When You Follow the Framework, This Happens… Ryan Lee’s Inspirational Story and Strategies Revealed! | #Success - Ep. 79

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do you have a funnel but it's not converting the problem 99.9 of the time is that your funnel is good but you suck at selling if you want to learn how to sell so your funnels will actually convert then get a ticket to my next selling online event by going to sellingonline.com slash podcast that's sellingonline.com slash podcast

this is the russell brunson show

What's up everybody?

This is Russell Brunson and I'm here today with

a podcast episode interview.

I don't want to call this that I'm I'm actually really, really excited for.

So growing up in elementary school, I had a friend named Ryan Lee and we went to elementary school together and high school or middle school together and high school together.

And then I didn't see him for like, I don't know, what, 15, 20 years, something like that.

And then one day I get a message from him and he's like, hey man, look what I'm doing.

I'm doing this lighting business.

And then he came to Fun Locking Live.

And like just today is the first time we actually had more than like five seconds to talk to each other.

I was just on his podcast and now we're doing mine.

And what's cool is what he's doing is he's built this really cool business teaching people who do landscape lighting how to grow their companies and their businesses and um and so i want to talk to him today about his story uh what he's doing a whole bunch of other really cool things i think will be valuable for you guys but uh mostly i'm just pumped to like kind of reconnect with him and get to catch up with him it's been kind of fun um and i didn't realize that him getting into this world started with uh the tv show the profit so anyway ryan how are you doing today man i'm glad to have you here dude i'm stoked to be on here it's kind of crazy because i literally i was watching tv one day and i'm watching the profit i mean who doesn't like that show if you're an entrepreneur right watching that and i'm like uh oh there's russell brunson what what what's russell brunson doing on the profit like he shouldn't be on the profit i don't know someone on tv do i know someone on tv i literally go to google and i put in your name i'm sure i put in your name russell brunson the prophet right and it's like click funnels whatever i'm like what the heck is a click funnel like that was this the weirdest name at the time you know

and then all of a sudden a couple clicks later i'm pulling my credit card out it was the 108 split tests yes i'm like that thing got me man i was like that's cool because i was you know i owned a lighting business at the time and i was trying to figure out marketing i was testing facebook ads google and i was always trying to figure out how i could get more stuff so i saw that and i was like heck yeah take my money and then the rest is history man i've been brainwashed ever since

how many years ago is that then how many years have been doing this now do you do you remember when that was i think it was like 2017 2018 because i sold my lighting business in 2019 and i know it was a couple years before that so maybe 18.

okay that's crazy six six seven years ago and then i had i heard about you had a funnel hacking live but i hadn't again i didn't even know what a funnel was so i'm not going to go to funnel hacking live yet so that there was one in dallas which i missed and that's that's right when i found out about you and your company.

And then I started like implementing it.

And I was like, oh, this is cool.

And then the first funnel Hacking Live I went to was in 2020, right before COVID.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, that event happened.

COVID is like a week later.

It's crazy.

Yeah, I think there was some

controversy.

They were saying, did COVID happen at Funnel Hacking Live?

We were the super spreaders.

We spread it around the world.

Yeah, I will take credit for that.

It was awesome.

Well, yeah, it's crazy because like.

Again, for everyone, like we went to elementary school together, middle school, high school.

And then,

and then, you know, so I'm curious.

I want to know, like post high school, it's the last time we connected.

And then you like, walk us through like that to like you starting the actual landscaping business.

That's the first part of the story is you actually came out and learned this, this business, became an expert and did that stuff before you ever transitioned to the other stuff.

So walk me through that part of the journey.

Yeah.

So actually when I went to, I went to Utah State, you know, and I got a marketing degree.

And just mainly because I was like, what do you get a degree in?

And I had to pick one after like two years.

And I'm like, marketing?

That sounds nice.

Is that the same as sales i think i like sales so i didn't even know um

continued on with the my my father-in-law was like so when are you getting your mba and i'm like right now

so i decided to get my mba oh really i didn't know that yeah i just went straight on like no work experience you know i just literally was like okay father-in-law is this acceptable

so did that but while i was in my mba classes um we i i got married and in um in college as well and to get married i didn't have any money.

I was making like seven bucks an hour in college.

My wife and I cleaned windows for the summer.

We knocked doors at my mom.

I lived in my mom's basement.

We knocked doors and we made like 10 grand, which at the time I was like, holy cow, we made 10 grand.

We can get married.

And so

I thought, yeah, I was like, we're going to take over the world.

And so I thought that like, okay, like maybe I should be an entrepreneur.

Maybe I could do this.

But let's face it, it wasn't a business.

It was a, it was a summer job that I had made some money.

I moved, had to go back to school.

