Hustle On [Balancing Business and Life]...

uh welcome philippe to um the business  development vp of a billion dollar corporation   um you you've been very successful over the  past 20 years and i just wanted to bring you   on so that you could share your experiences of  what it takes to be who you are that's a loaded   loaded statement but i do appreciate it and  thank you for having me um how was your flight   and you're from philadelphia correct and how was  your plan i would say that as uh as i mentioned   to you earlier it's uh interesting to fly these  days because as the airlines and everyone pretends   that they are taking the universal precautions and  the necessary other precautions for kovid it's all   farce because once you get on the plane there's  not an empty seat and um social justice social   distancing does not exist so you never had zero  seats in between your seats uh no none not even   one never not even one not even not even one um  yeah actually i went to the zoo on the weekend   we had the same problem yeah it was overcrowding  people everywhere the animals were safer than the   humans it's it's bizarre it's really it's because  they you know it's nice you to be able to post   something on a wall um and say that you're gonna  do it but as you know as i like to say is that   watch what people do and not what they say yes and  so um they're definitely not even to the fact of   going through uh security at the airport you are  in line on top of each other and you're going   up to to the tsa officer removing your mask and  they're checking you out and then you go through   and they probably haven't cleaned the security  rollers and all that stuff in in decades and it's   disgusting but yeah is that why you have a bottle  of sanitizer with you everywhere you want multiple   multiple bottles that and lysol annual vaccinate  correct i am vaccinated how was that experience   uh i would say uh bittersweet the first shot  was fine it was great it was liberating and   then the second shot i had a fever of 102 for a  couple days so it was uh it was a little intense   but afterwards i felt free i was able to travel  again so it was it was well worth it and you come   out to la how often do you come out to l.a try to  come at least once a month if not more frequently   how do you like it over here versus in philly i  it's it's so i like to say love where you live   and i don't love living in philadelphia anymore  it's it's grown old in my old age i would say   that i've learned that i like to be in a place  in a warmer climate and my people are desert   people i'm jewish so we are from the desert so  i do i do appreciate a warmer climate and out   here it's it's always nice it's always sunny 70.  everything's green uh and i i appreciate that and   how long do you were you born there or you born  and raised in philadelphia i lived in paris for   uh a while about a year uh about a year or so and  i lived in japan for about a year and a half wow   um so your business development vp of a billion  dollar corporation um a lot of heavy weight   on your shoulders by doing that obviously  you're carrying the weight of the company   sure um you're big into real estate yes um  how's the real estate market been for you   so yeah that's one of my hobbies and my passions  is real estate and if i don't if i believe that   if i didn't if i wasn't good at my nine to  five occupation i would be a full-time in into   real estate development and uh rentals so i have  probably about 33 34 different properties that i   own and operate manage and it's my passion i love  taking something that is broken that may need some   tlc some love giving it some beautification and  rehab and then bringing it back to the market and   being able to have someone move in and appreciate  it have you had problems with renters or   there's like six million people in america not  paying rent banks extending loans or forbearance   sure nothing is touching not not nothing you  know i've been very fortunate the area that i i   focus in is a specific area in philadelphia many  on roxboro it's a good working-class neighborhood   that attracts young college kids to demographic so  i have them uh they pay and their parents co-sign   so i'm typically always guaranteed to rent so  um you are one of the hardest people i've known   working your day and night on the phone emails  one o'clock two o'clock in the morning i see text   messages the gray hair that's why it's prematurely  gray yeah that's a sign of wisdom right they hit   right because i write stupidity but yes um so  a lot of pressure on you how do you what what's   your what's pushing you like what's the drive yeah  what's making you who you are today because you're   successful and i see you and we've known each  other but we've done projects together working   together how do you define success of the question  right yes that's that's the ultimate question so   so two i guess that's a kind of a two-layered  question because what what's the drive and how   do you define success so the drive my drive is  that you could always do better you could always   be doing more you could always be doing something  else and always asking yourself what's next   so i i measure my life on little milestones and  accomplishments of stuff that i've been able to do   and they may be as simple as learning becoming a  certified scuba diver one day i wanted to become   a certified scuba diver took the classes did it  it might have been scuba diving twice in my life   afterwards but motorcycle i've been able to drive  motorcycle i had a motorcycle and that's it just   it's so from a business perspective the drive  is is that