thank you for joining us today.
00:16 So just, yeah, of course.
00:20 Looking at your record of early stage investments,
00:22 you know, Facebook, Uber, Twitter,
00:24 I wish I knew you way back then.
00:26 It's evident you have an eye for understanding
00:28 how technology can digitally transform
00:31 and disrupt industries.
00:33 So you heard my spiel at the beginning here
00:35 about the profession.
00:36 Like how have you identified the industries
00:38 and why such a strong proponent of tech adoption
00:42 and digital transformation,
00:44 no matter what sector you're in?
00:45 - I'll answer the second one.
00:48 First of all, super pumped to be on this panel.
00:52 Logan, I'm missing your beard, Tiff,
00:54 that's one of the best headshots I've ever seen.
00:56 And Don, I think you and I could be tag team
00:58 WWF champions.
01:00 The energy is real.
01:02 And I'm super enjoying the chat here, by the way, Matt.
01:05 I'm like all in the trenches with everybody here.
01:06 So let me answer the second part
01:09 'cause I think it really matters for everybody
01:10 who's listening who might be tentative
01:12 or who might not be thinking about it.
01:14 The concept that I have to answer this question
01:17 in 2023 blows my mind
01:19 'cause it was the question I was answering in 1996
01:22 in local chambers of commerce in New Jersey,
01:26 which looked like the following.
01:27 Gary, and I was like 21 and I looked like 16 at the time.
01:31 So I get where the cynicism came from
01:32 for the business people.
01:33 They're like, Gary, this website thing you're talking about,
01:37 it sounds like a waste of money.
01:38 We have the yellow pages.
01:41 Like, why would somebody have to find you
01:42 on the interwebs worldwide web?
01:45 Like everyone uses the yellow pages.
01:47 And I was like, John,
01:49 everybody used to ride a fucking horse to work.
01:51 Now we use a car.
01:53 You know, the answer to your question is
01:55 if people on average are losing $76,000
01:58 that are on this call by not using technology
02:00 and even if that's an inflated number,
02:03 if the number's $1,000 plus time,
02:07 you know how many people here,
02:08 if they use proper technology would be able to go
02:11 and see their kids soccer game during tax season?
02:15 Like this is time and money.
02:17 Like I don't understand like your ideology
02:19 that you hate AI or you hate technology
02:22 or you liked it better in the '80s
02:24 when the kids played outside.
02:25 Like, I'm sorry, like you live in 2023
02:28 and you're running a business
02:29 and to not use technology or demonize technology is asinine.
02:34 You use technology for everything.
02:35 If you don't like technology, why do you have an iPhone?
02:38 If you don't like technology, why do you use Uber?
02:40 If you don't like technology,
02:41 why do your food with seamless?
02:43 And you do all these things in real life.
02:45 Like why don't you use a paper ticket at the airport?
02:48 You're using your QR code.
02:49 Like if you're doing all those things,
02:51 how on God's green earth are you not using technology
02:54 to make more money and have more time with your family?
02:58 And because you're not used to it or you don't like it,
03:00 I get it, I get it.
03:02 Like you don't want another app,
03:04 you don't wanna pay the SAS fee if you don't use, I get it.
03:08 The problem is it's pretty well documented that you're wrong.
03:11 And more importantly, if your competitors continue
03:14 to get more efficient at this,
03:16 they're gonna take your business.
03:17 So real quick in the chat for the 600 plus of you,
03:20 how many of you are retiring in the next five years?
03:23 And I don't mean you're gonna crush it
03:26 and make so much money and buy an island.
03:28 I mean, you're old and you're finished
03:30 and you're done in five years.
03:31 How many are retiring within the five years?
03:35 Good, so for Al Dorf and one other person,
03:38 okay, like I can wrap my head around you kind of like
03:42 mailing it in the next year or two
03:44 'cause you're wrapping it up.
03:46 But for everyone else here,
03:48 when I see Jack at 26 years old in the chat,
03:51 like what are we doing here?
03:54 Forget about this technology.
03:55 Like everybody here should be using AI every day
03:58 and nobody is.
04:01 I know that to be true.
04:02 It's that early, I get it.
04:04 By the way, me included.
04:05 I'm giving my own advice,
04:07 I'm like kind of giving advice to myself.
04:08 Like I really need people to wrap their head around
04:11 not understanding how to use better tools.
04:13 Like, look, I guess I get that you can like get a screw
04:18 into a wall by using a rock,
04:21 but like we invented the screwdriver, use it.
04:24 Like I get that you can eat with your hands.
04:26 I, by the way, do that often,
04:27 but like the fork exists.
04:31 Like the concept to not use software to make more money
04:34 and have more time for your family, bananas to me.
04:37 - Let me ask you here, I think you raised a good point.
04:41 What do you think the friction point is there?
04:43 Like what do you think is the barrier
04:45 that's hard to overcome?
04:48 - Bullshit ideology, complacency, and laziness.
04:51 They'd rather not put in the work for,
04:55 and I don't say that lightly.
04:57 I don't say that to harass anybody.
04:59 It's an ideology and a demonization
05:01 and a insecurity that they can't learn it
05:05 without realizing they're way more capable than they think.
05:08 - And going back, you asked people like,
05:11 who's gonna be retiring in like five, say 10 years.
05:15 Is there advice you might give for someone who is retiring
05:17 and is thinking like you're an accountant,
05:19 this was your business,
05:20 like there's a lot of money in that firm.
05:22 Is there, have you ever talked to anybody
05:23 about like future-proofing their business
05:25 to say like, if you're not on technology,
05:27 and I'm sorry if I'm front-loading the question,
05:28 but if you're not on technology-
05:29 - No, no, I'm laughing because a lot of people here
05:33 based on the comments have a sense of me
05:35 and a lot of people don't.