So I stopped doing that but while i was in my marketing classes while i was doing my mba i my brother had moved down to texas from utah and he was trying he was actually running from the law like that's not a joke he was literally like into drugs and all this crazy stuff and he cleaned up his life and i said you should you should try window cleaning so he had started this little window cleaning business him and one other person were you know kind of doing all the work and i'm thinking man how could we blow up this window cleaning business like now he's got street smarts i've got the book smarts like let's do this well we, I convinced my wife we're going to do this window cleaning business.

We go down to Texas and we make an offer on a house.

We buy this house while we're like there.

We're sitting in his hot tub.

I'm not kidding.

All good ideas happen in a hot tub.

He goes, hey, when you get down here, we should talk about lighting as well.

And I'm like,

what do you mean?

And he said, yeah, I just did these two landscape lighting jobs and they were $4,000 each.

And I'm like, four thousand, like, who pays $4,000 to put lights on their house?

You know, we went to East Sandy Elementary.

People don't spend four thousand dollars to put lights on their house that was insane and he's like yeah i guess it's like that's not even like a very big job i'm like dude if what you're telling me is true i'd much rather sell a four thousand dollar lighting job than a 250 window cleaning job maybe we should do a lighting company he goes serious i'm like yeah So we go to GoDaddy that night and we buy the domain.

We tried to buy a bunch of domains.

They were already taken, but we bought majesticoutdoorlighting.com.

And that's how we got into the outdoor lighting business.

Dang.

What year were that?

Was that 2007.

Okay.

And then how many years did you run that business for?

So I went through all the phases.

The first two years sucked, but I lied to myself.

It's the honeymoon phase.

I'm like, hey, this is awesome.

I'm an entrepreneur.

We work for ourselves.

Yeah.

And I talked to my friends back at home in Utah and I'm like, yeah, you guys, you guys aren't making any money and you have to work till five every day.

And I'm like, I have to work till 11 at night.

Like I was working.

crazy hours, not making any money.

But we went through the ups and downs,

went through through all so many painful learning experiences growing that business because even though I had a marketing degree in MBA, I didn't learn about how to build culture.

I didn't learn about all the things that you're going to experience as an entrepreneur.

But it was cool because I actually got paid to build that business and learn all those experiences.

So I had that business for 12 years.

My brother and I actually were partners and he bought me out mainly because It wasn't working the way I wanted.

See, I wanted to like, he wanted to go left to the lake.

We We were like wake surfing like whenever we wanted.

And I was like, but I think there's more out there.

Like, what about if we go to Houston and Austin and then we do world domination and get 25 locations and sell the private equity for 200 million?

You know, like, that was where I was thinking.

He's like, dude, you work too much.

Like, why do you want to work so hard?

So he wanted to go left to the lake.

I wanted to go right to the promised land.

And what happens?

We go down the middle.

And no one's happy.

He thinks I work too much.

I think he doesn't work enough.

And I learned these lessons the hard way, but there was a book I read called Traction, which really breaks down like visionary and integrated and all these things.

And I knew at that moment that something was going to have to happen.

And again, he's super street smart.

He's not the business guy.

So it just made sense for him to buy me out.

And we moved back to Utah and

been here since 2019.

Is your brother still running the business now?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Actually, you know, people were like, so like, did it grow when you left?

Like, were you holding him back, you know, or did it crash and burn um it's pretty much maintained i mean he's had some up years he's had some down years but it's pretty much uh where it's at and luckily we had good enough systems and and and and branding and advertising and and stuff in place so yeah he's he's still running that business that's cool before we get to like the new coaching business you end up building i want to go back to like what were the like the as you were building that business and growing what were the unique things that you like you learned that now you're coaching people on that you know like typically when someone goes through a process that's when they're learning and discovering and and it becomes the the success story for your future like coaching business but i'm curious what things you you discovered or figured out that nobody else was really doing that that you know gave you the ideas for this future stuff it's it's crazy when you ask that because i had no idea that it was that god was preparing me for all of this right yeah um i i thought i was so so cool you know i was like hey why would these people charge so much we're going to go into this market and and people at the time when you talk about lighting it's kind of charged per light.

And so people were charging like $225 per light installed with wire and transform, all this stuff.

And I was like, dude, we could do this for like $175.

And so that was our strategy.

I'm like this genius.

Like, we're going to give them the same thing, but less price.

Well, that ended up being the thing that held me back for years why I couldn't afford to grow.

And I'm like, how do these people do it?

How do they afford to get a shop?

How do they get an admin?

How do they have 12 trucks?

And I'm like, duh.

They charge the right price to be able to afford to do it.

So that was kind of like learning moment number one.

It took years to figure that out, unfortunately.