i you know i had a i was raised by   a single mother uh who worked very hard for  a very long time and was never really there   and i was a latchkey kid always came home got  in trouble whatever it was and you know that   that that that story so the the drive is to be  better than either way i was brought up and to   be ha be able to provide my children a better life  and that's what that's really what drives so you   believe that that was the point that actually  was pushing you more so like inside you like as   a kid seeing like obviously a single mother i'm  a single father but seeing your mother and being   you the only child younger brother younger brother  so being the oldest you're the man of the house   yeah intense purpose yeah yeah so was that a was  that something that was stacking your mind off   maybe unconsciously yeah i said probably  subconsciously yeah that and watching my mother   how hard she worked and she kind of installed that  work ethic and at a young age i i mean really from   the time i was probably let's say 11 12 years old  i was i i started learning you know the art of the   hustle and so i was i was out there trying to find  what angle i could do to make money and so i used   to this is back before google and so i used to get  the newspaper every sunday in the back newspaper   you'd be able to buy fish tanks and as crazy as  that sounds there was a a huge disparity in the   price of fish tanks you could buy a fish tank and  you could rehab a fish tank and you could sell it   and make a good profit so what i used to do is i  used to buy these fish tanks i used to sand them   paint them and then resell them as a 12 13 year  old kid making cash that was one thing and then   and that word then it turned into selling pretzels  on a corner that's the thing that doesn't exist   here in l.a what were you what were we trying  to buy at that age i mean you were nothing   nothing just wanted to just stack the pulp yeah  it was just it was just the thrill of the hunt   it was being able to to chase yeah yeah it's  right the chase is and that's really kind of   what i was looking to do and so um so it was went  from selling fish tanks to selling pretzels to   working at a supermarket bagging groceries i've  i've always worked that's all i know how to do   because that's all i saw my mother ever do was it  was work and i and even for myself i've actually   was in a similar position where i was cutting  everyone's grass my grandmother my dad would take   the lawnmower around three pounds here i was in  england's pound so to get three pounds for cutting   grass i'll be doing grass all week newspaper  deliveries uh always on the hustle to do something   and i think that got ingrained with me when now  it becomes it becomes you yeah and that's and   it's who you are because me and you are very right  you sound like me i completely agree and that's   but that's it's it's a blessing and a curse and  and and so the the challenges as you get older is   to be able to try to get some balance in life and  try to figure out how you can have the the hustle   and also have the quality of life and that's  kind of i you know as we've discussed before   in the us is the work to live versus the  live to work concept and you know uh and   here compared to other countries i i personally  believe that we have it backwards is that people   live to work whereas they you know instead  of working to live yes and so um you know   like look at look at france they have mandatory  mandatory time off the hour the work week is less   um and so it's just it's a quality of life  issue and so uh and you you've traveled around   because obviously in your job you've been  to i mean i mean 67 68 different countries   and seeing the work ethic or how people are in  those countries i know it's business related but   when you're around do you see much of how people's  lifestyle is over there so from it's essentially   having lived in europe and having lived in asia  uh it's it's it's a complete dichotomy so you have   europe which the the it's a very quality of life  oriented where um in asia it's very well in japan   in particular it's very similar to the us is they  they literally live to work as well that's why you   have the the the japanese businessman who sleeps  in a suit in a uh in a small hotel that has a   capsule for the night because he went out with  his friends and drank all night and so that he   could beat work the next day have you been one of  those pods yes yes i have from experience it was   very interesting listening to uh japanese men  snore next to you and it's it we we went there   for a night and then we left in the middle of the  night because we couldn't couldn't do it so but it   was it was an experience to see wow no no that  is something yeah you see on tv you know where   people get to experience that yeah um so traveling  around you've been to what's your favorite country   where was the most country you say that you enjoy  the way you love and you say well that's a cool   place like i love this place i've gone vacation  i'd like to have business there sure is there a   place yeah i so i would say that the i love the  philippines uh but i was in the philippines in   the late 90s and i was on a small island called  boracay where there was no electricity and it was   magical and so i i would say i like to keep it  that thought in my mind the way it was because   i know it's not like that anymore and it's been  commercialized so but if i had to go back and if i   had to move to another country it would probably  be thailand it'll be thailand yeah what do you   like about thailand uh the people it's the land  of