05:36 And one of the reasons I think I have nice vibes towards me
05:40 is I'm not just interacting with the Facebooks
05:42 and the Twitters and the Ubers.
05:43 I'm like answering random DMs at like two in the morning
05:46 from like small businesses that have like three,
05:48 like I love people and I love small business.
05:50 I come from small business.
05:51 I grew up in a one-store liquor store in New Jersey.
05:54 Of course, nobody's gonna buy your shit
05:57 if you don't have tech.
05:58 - Yeah.
06:01 - Like it's 2024.
06:04 They don't want your cell phones in your phone
06:08 and that's your business.
06:08 Your book of business is dramatically less valuable
06:11 if it's not got a layer of tech infrastructure
06:13 to the people that would actually buy it.
06:15 - Yeah.
06:16 - Like I would pay, I actually not in this sector,
06:21 but in a different industry,
06:22 I told a friend's cousin to buy the leading software,
06:26 which was like $5,000 a month,
06:28 which was expensive for how small the business was,
06:31 but they were ready to sell it
06:32 because I knew they could are about the $60,000 investment
06:35 on the exit of the business and they did.
06:37 They literally got a million dollar offer more
06:41 because they had the tech,
06:42 even though they weren't even using it.
06:44 They just had the license and put it.
06:47 So like, to your point,
06:48 I wasn't even thinking this kudos to you on the question.
06:51 It's 2024, Jesus fucking Christ.
06:55 - Listen, we penned an open letter, Gary, to the industry
07:01 and it was basically about being brave.
07:03 And obviously we're talking about
07:04 the technology aspect of it,
07:06 but like thinking about working smarter,
07:09 looking at technology to boost efficiency, profitability,
07:13 and driving healthier cashflow, increased revenue,
07:15 you name it.
07:16 So when you hear that 43% of accounting professionals,
07:20 this is from a survey that we put out,
07:22 fairly scientific, I'll add,
07:24 they absorb that time cost and that scope,
07:27 basically absorbing the billable work
07:28 they've already worked.
07:30 Like, what does that make you think about the industry?
07:32 - It makes me love the industry.
07:34 Believe it or not, there's no raz on this.
07:36 I'm empathetic.
07:38 Don't let my cursing injures the energy right now
07:41 throw anyone off.
07:42 I'm deeply empathetic.
07:43 My father didn't accept credit cards
07:46 or have a computer in the store when I started in 1993.
07:50 I'm like, we didn't take credit cards.
07:52 I'm like, dad, he's like, people have checks.
07:56 I'm like, not for long, bro.
07:57 Like, I'm like, dad,
07:59 we don't have our inventory figured out.
08:00 He's like, we count it by paper.
08:02 I'm like, dad, they're stealing,
08:03 your managers are stealing shit.
08:05 Like, technology is good.
08:07 I understand you didn't wanna pay.
08:08 Like, I have such an old story.
08:11 I'm such an old school father, Matt.
08:13 Do you know that my father
08:14 still doesn't wire money digitally?
08:18 He like still signs the checks.
08:20 We have a hundred employees at Wine Library
08:22 in Springfield, New Jersey right now.
08:25 And my father can't vacation
08:27 'cause on Wednesdays he has to sign everyone's check.
08:29 You know, like, I'm deeply empathetic.
08:32 I live with an old,
08:34 like, my favorite person on earth professionally
08:36 is my father.
08:37 And I like basically still help him manage his business.
08:40 Like, I understand.
08:42 I just also refuse to take an opportunity and miss it.
08:46 If anyone is part of that crew on this call
08:48 or listening in the future,
08:50 you will make more money
08:52 and you will have more time
08:53 and you will be happier
08:55 if you make the commitment no different
08:57 than eating better and going to the gym
09:00 will be better for your health.
09:01 News alert, it's better.
09:03 And like, I get, like, that doesn't come natural to me.
09:07 All the muscles in my body only happened the last 10 years,
09:09 not the prior 38 years.
09:10 I'd never been in the gym in my life.
09:12 I drink less soda.
09:14 I eat less candy.
09:15 I eat less carbs.
09:16 All are devastating to me.
09:17 I want them.
09:18 They are delicious.
09:20 But if I want the right things to happen,
09:23 you do the right things.
09:24 For the people, like,
09:26 I don't understand business people
09:27 not wanting to run a better business.
09:30 I understand being hesitant
09:32 'cause it doesn't come natural to you.
09:34 But the cat's out of the bag.
09:37 It's like I said 10 times already, it's 2024.
09:41 It's hard to compete without technology.
09:43 And I'm not even getting into what I need everybody else
09:44 to do of what I care about,
09:46 which is everybody here should be making
09:47 two to three posts on LinkedIn a day to get customers.
09:50 Like, we're not even getting in.
09:51 Like, what you're talking about is like oxygen
09:54 and like getting out of bed.
09:57 Like the shit you're talking about is like step one.
10:00 You don't want me to unleash on these people, Matty.
10:03 (Matty laughs)
10:05 - I don't know Gary, you're getting me pumped here.
10:08 - No, but I mean, like, to your point,
10:10 like for your agenda and like what you want
10:12 for these people, both for yourself and for them,
10:14 like to me, that's just like waking up in the morning.
10:16 For me, I'm worried about everyone here
10:19 not producing content on social media.
10:21 I'm worried about everybody here
10:22 not having their website properly.
10:24 I'm worried about people here not really creating funnels
10:27 that lack friction to great business development.
10:29 I'm worried about here people being complacent
10:31 and bored of mouth 'cause they've been doing it
10:32 for 22 years.