It's like, oh yeah, I have to start acting like the company I want to be, not like who I am today.

And the company that I want to be that's doing millions and millions of dollars a year is going to have multiple salespeople.

It's going to have a shop.

It's going to have an admin.

It's going to have a secretary.

It's going to have all these things.

And what does that company, how much does that cost to run?

I figured these things out.

And again, a lot of this, I didn't know what mentors were.

I didn't know what coaching was.

I would ask my clients because in lighting, your clients are successful people.

They don't need landscape lighting.

They're buying it because they, how it makes them feel.

And so these are CEOs, business owners.

And I would ask them, I'd say, hey, what do I do here?

And they go, have you thought about this?

I'm like, no, I've never thought about that.

So they became my mentors.

And luckily,

again, I got paid mentorship.

They were paying me to mentor me, which is really, really cool.

So pricing was the number one thing.

Then it became the challenge of growing the business.

And it's like, okay, how do we get more leads?

We did all the traditional stuff direct mail social media all all the stuff but i wanted to i wanted to go more and i realized at some point i'm like how do we get into the nicer homes i would see like how did that lighting company get that five million dollar house and because our our marketing wasn't working and i realized it came through we got a we got a referral one time from a landscaper into a project it was like a 25 000 lighting job i'm like dude i just want to do 25 000 lighting jobs all day and it came from the landscaper so i'm like light bulb you know no pun intended.

Like, there's probably other landscapers that could refer us and other home builders and pool builders.

And so we really doubled down on that strategy.

So that was the second thing was like, okay,

how do we, how do we scale this business and get high qualified leads?

So number one was premium pricing.

Number two was qualified leads.

And then the third one, I didn't really realize this was a big thing until I started my coaching business is I'm kind of lazy.

Like I don't like to follow up.

Like if I go and meet with you and you want lighting, I'm just going to be like, Hey, do you want lighting?

And you're going to say, I don't know.

I got to think about it.

And I'm going to be like, what do you got to think about?

Like, I'm going to, you call it overcoming objections.

Like, I'm just going to help you make a decision because I don't want to follow up with you.

I know you're not going to answer my phone call anyway.

You know?

And so I just

literally, because of my like, I don't want to follow up with you and play that game.

I'm just going to get a yes, no, or the police called on me when I'm at your house.

Okay.

And so those, those three things kind of became the pillars of like our coaching business.

Like it wasn't the design.

It wasn't the installation.

Most people in business don't start businesses because they're good business people.

They're good technicians.

They're good at building funnels.

They're good at installing lights.

They're good at design.

They're good at whatever.

But they lack these business kind of fundamentals.

And so those three items kind of became the pillars of landscape lighting secrets.

That's so cool.

I love it.

Okay.

So then fast forward.

So then you sell a thing, you you move back to utah you watch the tv show the profit was the first thing like i'm gonna go start a landscape coaching business or is that that directly you went to or i'm curious like oh how that kind of evolved if it was like me were like i'm gonna make potato gun dvds or if you like what was the the next step in the process dude that was not on the agenda at all in fact i didn't know it was on the agenda people were like what are you gonna do you gonna start another lighting business i'm like I think people in Utah are cheap.

I grew up there.

I don't want to start a lighting business there.

I started doing digital marketing because

I had ran my own marketing before.

So I had friends that are like, hey, we saw how you built that lighting business up to millions of dollars a year.

Could we hire you to build our site?

Could we hire you to do this stuff?

And I was like, sure.

So I literally just kind of on the side started this digital marketing agency.

And I remember watching some of your videos and you'd be like, you know, what are you called to do?

And I'm like, I'm not called to do anything.

Like, I don't even know what you're talking about, you know?

And I go to Funnel Hacking Live.

This is my first one in Nashville.

There was a guy, I can't remember if he was like one of the speakers on stages or I met him, but I remember he had a course on how to raise goats.

And I was like, how's this guy doing like a million dollars a year on a course on how to raise goats?

And so I was like,

is my calling to teach people how to raise goats?

Like, could that be my calling?

I could do that.

Yeah.

And so I remember thinking of all the things they're like, and you would be like, what are you an expert at?

What are you good at?

And I'm like, I'm not that egotistical.

Like, I'm not that,

like to ride dirt bikes i mountain bike i i i surf i i do stuff i snowboard i know lighting but like i'm not better than you like who am i to say that i'm better than you and that i'm gonna like be the leader like i i really struggled with that russell i was seriously just like i'm no i'm no better than anyone else at anything

but i kept meeting person after person after person at funnel hacking live just you know because you guys have us like hugging each other and high fives and running to be the first one in and stuff like that.