smiles it's that's literally it's called the   land smiles because the people are happy uh the  weather's nice and it's cheap cost of living so   you could you could survive there you could  you could do anything that you want there um   so okay so you've as a kid you're hustling you're  doing your stuff uh you're trying to make it how   do you get into getting into logistics because  obviously we're in the logistics business how did   you turn up in logistics so uh my mother started  a courier company in 1990 and so small package   delivery in philadelphia bike messengers and so  i would from time to time be a bike messenger   during the summers after high school i would be  a walker through town delivering packages and so   that's kind of uh that's how i got into logistics  and it was a horrible mistake that i should not   looking back on it i should have gone to law  school become a doctor like all other good   jewish boys do so but i messed up so the that's  and that's so then i did that i went to college   and i said to myself uh in college i studied  japanese east asian studies and business   so i got out of college couldn't really find a  good job with that and wasn't sure what to do so   i went back to the family business worked there  for a couple years and then said this is not for   me i don't want to be involved in this and so  then i went to graduate school and got my mba   and that's where i was able to live in paris go  back to japan and um and work on pallet jacks no   so and they go to go go to japan and uh and  get my master's degree and then i graduated   from graduate school september 9th 2001 two days  before the world ended with september 11th and so   it was absolutely horrible couldn't find a job  for six seven months living on my mom's couch   and i ended up getting a job as a auditor six  months later for an international chemical company   that sent me around the world doing audits  financial operational audits which was great   so i got that experience and then i worked for  a large insurance company doing a similar role   yeah then i said corporate america is not for me  and i went back to the family business which was   awesome you didn't want to go right right and i  ended up making a mistake and going back so you   jinxed yourself from the start by saying that 100  100 so so i went back and uh we grew the business   we opened up multiple offices up and down the east  coast and and grew the business successfully and   then my mother sold the business and i was left  without a job at that point and so i figured uh   that i you know why not well i was offered at the  time we were friends with one of the gentlemen who   worked at service by air which was a freight  forwarder at the time and they he said would   you be interested in taking over the philadelphia  franchise and so i said sure and we did and i um   and i'm intimidated by your dog and so it's so   she's they're too intimidating right  right right good good um and so it's   i'm a dog lover i also was on the board of paws  um for a long time which is a non-profit for the   animals so but i uh yeah so so i we grew that  and then so i took but then i i purchased the   philadelphia franchise as a service by air and  so that's how i got into freight forwarding i   knew nothing of freight forwarding i knew nothing  of international logistics i only had background   in the courier side of business so i had a crash  course in all of air import air export ocean i   had no idea what a master bill of lading what  no no idea but the office was losing a lot of   money one thing i knew how to do was was to  make money and to fix things that were broken   so i was able to fix that office turn it around  and it went from the worst performing office in   the sba network to number one in the matter of two  years and it was there's 40 there was 47 offices   at that time so that's pretty good and we were  the largest office until i sold to radiant in 2014   and so and then when we were radiant we grew we  doubled in business as well and we were the we   are the top three office uh in the radiant network  and it's been a constant hustle because obviously   you're talking because i can hear you jump you're  out of a job you're jumping jumping jumping you go   to the next level yeah so it's been a constant  push and i think you've been fighting non-stop   yeah and that's the way i see you when i see you  work because obviously we do projects together   uh like i see you pushing yourself and you care  for the customers i see you taking care of the   customers i see you just keep going to the  next level and pushing everyone to be better   yeah and is there a piece of you that's trying  to push even the people under you to be better   is that is that who you're trying to create people  out there yeah you know that's the greatest asset   we have in any organization whether whether i own  the organization or whether i work an organization   people report to me or even if they're  colleagues and or mentees whatever it may be   it's yeah it's it's growth and i don't have all  the answers but if i if i can help somebody grow   and if they want to grow i will certainly  do it and i think that's that's part of   what's what's lost in the world is is caring it's  like that's you know what are we putting on this   earth to do what is how it goes back to the second  part of the question success how do you define   success and how do you how how do you measure  success and so is it financial is it spiritual   is it what what what what is it so um you know i  think a lot of that has to do with caring about   other people and if you care about people and  you're happy and