10:33 Gary, you don't get it.
10:34 I'm in the local CPA, I'm like, that's great, Don.
10:37 But like, I promised you right now,
10:39 I can start a firm in any single place tomorrow
10:42 and take tons of people's business from here,
10:45 never doing the work prior,
10:47 hiring a kid that's been doing it for three years.
10:50 I'm not gonna get to it.
10:51 But like somebody else is.
10:53 Like Zillow became a problem for real estate.
10:56 Like let there be no confusion.
10:58 The Googles and the Apples and the Amazons,
10:59 they're coming for your business, everyone.
11:03 You better wake up.
11:04 - I'm gonna pass it over now, Gary,
11:07 to our esteemed panel here.
11:10 And Don, I'm gonna throw it over to you.
11:12 And this is gonna be a Q&A from them.
11:13 So Don, first question from you for Gary.
11:16 How about it?
11:17 - I think everyone's wondering what your thoughts are
11:19 around the AI to be able to rebuild
11:22 the Achilles tendon of Aaron Rodgers.
11:25 Have you figured that out yet?
11:26 And no crying.
11:29 (laughs)
11:32 - We lost him.
11:34 He's already left.
11:35 - Don, it was a mic drop.
11:38 - I thought it was a pretty simple question personally.
11:40 So he closed the laptop on accident.
11:43 That's probably how it was.
11:44 - While we're waiting for Gary to rejoin,
11:46 any reactions from the panel on what he's saying?
11:48 Is there anything?
11:49 Here he is.
11:50 - Here he is.
11:51 - All right.
11:52 - So Gary.
11:53 - Don, I'm just really emotional when it comes to business.
11:59 Completely unemotional.
12:00 It is my greatest strength.
12:01 No emotion, no ideology, just execution, customer first,
12:04 win.
12:05 But the New York Jets is a very different place for me, Don.
12:09 That is a very different place.
12:11 It took everything.
12:12 If I was not contractually obligated to sign back in,
12:15 there is zero chance I'd be back in this call.
12:18 - Well, my heart goes out to you, I want you to know.
12:20 So that was really, it was coming from the heart.
12:23 But just aside from that, what I want, I want to ask you,
12:26 so the biggest problem that I see
12:29 within the change that needs to happen
12:32 is 100% the mindset.
12:34 And that's what our biggest challenge is.
12:37 It's not our hands, it's not our feet,
12:38 it's not anything else.
12:39 It's what happens between your ears
12:42 and how can we help other practitioners
12:45 come with the confidence.
12:47 And one of the podcasts I watch of you,
12:50 being curious enough and courageous enough to take the step.
12:54 So how can we help them do that?
12:56 - You know this, Don.
12:59 For, I look at all these names, right?
13:01 Jackie C versus Beverly G versus Jennifer T.
13:04 And the reality is it's different for everyone, right?
13:07 Like for example, one of the things I fear is comfort.
13:11 One of the biggest enemies for us
13:13 trying to help people on this call is they're good, right?
13:17 They're part of a two income family.
13:19 They're good, like they're really good.
13:20 I can give you 30 examples that are good.
13:22 Loving, relationship, good, like they've made,
13:24 like they've got their shit together.
13:26 They don't need another,
13:27 they don't need a Lamborghini or a Mercedes
13:28 or a second house to fulfill their insecurities.
13:30 They're plenty secure.
13:31 They make enough money.
13:33 Their savings, they're good.
13:34 The problem is technology is either your best friend
13:38 or your enemy, right?
13:41 It's like a big wave for a surfer, right?
13:43 Either you're gonna grab a surfboard and ride it
13:45 and it's gonna be epic or it's gonna get you, right?
13:49 And so my concern, first,
13:51 there's many different answers to your question.
13:53 One is getting the people that are complacent,
13:55 understanding that people are coming for them.
13:59 That last year was great, the year before was great,
14:00 next year is great.
14:01 It's all looking great until somebody invents an Uber.
14:05 I spoke at the National Black Car and Taxi Convention
14:09 the year Uber launched and I was an investor
14:12 and it was just kind of like, it lined up.
14:14 I wasn't speaking as the investor of Uber.
14:17 I was speaking as Gary Vee
14:18 'cause I wrote this orange book about customer service
14:20 and it went really well.
14:22 I just invested in Uber and I could see Uber was winning.
14:26 And I'm on stage and I'm like, by the way, I did my spiel,
14:29 but I'm like, by the way, anybody raise your hand
14:31 if you've seen Uber and like some people in LA and SF
14:34 and New York, raise your hand, not the whole room.
14:37 And I went into a five minute spiel of like,
14:39 hey, this might be a problem.
14:40 When I tell you they laughed at me the same way, Dawn,
14:45 that somebody right now,
14:46 when I say somebody's coming to get you
14:48 and someone's sitting there and saying,
14:49 I've been dominating Short Hills, New Jersey
14:52 or Beverly Hills or Topeka, Kansas for 20 years.
14:55 Gary, I love you, you're entertaining, I get it,
14:57 but not for me, 20 years.
15:00 59 clients who've always been with me,
15:02 third generation families, I got the grandkid now,
15:05 not for me, Gary.
15:06 And they don't realize that like,
15:09 you've got to continue to future-proof your business
15:11 with new technology because you can get caught.
15:14 And I wanna remind people here
15:17 that a lot of you built your businesses
15:19 by taking market share from the person
15:21 that you out-innovated with Google AdWords,
15:23 a website, direct mail,
15:25 working harder by hustling in the local area,
15:28 innovating, like you did that
15:29 and somebody can do that to you.
15:31 And so like, just don't, don't chill, right?
15:35 And Denise is right, into it with AI, like.