So I'm meeting these people and I was, and they would, and they told me, they're like, dude, when you, when you talk about landscape lighting, like you light up.

That's your thing, man.

I'm like, it is?

Like, what do you mean?

That's my thing.

And like, and I did, I didn't listen.

I didn't listen at the time, but that's what they were saying.

And I realized that through that moment, I was like, okay.

Maybe I, maybe I've got something here, but I think landscape lighting is too small.

I was like, I'm probably, there's probably two people who build this funnel.

I'll like nine months later,

they'll hire me and then I'll be broke and I'll go back to digital marketing.

I'll do an agency, you know?

So I decided, I was like, you know what?

I'm going to do home service.

Like if you're a painter, an HVAC company, like all these things, if you're dealing with a homeowner, my pricing, my sales, my marketing strategies will help.

And I, and I really felt like that's what I was going to do.

So what I did is I launched a funnel right after funnel hacking live.

And I did a, I can't remember exactly what the offer was, but I did something like, give me your email for free

if you want.

Or I think I sold a seven, it was a $7 thing, PDF.

And then their upsell was 47.

And then the up, then I did an upsell to that was 300 for like the super course.

You know what I mean?

And I'm not kidding, dude.

I, I must have, I can't remember how much I spent on Facebook ads, but I spent money.

I drove traffic to it.

We're driving from Utah to Idaho.

And and I'm, and I'm telling Lindsay, I'm like, I just turned this thing on.

Like, this is, this is pretty exciting.

I don't know what's going to happen, you know?

And like an hour goes by.

Money, we could, yeah, I didn't tell her that part, but we're driving and all of a sudden, ding, and I get a notification from Stripe.

I'm like, I just made $7.

Like, holy cow, I'm driving on the freeway and I made $7.

I didn't talk to anyone.

I didn't do anything.

This is crazy.

And then all of a sudden, like an hour later, I get $47.

And then like 10 minutes later, 47 and 47.

I'm like, we're going to be rich.

Like, this is crazy.

We're driving down the freeway making money.

And it was about like four days later, I got, I got a $300 purchase.

And I was like, oh my gosh, like, this is insane.

And then what happened was a couple things.

I started to do the math.

And I was like, okay, I spent $2,000 on ads and I made.

$450 or whatever it was.

Like the math didn't math, you know?

And I remember um thinking i need help like i definitely need help and um

i literally remembered all these conversations i had with people at funnel hiking live they had hired coaches i had never hired a coach like i almost thought a coach at this time was a scam because like if they're so good at it like why aren't they doing it

yeah like i didn't i didn't hate on coaches but i didn't love on them you know what i mean yeah and i'm I'm kind of like, I can figure this out, you know, like you don't know who I am, but I just couldn't.

And so I actually hired a coach and the thing that they told me, they go, dude, with what you have right now, you could keep doing it and you'll figure it out.

Like you're already, you're already doing this and just math doesn't work right now, but you will, but why not just go high ticket?

And I was like, I don't know what that means.

And I just sell, just sell it for 6,000.

And I'm like, just sell it for 6,000?

Okay.

And so I did.

I literally followed like their whole blueprint step by step.

You're going to do this.

You're going to do this.

You're going to DM these people.

You're going to do this.

And the goal was to get one to ten people to be my beta clients and really have a proof of concept before i spent years building it all out and the craziest thing i got i got four people to commit to i i told them hey it's a 5800 offer i'm giving it to you guys for half price but i got four strangers to give me 2900 bucks and we launched landscape lighting secrets That's so cool.

You just were cold DMing people to get those leads or how what was the possible?

Yeah, I basically, so I joined all the Facebook groups that had to do with with landscape lighting there was like two or three and then even some landscaper ones which landscape lighting a lot of people are like what the heck is that it's a thing guys it's like the first time i heard about a funnel i'm like what the heck is that it's a thing

so um there's actually

explain it like so i so what's crazy is one of ryan's students actually did mine so 10 years ago uh when we bought our new house um we're kind of like in this back street in the side like it's kind of like off the beaten path and our streets really dark there's no street lights everyone's on five acres all the houses are spread out and so when we'd come in at night our house is just like dark you're like huh and then um we saw there was there had been lights at one time somewhere but they they didn't so the lights like they lighted the trees it's like every tree like like would pop up and glow right but we tried to we tried to get him to work we couldn't and so then i was like googling like how do you get landscape light i don't know what it's even called like lights for your yard and eventually this guy's ad popped up somewhere i clicked on it he had pictures of like houses that like all the lights were lit up at night i was like oh that's like so we called him he came out and he actually went through and he asked me, he's like, he's like, so do you opinionated?

Do you want, do you want to tell us where you want lights?

Or, or he's like, I'm kind of an artist.