you want to make them happy   it becomes contagious it's actually when i first  began this place it was um people we were just   picking up from random places so it was people  who were just coming out of restaurants people   who hang their first job i think one of our  main guys here his first job in logistics but   these people have grown over the last seven years  and have become very strong and a very important   part probably one of our best employees to the  organization because of what they've learned   and how they've grown with the company from being  four people to over 70 or 80 people and it really   is rewarding to see what i've done for them this  is something that i hope yeah that they're going   to take with them for the rest of their life and  say hey remember my old boss and i want to be that   guy you hope but i but i but i i would say i would  say that you know even if it's one person that you   change their life that's that's worth it because  i've been extremely disappointed by people that   i thought that i have had a profound impact  on their life and realized it went in one ear   right out the other but if one person says thank  you it's it's worth it it means everything yeah   the logistics industry right now yes so uh it's  very expensive everything is becoming expensive   logistics ocean freight is becoming  expensive pilots are becoming expensive   uh drage from the port is becoming expensive being  in this industry what use what are you seeing   right so yes so i think that you know part of  that is um as a result of of covid certainly and   the manufacturers not being able to manufacture  the wood for the pallets the shrink wrap uh but   it's also the the airlines are operating at 40 so  you don't have the capacity so supply and demand   so that and that's really what it comes down to so  everything everything the price of to do to live   to work increases so hopefully with the next  few months we'll start to see a change but um   i'm not extremely positive because from the ocean  pricing forecast for the ocean containers it's   going it's going to skyrocket the pricing before  all this to where the pricing is today how much   of an increase are you seeing it's it's what is it  tenfold i know so so so if a container was one so   i think beforehand and going to la was 17 to 1700  to 2 000 and what are we paying now 4 500 to 5 000   and go back to the east coast uh east coast you  was 3 500 to 4 000 and we're at 10 000. so it's   doubled more than doubled right and gas prices  sure have added to that too and you guys pay for   450 a gallon here we're 279 to three dollars back  back east that 450 a gallon gets us some sun too   right vitamin d vitamin the vitamin d attacks you  got it so do you feel like uh the pricing of all   these high charges at some point somebody's got  a pay yeah who do you think where's your opinion   it's the consumer you know unfortunately the  consumer pays for it um and the you know the uh   the uninformed consumer because they they just  they will ultimately realize that this was once   a dollar ninety nine and oh wow you know what  i'm now paying 299 for it and and it's that's   it's going to what's going to happen trickle  down um yeah no i see that here too so i see   the pricing of drag being so expensive the gas  prices everything is skyrocketing everyone's   putting a fuel surcharge on us um i believe that  it's going to go to the consumer as well like i   believe that the individual the small guy is  going to pay for this which makes the incomes   less i know they're trying to do a minimum wage  increase but the small guy will pay more and more   thinking that we've got our wage goes up but that  means that somebody's paying for that product now   gets put into that pricing gets put into the price  my bigger concern is the stimulus money and all of   this the unemployment all this money that the u.s  government is paying and and how are we going to   rebound from that what what will be the deficit  at the end of all this and and how do we get out   of it and that's going to be that's going to  be interesting it's scary i think the system   is broken and i think we were discussing that  the system is broken and there's something wrong   there's a lot of money flowing in the market right  now but if there's six million people not paying   rent right um there's forbearances and record  number four bearings so how how are those those   banks yes they're be they're backed by the us  government but there's not an infinite supply of   money so where how do how do we get out of it how  do we dig ourselves out of it because forbearances   i believe expire for the cares act at the end of  uh september october i believe sometime in that   timeframe and i think they're trying to extend  it for another 40 years on top of your mortgage   right an extension on your mortgage but which  is fine so that you just have to pay pay that   longer so that money doesn't go away but for the  year right now for the year and a half those banks   have not been getting any money so they do they  have the reserves to pay operate have they been   you know all those years that they've making  record profits that you hear the wall street this   so how are they operating and how how are they  paying their employees and so it's just it's it's   the economics of this entire mess that we created  and how we're going to spin out of it so like with   businesses closing down during this this pandemic  we had businesses closing down a lot of people are   not opening up a lot of stores are not opening  up even across the street i've noticed yeah yeah   like it's like everyone's just disappearing i  don't know if they can especially the small mom   and pop stores are gone i mean we're lucky that  we're in a central business and we were able to   coast through this but i've seen billion dollar  companies shrinking sure and we handle a lot of   building.com so i see when they're letting  go of people and it's scary when i see that  