15:37 Like.
15:40 - And they're already making moves.
15:42 They're already doing other things
15:44 that we're all seeing as the email comes in,
15:46 you're like, what are they doing now?
15:48 And it's like, well, just stay ahead of them.
15:50 We can stay ahead of them.
15:51 - And honestly, it's probably gonna be hard
15:54 to stay ahead of big tech companies.
15:55 Just staying a hair more contemporary and on it
16:00 than a low state will service people well here.
16:04 Right?
16:07 Just sending an email to all your clients
16:08 to talk about doing a Zoom like this with all of them
16:11 about how to use AI, that's like left field.
16:14 Let me give you a weird strategy, Dawn.
16:17 Send an email to all your clients saying,
16:18 I'm doing a Google Hangout.
16:20 And now this is after three, four, six months
16:22 of playing with AI yourself
16:24 'cause you can't talk out of your ass.
16:26 All my clients, I'm just doing a little five minutes,
16:29 literally 615 to 645, 30 minutes
16:33 on some fun things about AI.
16:35 I think we all know AI is out there.
16:37 I'll show you what I've been thinking about.
16:39 That 30 minutes for the 10% of your clients
16:42 that show up to the Zoom,
16:43 where you really just talk about AI in general,
16:47 not from a CPA standpoint,
16:48 will make every one of your clients that got that email
16:52 subconsciously understand that you're staying ahead,
16:55 thus rendering them not to consider to move from you.
16:57 - Yeah.
17:02 - Well, we're gonna commence polling shortly, folks,
17:04 to be on the lookout for those polls.
17:06 Just an FYI.
17:10 Logan, over to you for a question for Gary, please.
17:13 - Awesome.
17:14 Gary, Gen Z is starting to make money and need accountants.
17:18 Like what needs to change to be able to attract
17:20 and sell our services to that generation?
17:23 - There's two ways to think about it, brother.
17:26 As you know, a lot of you get business
17:28 just 'cause their parents worked with you, right?
17:31 That's real.
17:32 That's cool for a lot of people, and I love that.
17:34 I do think Gen Z is, and Gen Alpha for sure,
17:38 which is a little further away,
17:40 but there's some youngsters on this call,
17:41 but Gen Z is showing very clear indication
17:46 that they're not gonna use their parents' accountant will.
17:49 Like they're very, very, very, very cynical
17:53 to their parents' generation.
17:54 There is a generation war,
17:56 a boomer millennial versus Gen Z,
17:58 and it's manifesting as a ha, ha, ha on TikTok,
18:01 but it's showing up in business results.
18:03 We're seeing the lowest conversion
18:06 of generational service providing,
18:09 and that's a big fear for me for a lot of people here.
18:12 And I hate this generational stuff.
18:16 One of the best, please can we just stop saying Gen Z's,
18:18 like every person's different.
18:19 Like generalization of generations is hurting us.
18:23 You know, look, I think this goes back
18:24 to what I was alluding to, Logan.
18:25 I really do want people here to make three or four
18:28 or five TikToks describing CPA 101 or taxes 101.
18:32 You know, like I think relevance is gonna matter,
18:35 and I know that people are like, wait a minute,
18:36 I'm not making a TikTok.
18:37 I'm like, cool, but go put in CPA,
18:40 hashtag CPA or hashtag taxes.
18:42 Search that on TikTok right now.
18:44 You'll be blown away, and you don't have to dance,
18:46 and you don't have to make a skit.
18:47 You can just talk real facts.
18:49 This is a big one for a lot of people.
18:51 Gen Z is using TikTok as a search engine
18:54 over Google in a real way,
18:55 and a lot of you get your business from Google.
18:58 Things are changing.
19:00 And so, you know, I really, really, really wanna make sure
19:03 that if, especially for the people here
19:05 who plan on doing business for the next 20, 30 years,
19:08 even 10, that they're starting to get to a place
19:13 where the requirement of making a little bit of content
19:15 in these platforms really matters.
19:16 'Cause they're look like,
19:18 you don't even need the content.
19:19 Similar to what I just said earlier,
19:21 creating a TikTok and making 10 videos,
19:24 just having it when Gen Z client looks at you
19:28 and looks for your TikTok and sees that you're there,
19:30 there's a level of confidence that you understand
19:34 'cause they're asking questions
19:35 and they're thinking about it differently.
19:37 And they don't wanna pay your fees
19:38 if they can get around it.
19:39 And into it with AI or other things is gonna be a thing.
19:42 And so you're gonna have to win on people skills
19:43 like you always have.
19:44 And I think relevance is gonna matter.
19:46 And I think a little bit of content on TikTok
19:48 will go a long way for a lot of people
19:50 who are future-proofing their business.
19:52 Doesn't have to go viral.
19:53 You just have to show that you do it.
19:56 - I love that point, the people skills, Gary.
19:57 It's never going away.
19:59 - It's never going.
20:00 Here's the good news.
20:01 For all the AI and all the TikTok
20:02 and all the Gary being excited about technology,
20:04 it's a human game.
20:05 But scaling the humanity
20:07 is what I'm trying to get everybody to do.
20:10 - I like that.
20:11 - I want you to use technology to scale your humanity.
20:13 I want you to use technology as a gateway drug
20:15 to your human skills.
20:17 - Tiffany, what's your question for Gary?
20:21 - All right, Gary.
20:22 So for us people that we are with you,
20:27 we 100% know technology is the absolute way.
20:31 We have been doing our best to be able to stay forward,
20:34 stay on top of it.
20:36 What is that advanced information
20:39 that you would share for those to take our businesses
20:43 that are tech savvy to that next level
20:46 to be able to get those clients and start scaling?