I can figure it out for you.

I was like, oh, please, like, yes, do your art.

So he went and like,

I mapped out our whole yard and then drew all the lights and everything.

And like, we're going to light this tree and this tree and this tree and back here and like front yard, backyard, everything.

And

afterwards he showed us like, that's insane.

Yes, we're in.

And then I can't remember, quote us.

I think it was like,

in my head, I think it's like 40 or 50 grand.

It was not cheap.

It was like, oh um and then he came and did it and then you know a week later they turned the lights on and like it was insane you walked our yard just like this is amazing so that's what landscape light i would have known that's what it is but it's yeah it goes in like like they strategically like pick all the spots in your yard so it just looks insane so it's super nerdy i forget that people aren't into it but yeah like we're like analyzing the tree and the height of it and the width of it and like what color temperature is going to be right and it really like there's some lights that go up from the ground some that are in the tree that pop down for other aesthetics and different things.

And yeah, they're insane.

Look at you.

You're a lighting designer.

But it's funny because like, so just guys know, right prior to this, I was on Ryan's podcast talking.

And then Scott, who runs the lighting company Boise, who I haven't talked to in five years, he texted me like, I saw your man, Ryan's, uh, Ryan's podcast.

He's like, I'm in his coaching program, done, and all stuff.

That's so awesome.

So it's kind of crazy, but so cool.

Sorry, I interrupted you.

I can't remember where we were at, but I got excited.

Where were we?

Yeah.

I was like, that's what landscape lighting is.

So

I just seriously can't remember.

$6,000 offers.

So you just crushed a bunch of $6,000 offers.

You were DMM, DMing people from the Facebook.

Oh, the DM.

All I said was I said, hey, I help people.

And again, I got this from my coach.

Like everything I teach.

Now I'm like, guys, I hired a coach.

It literally collapsed time.

It would have taken me 10 years to figure this stuff out.

I figured it out in like a month, you know?

So I use the script.

I joined all these groups.

I say, hey, I help landscape.

lighting business owners gain freedom from their business by helping them double their profits.

Do you need help with this?

And I just used his framework, you know, like, what do you help them do?

How do you help them do it?

And it was like, I help them get more freedom.

That's what they wanted at the time.

They wanted freedom from their business because they were stuck in it.

And I help them doing this by doubling their profits.

Half the people were like, you're an idiot.

You can't double my profits, you know, like rejection, rejection, rejection.

Some people were like, yeah, how would you help me make more money?

I'm like, let's hop on a call.

And I hop on a call and I start selling these people.

And they were like, this is amazing.

And this is, this is the craziest thing, Russell.

I get these, I get these people like engaged.

The very first person to commit,

and I'm a big time, like close on the spot kind of guy.

Like, what do you got to think about?

Let's, you know, like, do you, is your wife really going to help you make a better decision here?

All this stuff.

But the guy's like not going to decide.

He goes, let me make a couple of calls.

And no one knew who I was.

I didn't have a brand or anything like that.

And which I do got to tell you about Facebook Lives.

He ends up calling his best friend who happened to live a town over from where my lighting business was in texas and he goes cameron do you know this ryan lee guy he says he's like a big shot and he's going to help me grow my business to millions of dollars and he did all this stuff and he goes yeah i know ryan lee i can't stand that guy and i'm like he's telling me the story i'm like oh gosh here we go he goes yeah i can't stand that guy he's like i'm not kidding every single time that i went up against him or his company we never got the deal.

He beat us out every single time.

He goes, I'd sign up for his program in a heartbeat.

And so he called me back and he goes, send me the link.

Let's, let's do this.

My very first client.

Like

it doesn't happen.

So, um, you know, God is in everything.

Like he, he totally directed this thing.

And then all of a sudden I have that story to now share with others as they're coming and joining the program.

So we got our first four beta clients, told them what the, what the plan was.

And I told him, I was like, guys, you might lose all your money.

You know what I mean?

Like, to be clear, I've never done a coaching business i taught my wife how to snowboard and that didn't go well we almost got divorced on the mountain so just because i'm good at lighting doesn't mean i'm good at teaching it we're about to find out i'll do my best that's too cool uh so that was the first four um that's crazy so then what what did it look like after that you do the beta group they those guys have success with it and everything oh yeah they got they got success and it was me teaching those fundamental things i realized i needed to get them a quick win like i need that 2900 back in their pocket ASAP.

And so I narrowed it down to like, okay, I got to help them raise their price, which they can do that without spending any more money.

They don't have to like buy a new truck.

They don't have to do advertising.

I go, I literally just coached them up like confidently, like, on your next deal, just add like $2,000.

And worst case, you don't get it and you can lower it down.