um where do you where do you believe this thing  ends does everything get back to normal do we   do we fight our way out do they print  ourselves out as the economy starts   picking up do you think that we make it you  know yeah i mean i think that there may be   a devaluation of the us dollar at  some point because because of this   because once they recognize the true deficit after  this who knows god forbid that happens but that's   that's that's certainly a possibility but you also  have yeah you know the the small businesses that   are just never going to recoup all the restaurants  bars like in philadelphia it's a very small town   uh when and everything's really compact and  the restaurants and bars there are a lot of   bars that have been around for decades that are  gone that just just come completely eviscerated   so what are those people doing now what are all  their employees doing now and you know because   there's no new job growth really it yes you have  the amazon effect and that's that's so people   are leaving those industries to go into logistics  which is which is interesting too what's your   feeling on amazon because amazon for me is taking  over the world i mean they're doing everything   and anything and they're getting rid of molds yeah  out the way i believe they're going out the window   yeah what's your feeling on amazon so yeah it's  it's it's they're the 800-pound gorilla in the   room and i think that they are and they have they  have the deep pockets to do whatever they want   to do which is extremely scary so you know from  their own fleet of airplanes to uh you know the   buying final mile logistics companies and so uh  hopefully at some point we'll be on the benefiting   side of that and they'll come knock on our doors  somewhere but but no but truthfully it's it's   um it's scary because they they are forced  to be reckoned with and they will start   just like walmart dictates the ocean right ocean  freight pricing yes amazon's going to dictate the   price of trucking and ground logistics at some  point because they're going to control so much   of it at one point when we were actually putting  out resumes even to get people into our business   we used to have 100 people applying at some  point amazon scooped up everybody because   everybody hears the name amazon and says wow big  company sure but you're seeing on tv right now   where they're talking about the unions trying to  create unions how people are overworked at amazon it's i think it's pushing that alone has pushed up  the minimum wage yeah they've scooped up everybody   sure and yeah i think you know it's it's even  and they're just buying these huge facilities   and they're opening them everywhere and they  have to put people in them and so and they   realize that and they have the pockets to pay  so whereas a job might be a 20 hour job they're   paying 30 an hour which is outrageous but that's  what they're doing um so the homeless has been   increasing um over here like even with our other  facility we have tents coming up in the parking   lot or not in our parking but just around the edge  of our parking lot where our container is parked   in a secured area we have people taking a dump  along the back i mean it's like a river over there   um it's bad i'm actually we're gonna hire a poor  party just to stick there because we have to pay   the seat to come and clean it up it's that bad  oh that's disgusting um we have people living   in trashcans behind um it's getting worse i used  to ride my bike by the riverbed yeah and it's like   a village down there it really is a village  it's unfortunate and um venice beach uh i'm   you i'm sure you're familiar with vegetables uh  venice beach has uh tents and can you pull up that this is a there's a guy the german in venice and  that's just an idea of wow how venice beach was   and this is a place where i used to take family  members right and it's bad that's horrible it's   really bad right now where even the business  or the tourists going there the businesses are   closing down but they found that the the some  of the homies are running to the stores taking   stuff so people don't want to be there it's  it's it's horrible of where the world where   it's where they're coming from that's scary so in  america there's there's what 340 million people or   something like that that's something around that  number but then you have um one over a million   homeless in the u.s over a million and i  think california is almost a quarter off   the homeless it's scary isn't it yeah yeah uh so  it's let's you would think that they would be able   to do something with all the taxes that we pay if  you you would think that and i think that you've   got a similar problem yeah yeah yeah philadelphia  i mean historically it's it's a major city with   it's we have a lot of poverty uh you know i was  just reading an article today so the so for every   um so in uh urban housing urban development  the hud um the which is the ph which is also   affiliated with the pha section 8 housing so  for every single house that's available for   a potential tenant they have 500 applicants  so they're for every house there's 500 people   so there's it's just and those are people that  aren't necessarily homeless they may be living in   uh shelters halfway half halfway houses or in  