20:50 - YouTube Shorts is a secret weapon for everybody here
20:52 because YouTube is the second biggest search engine
20:54 in the world and the biggest
20:56 when it comes to accounting and taxes
20:59 because most people's reading comprehension
21:02 isn't strong enough to read the long form content
21:05 that's out there.
21:06 So a lot of people are going to YouTube to watch videos
21:10 and listen to information on making decisions.
21:13 YouTube Shorts is short form video
21:15 similar to TikTok and Instagram.
21:17 But if you title it based on search queries,
21:20 so you go and look on Google Trends or on Google
21:22 to see what people type for, how do I do my...
21:25 So you make a video on some new tax law
21:28 and that's your video, but you title the video
21:31 even though it's not actually what's in the video,
21:33 you title it, "How to do my taxes in 2024"
21:37 because that's how it indexes on Google,
21:40 excuse me, on YouTube for search.
21:42 So look, even for someone like me
21:45 who's an advanced businessman,
21:46 I am not gonna stay up to date on every tax law.
21:50 Most people know nothing about what you guys do for a living.
21:53 Showing confidence or information to people
21:56 is the quickest way to get their business.
21:59 And so for the advanced group here,
22:01 YouTube Shorts, even more than TikTok or Instagram,
22:05 because people use YouTube to search
22:08 is a huge, huge opportunity
22:10 and something people should be looking at.
22:12 The other one is LinkedIn.
22:14 I can't express, especially for you three panelists,
22:18 I don't know where you're at on your career on this,
22:19 like two, three posts a day.
22:22 And I know that's like a daunting number,
22:24 but like Zach said, what if he freezes up on video?
22:27 Well then talk, like show a tax return,
22:30 show your tax return, video it and talk over it.
22:33 You don't have to be in the video.
22:35 Not everybody is as dynamic on film as Don B here
22:38 who explodes off the screen with a double fist pump.
22:42 Not everyone has that, you know?
22:44 And that's okay.
22:45 For people that can write their asses off
22:47 but aren't good on video,
22:48 then LinkedIn's a fucking mitzvah, right?
22:52 Instagram, you can post something like a dollar bill,
22:55 but then write 10 paragraphs and that's the post.
22:58 You know, you can do a lot of,
23:02 you can go do AI generated content and say,
23:05 make me a picture that has $76,000 in pennies.
23:09 Now you've got an image to reinforce
23:11 what Matt wants people to know,
23:12 which is you're wasting $76,000.
23:14 Imagine that image of like a trillion fucking pennies
23:17 and then you write.
23:18 So like there's a lot of ways to be creative
23:19 and do content, but that isn't required.
23:22 If that is required, this is a content warfare.
23:25 And it's also-
23:28 - Gary, this doesn't take a lot of time
23:31 throughout your day is what I'm hearing.
23:33 - It takes a lot of time to make the mental jump
23:36 that Don was talking about.
23:38 And then it's what happened with me with working out.
23:41 It's still the hardest,
23:42 but it's a lot easier for me to go to the gym this morning
23:45 and bang out my work than 10 years ago
23:47 when like it was just death.
23:50 Literally there was in that first year,
23:52 I was like, I just, I'm gonna jump out the window and die.
23:54 I do not wanna go to the gym.
23:56 Right, and then it just becomes,
23:58 like right now there's a lot of people
24:00 with tech, SaaS, social,
24:03 they're listening to me talk and they're like, no way.
24:06 They're like, I'll let my niece do that or this, that.
24:08 But once it becomes a habit and it doubles your business
24:12 or protects your business, you're really happy you did it.
24:14 Just like the people that would have died
24:16 of a heart attack that didn't.
24:17 I promise you, they may not know it
24:19 'cause they'll have to wait to get to heaven
24:20 when God tells them you would have died
24:22 if you didn't fucking stop eating those cheeseburgers,
24:24 but they will be happy when they get to heaven
24:25 and realize they live for 20 more years
24:27 'cause they changed their health.
24:29 For all of you on this and then everyone in the chat,
24:32 do you all believe that when you do your service for people,
24:36 you save them money by understanding the tax law that year
24:40 and put them in a position to save money?
24:41 Please say yes or no real quick.
24:43 Very simple question.
24:48 This industry is like, I understand humans,
24:53 back to Don versus Tiff, DNA, parenting, environment.
24:57 There's variables to why someone will feel comfortable
24:59 or uncomfortable to ask for money.
25:01 There's a lot of parents that demonize asking for money
25:04 or neighborhoods or teachers or people of influence.
25:07 The reason I asked the question,
25:10 and obviously everybody responded what they responded is,
25:13 there's not a lot of businesses on earth
25:16 that can speak to saving people tangible money
25:18 that's black and white that you can show them.
25:21 When I talk about time efficiency savings,
25:25 this is a blind thing.
25:27 You're 19 hours back, maybe more money,
25:29 but that's a pretty heady, intellectual,
25:32 deeper understanding thing.
25:34 Nobody here should be scared to ask for money
25:36 because you can literally at the end of it,
25:38 show them that you saved it.
25:41 More importantly, this is a big one,
25:44 just gonna, I'm sorry to interrupt your flow, Don,
25:47 but I'm like passionate about this.
25:48 What's gonna happen when you ask for more money
25:51 than you asked last year?
25:52 They're gonna tell you you're a fucking creep?
25:54 Like what?
25:55 You know this, the biggest issue for most people here
25:58 is asking for more money from someone
26:00 that they've been doing business with for a long time.
26:02 Right?
26:05 I don't know if you guys heard,
26:06 money costs money now.
26:08 We don't get money at zero interest anymore.