And they're like, okay.

They come back.

They're like, Did I just make an extra $2,000?

Yes.

It worked?

Oh, sweet.

Yeah.

Like, next one, do $3,000.

So the ROI was like instant, right?

And so I knew I was onto something.

The thing I wanted to tell you too,

at that funnel hacking live, you were on this kick of telling everyone to do Facebook live, do Facebook live, do Facebook live.

Dude, I had never done, I mean, I had posted like two times ever on Facebook before.

Okay.

But I, in that freaking hotel, the Gaylord Hotel with all the waterfalls in the background, I go and hide in my room.

I wasn't, I didn't, I see, you know, at your event and there's people, what's up, man?

I'm so-and-so.

And like, they got their camera crews and everything else.

Oh, no, I'm not walking around.

I lock the freaking door so no one can come in the room.

I turn on my camera.

I had someone gave me this idea because I'm terrified.

They go, create a fake Facebook group and go live in that so you can get used to seeing yourself because it's awkward.

So I do that.

I hit live.

Hey, guys, this is Ryan Lee.

I'm going to share my origin story because

that's what you called it.

You know, I'm like trying to like follow your teaching CT.

And I'm like, I'm sure I'm not supposed to say origin story, but I'm like, origin story and hero's journey and all this stuff.

It was so awkward.

All of a sudden I see, and at the time, you see this like little human icon like pops up, like says one.

I'm like, is that, that must be me, like one, because I'm in a private group.

It's just me.

All of a sudden, it goes to two.

Then it goes to three.

I'm like, oh, shit.

I'm on a, I'm live.

What?

Like, I'm not in a private group.

I didn't know how to go live in a private group.

I didn't select it.

So I'm live.

I'm on my real feed.

Your mom's like, hey, Ryan, what's happening?

Yes.

Heart, you know, heart emoji.

You are the best.

And I'm like,

stop commenting on my stuff.

Yeah.

It was super awkward.

I was like, why am I doing this?

I kept talking and someone was on there.

They're like, oh, I'm at funnel hacking live or something.

I don't know like how all the stuff worked, but they're like, you got this.

Like, I think we had just friendly.

I just think we had just connected that day.

They're like, send me your Facebook or whatever, you know?

And I'm like, thanks for the kind words.

End it.

And I just decided, no, I'm sticking with this.

I did 30, it was 30 days.

I was like, I'm going to do facebook live every day for 30 days i would always hide i never did it in public even with my family around i'm like hey guys go somewhere else i i need to like talk to my phone

and after 30 days i felt like hey i'm gonna go so i did 60 days and then i did 90 days i kept going and that was the backbone so that started like in the event was like end of february so that was the backbone for these people when i would reach out to them I didn't know this because the only time, the only person watching literally was my mom.

It's funny you mentioned that, but like she was the only one.

Well, i found out that like i would get on the phone with some of these people and they go hey that's really cool we saw you took your family to moab and i'm like you saw when when did you see my my family and what like oh yeah that video and i'm like huh and they're like oh that was really cool what you said about the pricing thing i'm like what are you talking about and they're like I didn't know that people watched Facebook lives later.

You know what I mean?

There was zero people except for my mom commenting.

And all of a sudden I go back and look.

I'm like, whoa, this got like 50 views.

Oh, this got 100.

Oh, this got 200.

Like, I didn't realize, but I was building an audience and I was just trying to be like obedient to the structure, like marry the process, divorce the result.

Like I'm okay with that.

So I was just doing that.

And so I didn't realize when I was DMing these people, they already did know my name.

Like they had seen me contribute online.

They had seen me contribute in the Facebook groups.

I went and added value.

I never made an offer.

Someone wanted to know what light to use, I'd tell them.

If they want to know how much to charge, I'd tell them.

I mean, I was so active in those groups answering everyone's questions.

So yeah, that was huge for me it was doing those facebook lives so cool that's crazy so what does the business look like now like uh do you have other products courses event like i love a screen like a picture so people understand kind of where it's evolved to now yeah it's so cool i mean i i hope i can admit this to you because you did tell me to model what works okay so if if we end the recording now but like i literally just try to model what you what you've taught you know and we have awards now so we have 100k club when someone you know makes their first hundred grand after joining that we give them an award and a t-shirt uh lmc the lighting millionaire club we have a ton of people that have won that we have our penta million and then we've got one person that just earned their uh lmc x which is 10 million after joining our program so it's like we're gonna have to we're gonna have to create a 50 million we're gonna have to create a hundred million dollar awards um and now we do events so we do like um We have our own in-person events and things like that as well, not only just for our community where we have members-only meetups, but we launched like Light It Up Expo where we're doing that as like a, not like a fulfillment event, but like a recruiting event.

So people come to that and they're there to, you know, just like Funnel Hacking Live.

Like we give away so much value.

But then we did our first, my first ever, I actually messaged you after this.

This was in March.

I did my first ever Light It Up Expo.

Okay.

And up until then, the largest crowd I had ever like pitched to was about a crowd of 50.

And you know what's funny?

I started doing these events called Landscape Lighting Live.

We had anywhere from 20 to 50 people there.

Josh Latimer, who I hired, is a big fan of yours.

It's been in your programs, all that.

He goes, how many people do you,

how many people do you sign up at these events?

I'm like, zero.

He's like, what?

Why don't, how many do you, do you not pitch?

And I'm like, no.

I'm like, they bought a ticket to an event.

I'm just going to give them what they bought.

He's like, what?

Like, why would you not make them an offer?

Yeah.

And I'm like, it took me a while to realize that like I was doing them a disservice, you know?

And so my very first one, I had like 25 people in the room and I made a pitch.

I was so nervous.

I got three people.

And I was like, oh my gosh, I got three.

And Josh is like, you need to get like 12, you know, like, that's terrible.

I'm like, okay, I'll get, I'll get 12.

But I, you know, confidence, all these things.

I'm watching your videos.

I'm doing the perfect webinar.

I'm trying to figure out all this stuff.

So lighted up expo, fast forward, light up expo.

We had like 120 people in the room.

The very first one i'm making this pitch i literally made in a in a one hour presentation this this was insane i still can't believe this happened i can't remember the exact number but it was at least 225 it was probably 250 000 off a one hour presentation so cool i it doesn't even make sense i'm like how did that just happen like i i messaged you right after i'm like you won't believe this but i just made this pitch and i just told this modeled everything that you do oh cool and i'm sure you would have gotten a lot more if you probably would have sold two million on it.

But for me, it was a win.

Oh, quarter million bucks from after presenting.

It's so cool, man.

I know.

So crazy.

So yeah, the momentum just keeps building.

You know, like, yeah, I mean, we do do different offers.

Now we created a low-ticket one.

It's $97 a month.

It's a lighting academy.

So the people that aren't quite ready to invest or maybe they're a little skeptical of a coaching program, we just give them an awesome like course that comes with like accountability and also like design training and install training.

So that's been good for us.

You know, we get people into that funnel and then we obviously make them an offer to be like, hey, now that you know how to design and install, you need to make a lot of money.

So you need to join the fast path to success, which is landscape lighting secrets.

So cool.

Dude, I love it.

Like, I told you, I think on your, on your podcast, but for everyone else, it's like, um, there's some people who like, who are entrepreneurs come to my world and then do this stuff.

And then there's my normal world of my friends, family, people I went to school with, who see my Facebook posts and they always, either they, they ignore it all or once they're like, what are you doing?

I'll tell them.

And then they never, you know, crickets.

So it's fun for me to see

you who came in and like you saw it, figured it out, modeled it, had success.

And like, so it means a lot to me because like, it's just fun to watch it.

And especially to see it in an industry like.

like landscape lighting, which I wouldn't have, if you would ask me at Tom, I think this is a big market, I'm like, I don't have any idea.

Like, I don't know how many people are doing it it's so cool to see you like take it and in this this little ecosystem like to blow it up and have so much success with it it's really cool no thanks for saying that and it's it's kind of funny because i i on my podcast i was asking you questions like if you were a landscape lighting company what what would you do and i told lindsay before i'm like it's gonna be interesting to see how he answers this because he's not a landscape lighting expert obviously um but you actually in real time gave some like really really great advice and i would people want to hear that podcast interview how do they subscribe to your podcast podcast to hear it?

Go to lightingforprofits.com and you can get on any platform there.

I know some people are on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, but lightingforprofits.com will get you there.

And I would say, man, the old saying is true, the riches are in the niches.

And at first, I was doing this for money.

I was like, I got to provide for my family.

I mean, I sold my lighting business, but I didn't.

It was not a nine-figure exit.

You know what I mean?

So it's like, yeah, I still got to produce for my family.

But

I didn't know it was going to work.

I just knew that like you, you, you, you would say like, what's your calling?

What do you call do?

And I'm like, I'm not called to do anything.

And I realized, okay, maybe there is.

And now I know my calling.

Like, I know this is it.

There's so many, I meet people every single day pretty much now.

And they, they are in the position I used to be in.

And that's what your calling is.

It's not about being better than someone.

It's not about being smarter or wealthier or anything.

It's just like, are you, are you one page ahead?

Like, are you a little bit further along than someone else?

And it is,

it is not about the money.

It is so rewarding now that I get to help these people.