26:10 I just really need people,
26:15 like literally here's the conversation,
26:17 Don, let's role play.
26:18 Don, hey, quick, I'm really glad you answered my email.
26:21 I just need five minutes.
26:22 I know how busy you are.
26:24 Listen, I don't have to tell you what's going on.
26:26 Obviously we've been doing business for a long time
26:27 and I'm really thankful for our relationship,
26:30 but the supply and demand,
26:32 I'm running my own business too,
26:33 just like the business you're running.
26:34 I have a lot of people trying to come in the door,
26:36 but I wanna do that hand to hand dirty work
26:38 that I've always done for you.
26:40 But I've got so many more people coming
26:42 to wanna work with me.
26:44 And full disclosure,
26:45 I've been grandfathering your price
26:47 to do the work for you for so long.
26:50 I'm gonna need to raise it
26:52 because I'm really starting to hurt myself and my business.
26:55 And I know that's not your headache
26:57 and it may be right for you to go with someone else
27:00 who can stay within the budget,
27:01 but I really think I've earned this 20% increase
27:04 on the fees that I've been passing along.
27:06 Okay, so now that's what you say.
27:07 Here is literally the answer.
27:10 Now I'm gonna be in reverse.
27:11 Don just said that to me.
27:12 Hey Don, fuck you.
27:14 We're never working together again.
27:15 Hang on, what just happened?
27:16 What happened is you lost that revenue,
27:19 but for a lot of you, was that revenue worth it?
27:22 Like you can't ask for more money
27:23 if you're scared to lose it.
27:25 But for a lot of you,
27:28 you don't have more capacity to take on more money
27:30 at a higher money.
27:31 So what I just did to Don,
27:33 in a lot of ways you're like,
27:34 good, I don't want that toxic person in my life anymore.
27:36 That's not a good customer.
27:38 What is more likely gonna happen 70% of the time
27:41 is Don, I totally get it.
27:45 You've absolutely earned it, thank you.
27:47 Or the 20% of the time,
27:48 'cause the fuck you is only 1% of the time.
27:50 The 20% of the time is like,
27:52 hey Don, you're hitting me on,
27:54 I appreciate you called me in September,
27:57 tax season's obviously April,
27:58 like this year hasn't gone as well.
27:59 Can we do this?
28:01 Can we just keep it for one more year?
28:03 Can you do my season this year at the old price
28:06 and I'm in for the following year?
28:07 And then Don can make that decision.
28:09 If Don's got 4,000 requests to work with her,
28:11 she might say no.
28:13 If Don's got like eight and she's always liked Gary,
28:15 she may say yes.
28:16 But this concept of imagining some sort of weird boogeyman
28:20 by asking for a higher fee than you got paid
28:22 the year before for the last 13 years,
28:25 you're allowed to raise prices.
28:27 You know, gas isn't 99 cents a gallon anymore.
28:31 These fucking coffees are nine bucks.
28:32 You want to talk about dumb shit?
28:34 They used to be a quarter.
28:35 Like it's okay to ask.
28:38 - Yeah, a hundred percent.
28:39 And I think that again,
28:41 I think you guys get the understanding
28:42 of what I'm trying to show here,
28:43 that client experience and that last-
28:46 - Go Gary.
28:47 - I'm the worst.
28:48 - No, you're the best.
28:50 - I'm about to say something that's going to help Jennifer
28:51 and Jackie, Kate, look at this.
28:53 I'm fucking pumped on, double fist like you do.
28:55 - Let's go.
28:56 - Let's go.
28:58 - Ready? Low ball clients suck.
29:01 You suck.
29:02 Jen, you and Jackie suck.
29:04 What I mean by that, of course you don't suck.
29:05 I fucking love you.
29:06 This is why I'm jumping in.
29:08 There is no such thing as low ball clients.
29:11 You don't have to take them.
29:12 There's no low ball clients.
29:16 You're a puss and a pushover and you can't have candor.
29:20 You're the one that's wrong.
29:21 Not them.
29:24 Their job is to pay as little as possible.
29:26 I don't know.
29:28 Why do I like to pay?
29:29 I'm in business down here.
29:30 You know, Tiff can't have low ball clients.
29:32 She's out here trying to make money.
29:33 They're trying to make money.
29:34 I don't want to pay you, Tiff.
29:36 But guess what?
29:37 You don't have to say yes.
29:38 Low ball clients don't suck.
29:41 Complaining about low ball clients
29:43 when you have full control of not taking them, that sucks.
29:46 You are all 100% in fucking control.
29:51 You know, this is the accountable aunt.
29:53 This is my favorite B friend in my little Sesame Street
29:56 meets Pokemon world that I'm building.
29:58 Do you know why I love the accountable aunt?
30:00 The world, especially America,
30:02 has become incredibly not accountable.
30:04 Everything's fingers.
30:05 It's the president's fault.
30:06 It's my boss's fault.
30:08 It's the world's fault.
30:09 It's my uncle's fault.
30:10 My parents fucked up.
30:12 Everything's fucked.
30:13 No, no, thumbs.
30:14 Get out of the finger pointing.
30:16 Low ball clients do not suck.
30:18 You are in control of firing them.
30:20 - That's 100%.
30:23 And that's where the mind shift has to happen.
30:26 Like we have to take that responsibility on.
30:28 And I definitely for sure have had to,
30:30 and you have to look into your own soul
30:32 to figure out where that is.
30:34 But at the end of the day, it's true.
30:35 And you know, when you get a new client,
30:37 let's just say you get a new client who calls up
30:38 and we had one just last week and they're like,
30:40 "Hey, we want you to do this.
30:41 "We want you to do that.
30:42 "We're a manufacturing company out of here.