And they're telling me, dude, I found your podcast.

Like, it changed my life.

I'm like, tell me more.

Like, that feels good.

Like, that's crazy that, that I get to do this.

And it's landscape lighting.

Like, it's the, it seems like the dumbest thing.

Like, it's lighting has truly changed my life.

And it's just, it's magical that I get to do this.

So it's surreal that I literally like reconnected with you this way because I think that gave me maybe some more confidence.

Because again, I was kind of skeptical of coaches, but I'm like, well, I don't remember.

Russell, he wasn't that talented at all.

He's actually not that.

I mean, he's kind of good looking.

You know, you're aging well.

Let's just say that.

Thank you.

I went to the 20-year reunion.

I was like, did they bring their parents?

Like, some people did not age well.

I was like.

Did we graduate the same year?

Some people did not age well.

So congrats, Russell.

Thank you.

Pumped about that.

Yeah.

But it, it truly is just like, I don't know.

I'm really grateful.

I think just knowing that like, dude, I know you came from like East Sandy Elementary.

You came from Sandy.

Like, if, and I don't want, I don't, I really don't want you to take this the wrong way, but like, if you can do it, anyone can do it, you know?

And I

definitely am not putting myself on the same level of pedestal or anything like that.

But I think we all have these callings within us.

And you helped me find that.

You really did to be like, man, I can't.

And I just truly love it.

I get to nerd out on landscape lighting and I get to help people at the same time.

Like, this is pretty epic.

Yeah, I love this.

I love your whole story.

And hopefully for everyone listening, like, like, I'm big in like seeing the patterns and how do you replicate it, but like, your story is interesting because it's like you did a thing and you had success in it.

Right.

And then, but because it was like you're, it was simple for you because you'd figured it out.

Then when you're trying to figure out your calling, you didn't make sense.

Like, oh, this is the common sense.

I was saying, like, like, doesn't everyone understand what I'm doing?

But like, that actually is your superpower.

And you take that.

And then it's like, the the more you serve, the more you make.

And it just, it's, uh, it's such a cool path.

And I hope anyone who's listening is who's like somewhere in that journey right now, or maybe you're stuck in the job or the thing that the thing you love, but you're, you're ready for the next thing.

Like you're in that training ground right now where you're learning the skill set you need to eventually be the expert, right?

Or maybe you're, you've exited that or you're on the next part of your life and you're trying to figure out your, what your calling is.

Like it's probably that thing that seems so simple to you, that just seems common sense, yet it's the thing that's so unique for other people and you could change their lives if you'd be willing to do it.

And then when you figure that out, then it's like, okay, you don't have to reinvent the wheel.

Like you said, like model the things that work.

Like do Facebook lives, do a high ticket, do an event, do like the, the path's been figured out.

It's just like plugging your version of that thing into, into what works and then it just works.

So it's really cool.

So powerful.

I literally can't understand like why someone wouldn't be able to do it.

I'm, I'm no, I'm different.

I'm just that shy guy in the back row of funnel hacking live that's hiding in the room doing Facebook lives.

So now I do a weekly podcast and I get to do all this stuff just because I took action.

And it's like, there is, even people ask me, I name my company after your, I mean, landscape lighting secrets.

Like, do you, are you not seeing this?

Right.

Like, yeah, I hope that's okay.

I love it.

But you tell people, you're like, model what works, model what works, do all these things.

And so I'm like, that's all I keep doing.

I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not better.

I'm not smarter than anyone else.

Like, if I can do it, you can do it.

I, I, I, I can assure you, you're probably overthinking it.

And I think most people are trying to get everything perfect.

And I'm just a fan of like imperfect progress.

Like, let's just go.

Yeah.

So cool.

Well, man, first off, great to reconnect.

Thanks for being on the podcast and sharing this with everybody.

I hope they all do go.

Even if you're not going to be a landscape lighting person, you should go listen to the podcast because that'd be kind of fun for them to hear this side.

But also, like, you're teaching marketing principles and selling, like, that apply to other businesses.

Like, you know, I still, I study.

I remember back in the day, I bought Joe Paulish's carpet cleaning marketing course.

And people are like, why would you buy, you don't own a carpet cleaning company?

I'm like, dude, Joe Paulish is really, really smart.

And I studied it, I learned it, I got so many things from that that I could apply.

So, yeah, people can go connect with you and just like start learning the things that you do and how they can apply to their business, too.

So, anyway, so fun to connect, man.

Thanks for being on the podcast.

Thanks for doing all this stuff.

And hopefully, we have a chance to go hang out again.

So, I'm in real life.

It'd be fun.

Sounds good.

Thanks, Russell.

Really appreciate you, man.

Yep.

All right.

Thanks, man.