30:43 "We're doing all this stuff."
30:44 I'm like, "No problem.
30:44 "Tell you what, we'll do a six month contract.
30:46 "Here it is."
30:47 He goes, "That's out of our budget."
30:48 I said, "You know what?
30:50 "I respect that.
30:50 "You're a business owner.
30:51 "You're gonna work hard.
30:52 "That's fine.
30:53 "We're not your firm."
30:54 People come in here, I'm like,
30:55 "We are not the cheapest firm around here."
30:57 And as a matter of fact,
30:58 I prefer clients that are not in my area,
31:01 to be honest with you.
31:02 I would rather have people in different parts of the country
31:05 who have that value and respect for what I do.
31:08 I think a lot of times,
31:09 and this is just maybe in my area,
31:11 local clients are tough.
31:13 They know you, they see you out at dinner
31:15 and you're their buddy
31:16 and they wanna get something cheap.
31:17 And it's like, those aren't the people you want.
31:20 They're just not.
31:21 And it's not that they're bad people.
31:22 - By the way, low ball clients often started as the best
31:26 'cause they were your first clients
31:27 that got you off the ground.
31:28 That really pisses me off, Don.
31:30 When people are mad at the clients
31:32 that actually started their whole career
31:33 and they got them on grandfather fees
31:35 and now they're mad at them
31:37 when those fuckers prop them up.
31:39 There's a lot of people in here
31:40 who aren't ready to fire clients.
31:41 You're not there yet.
31:42 I didn't fire any fucking client
31:44 for nine years building VaynerMedia.
31:45 I ate shit left and right.
31:47 Delicious shit, Don.
31:49 Ate it.
31:50 Because I had no fucking options.
31:52 I wasn't there yet.
31:54 And a lot of people here are watching,
31:55 don't listen to me.
31:57 You should charge less.
31:58 Get more clients right now.
32:00 Meaning you gotta be self-aware
32:01 of where you are on your journey.
32:03 You know what I mean?
32:04 - Yeah, absolutely.
32:05 I would talk back and forth with Gary the whole time,
32:08 but that's unfair.
32:09 So I'm gonna just be quiet.
32:11 - Gary, I was looking at the time
32:15 and being respectful of everybody who's on the call here.
32:17 But listen, I wanna ask you one last question.
32:20 - Real quick, Matt.
32:21 I just wanna pound this and I'll get to it.
32:22 I promise I won't leave.
32:24 This is a huge mindset.
32:25 I'm seeing it here and we're gonna win.
32:27 I'm so fucking pumped for everyone who's in this seminar.
32:30 Lisa says, "So confusing to me
32:31 why friend and family wants discounts.
32:33 They know you."
32:34 They want, you know them.
32:36 Just put the mirror on yourself.
32:38 Why shouldn't they?
32:39 Like, why do they want discounts?
32:41 'Cause they're your friend?
32:42 Well, why do you not wanna give them a discount?
32:44 They're your friend.
32:46 Like what I'm saying is,
32:47 if we all just spend zero energy
32:50 of being mad at our customers, zero,
32:54 and take all that energy,
32:56 all that yapping with your mind.
32:58 Do you know who listens to you complain?
33:00 Other people that complain.
33:01 I promise you, if we were friends and relatives
33:05 and you called me with that dumb shit of like,
33:07 fuck Ron, he was always trying to get a deal.
33:09 I'm like, say no.
33:10 Well, Gary, you need that 1500 bucks.
33:14 You want 2000, but you'll take the 1500.
33:18 So stop being a hypocrite.
33:19 Let's make a commitment.
33:23 All hands in on this ignition seminar,
33:26 all hands in all collectively that we never again,
33:29 all hands in, that we never again, ever again,
33:34 blame our customers.
33:37 They have the right in a capitalistic environment
33:40 like America to ask, but you have the power to say no.
33:44 And if you say yes, it don't listen to where,
33:47 I'm at a different point in my career now.
33:49 We now say no to people who wanna pay us $2 million a year
33:52 to do our services when we were ecstatic
33:54 to take 5,000 a month, 14 years ago.
33:57 So know where you're at, but when you say yes, own it.
34:03 People are like, Gary, are you so tired and exhausted?
34:06 I'm like, I made this bed.
34:07 I'm a hungry entrepreneur.
34:08 I made my bed.
34:09 I have to sleep in it.
34:10 You think I'm gonna complain about being tired
34:12 when I'm living in my bed that I made?
34:15 You've gotta live in the bed you make.
34:16 If you say yes, you say yes,
34:18 but you only have to do it that one year.
34:20 You're allowed to ask for more the next year.
34:22 And if they say no, you're allowed to say yes.
34:24 You're not a pushover.
34:25 Do you know how many times I've negotiated
34:27 and be like, I can't do it, Don.
34:29 Logan, you're out of your mind.
34:30 I can't do it for less than 30K.
34:32 Logan's like, 20K, bro.
34:34 And then at 11.59, 59, before it hits 12,
34:36 I'm like, fine, I'll do it for 20K.
34:37 I like you, Logan, you shaved your beard.
34:39 We'll do it this year, right?
34:41 Like you're in full control.
34:42 And I don't feel like I'm a pushover
34:43 or a loser in that situation
34:45 'cause I didn't win that current kind of negotiation.
34:48 I feel like I was in control of making my decision
34:51 at the last minute that worked for me.
34:53 And whether you give free to your family,
34:57 like I see Jennifer, if you charge them double,
35:00 you're just in control
35:01 and you're wasting a lot of energy overthinking it
35:03 based on your own insecurities,
35:05 not what they're doing wrong.
35:07 Go ahead, Matty.
35:09 - Yeah, listen, I'm gonna launch the last poll.
35:11 We're heading into tax season, renewal season.
35:14 So folks, I hope you're thinking about your tech stack.
35:16 So we're gonna get that poll up and running.
35:17 Gary, I think you took the one question
35:19 I was gonna ask you last.
35:20 So I'm gonna give you the lob ball here.
35:24 I'm sure you got something to say.
35:25 Like, what is the one piece of advice
35:26 after everything you've heard today,
35:27 everything you've read in the comments
35:29 that you would give to the folks on this call
35:32 about technology, running a more profitable business,
35:35 sky's the limit.
35:36 - That this is an insular game.
35:40 That you take your two index fingers
35:41 and you put them in your ears
35:43 and you worry about nothing besides you
35:46 and what you can do about what you need to do.
35:49 Forget about it.
35:50 If you do not want to use technology
35:53 after the motivation that we've done here for an hour,
35:55 mazel tov, good for you.
35:57 But if you get your ass kicked
35:59 the next two or three years, you better own it.
36:01 And don't tell me that it's fucking Elon Musk's fault
36:04 or America's fault or the Democrats' fault
36:07 or the Republicans' fault.
36:09 Fucking ears, fingers and ears,
36:12 you're in full control, 100, 100, 100% in control, 100.
36:17 You're 100% in control, okay?
36:22 You are 100% in control, not 99.
36:27 And with that, you will start making decisions
36:30 that can make you much happier.
36:31 And whether that's to go harder at technology after today,
36:34 I'm telling you, I saw some of you jumping in this.
36:36 I'm so pumped.
36:37 The number one way to have a happier life
36:39 and a more productive life in service businesses
36:42 is never blaming your customer.
36:44 I'm so pumped we got that in serendipitously here.
36:49 'Cause you'll see what happens.
36:50 It just changes everything.
36:51 You start hiring another person, you start charging more.
36:54 You actually fire two people.
36:56 By the way, if you can afford it, 'cause some of you can't,
36:59 but no one should treat you nasty.
37:01 You don't understand how much it's costing you.
37:06 And I know all of you have that one or two client
37:07 that just curse at you.
37:08 Or you're all humans,
37:11 you probably missed some sort of $538 rebate.
37:14 Somehow they figured it out.
37:16 They call you in fucking June and you're a piece of shit.
37:18 Fuck that shit.
37:20 Do not allow anyone to be overly nasty.
37:24 Once in a blue moon,
37:25 maybe their mom's dying from a disease you didn't know.
37:27 If somebody's proved to you that they're a good human being
37:29 and they have a bad moment,
37:31 we have to have stability and capacity for that.
37:33 But if someone's consistently shown you
37:35 that they're not a nice person and they're treating you,
37:37 they're paying you to beat you up to get their anger
37:41 and hurt out on you 'cause you're a service provider,
37:43 you fire that customer.
37:45 I mean that right now.
37:47 I mean, again, or you're where I was 14 years ago
37:50 and all of us were.
37:51 Maybe you're in that year one, two, three
37:52 where you really need it.
37:53 Or maybe you just put your kid in private school
37:56 and you just need it.
37:57 And that's okay 'cause now you're doing it for a reason.
38:00 I shit constantly, even at the level that I play out,
38:03 because I know why I'm doing it.
38:07 So this, one big game, Maddie, of self-awareness
38:10 is my final piece of advice.
38:11 One big game of self-awareness and self-love for yourself,
38:15 about yourself, but hold yourself accountable.
38:19 No excuses.
38:20 Matt, do you know how crazy it is
38:22 how many people spend their entire life
38:23 complaining about what their parents fucked up
38:25 as if they're not fucking up their kids?
38:27 - Oh, my sister's a therapist.
38:30 I get all the skinny, lots.
38:33 - It's like constant.
38:34 It's like, okay, but you're 49, Johnny.
38:38 What are you gonna do about it?
38:40 Like, I get it.
38:40 Your mom fucked up, cool.
38:42 Everyone's mom fucked up.
38:43 Accountability is the gateway to happiness.
38:47 There is no bad customers.
38:50 There's just bad behavior that you created
38:52 to create a bad customer.
38:54 And if they're bad, no, no, that's you being strategic
38:59 to eat some shit to get to the next place.
39:01 - Gary, I think that is a hell of a note to finish on.
39:06 I think as you've seen from the comments,
39:09 the best accounting webinar people have sat on,
39:12 you've stoked people up.
39:13 I think it's the message everyone needs to hear,
39:14 especially this time of year.
39:16 I wanna thank Tiffany, Logan, Don, and Gary.
39:21 Thank you so much for your time
39:23 and everything you've told us today.
39:24 It's been awesome.
39:25 It's been a lot of fun.
39:26 Appreciate it.
39:27 - And by the way, just to add another thing,
39:29 because this goes back to what I want all of you to do,
39:31 and I'll do this here, and I did it earlier,
39:33 I'll do it one more time.
39:34 This is my LinkedIn.
39:35 No bullshit.
39:36 If you see me involved in something I can help with,
39:39 you see a photo with me with one of your customers,
39:41 'cause I was at a conference.
39:43 I read my messages.
39:44 If I have to hit 'em up and be like,
39:45 "Yo, Don's the best, double her salary."
39:47 I do random shit.
39:48 You need me to send a selfie to your nephew?
39:50 I'm about that life.
39:51 So anything I could ever do, I love Karma Points.
39:54 I'm happy to put it on.
39:55 - Awesome.
39:56 - I'm gonna go ahead and wrap it up.
39:57 I'm happy to put it on, so.
39:59 - Awesome.
39:59 Gary, thank you.
40:00 - Thank you, Gary.
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