existing um section 8 housing and they just   and they need help and it's it's it's it's it's  another epidemic it's really it's really true and   it's it's scary and so yeah that's uh yeah that's  kensington avenue in beautiful philadelphia where   yeah there's a competition with venice right now  right well i would probably say it's probably   worse because that's really known for the heroin  epidemic there like they're like it's a lot of   a lot of drugs and a lot of bad people uh that  that are homeless there they're not all bad   but that's that you know you have it creates the  desire just like you said venice they're breaking   the stores and just stealing it there it's a lot  of a lot of drugs and um a lot of uh a lot of bad   things that go on there but yeah that's that's  it and i you know i don't understand why the   the homeless in philadelphia don't go somewhere  warmer like that's it's like like i can understand   that on the beach they're camping on a beach  that's it's almost romantic but here they're   sleeping on in 30 degree weather on on sewer  grate well they say that some of these cities   are giving tickets to um the homeless putting  them on a bus sending them to california right   now kensington but sending them to california  to actually live here i believe that's what   they're doing i believe everyone turns up in  this nice tropical climate southern california   i i believe it right so it's and that's it's  unfortunate but yeah that's that's scary so um   yes with the way that you're so how do you  with all this stuff going on in your life   and you again you're busier than normally than  anybody i know you are one of the busiest guys   i'm afraid to look at my emails at two o'clock  in the morning because i know that here it goes   expecting a response it's okay just on saturday  how do you keep yourself relaxed how do you stay   calm how do you enjoy life so that was what's your  downtime that's one of the things i mentioned it's   trying to find that balance it's it's a constant  struggle it's the hustle and the balance it's so   uh i've i've been doing martial arts for a long  time so that's the kind of the the op the opposite   that's the the spiritual and the physical release  of stress and anger and that's how i get rid of it   and i've been practicing jiu jitsu and muay thai  for quite a long time um and it's that's and if   i don't uh my wife knows to stay away because  i i i easily anger and my bad temper but when   you're when you're getting choked out near death  on a weekly basis and uh and with with friends and   go figure you pay to get kicked your ass kicked  by friends you feel you feel better and so uh   that's that's that's that's the one release and  the other release is my kids and they you know   the patience uh that you have to have when you  have children is amazing yes and so i become a   much better person becoming a parent and that's  and that's just that's the fun part and actually   there's a specific time when me and you talk in  the evenings that you are putting your kids to bed   and i i know the moments of when that's right so  you're very dedicated to that i give you props   for that that's the most important thing is that  they putting my kids to bed uh saying saying good   night to them uh that's that's because you know  we have a limited time on this on this planet so   yes and especially as you see that you blink  and your kids go from toddlers to teenagers   to out of the house and so i try to be present so  and how old are your kids eight and ten eight and   ten are they seeing the business side of you and  picking up on ideas that you have because i i know   with my kids they see and i'm talking to them i  feel like i'm talking to an adult about business   should i be talking to somebody else right right  well it's amazing and so my son i my oldest   i think he's he has the the art of hustle more  more than my my youngest but he's you know he   read the uh he just read the book uh was it  from an idea to google and and i think that's   what they're called an idea to nike and so he  reads these books and he gets interested uh and   so and so what it's funny so last weekend he was  acting out a little bit and so i changed one of   the names in my contact list to sergey brin and  i said i'm going to call my friend sergey and   i'm going to and he's you know he's the creator  of google and and i'm going to tell him because   you're on google you're on youtube too much i'm  going to tell him to cut it off and so you can't   do it anymore and so i changed the name i showed  it to him i was texting with him and i showed it i   said here's sir guys and he's like you know sergey  ryan oh my god and so but it was a fun joke but   he he gets it and so even last night or  two nights ago he had a meeting with his uh   a group of eight ten-year-olds to come up with  a business idea uh they were because they wanted   they want to do something so they came up with  this this idea to come up with custom t-shirts   that they want to sell and they want to donate  the proceeds to their school um and to another   charity and i thought that was a novel idea and  i did something that could certainly take off   who's not going to buy a t-shirt from a group  of ten-year-olds to benefit a charity so   so they get it and of course he's out on you  know on the call touting oh and my dad's in   logistics and he can deliver everything we want  and deliver and invest right right right exactly   right and pay for everything great so i have  to go buy a screen printing machine now so   that's gonna be fun great so are you gonna be the  one training them on the machine i have no idea i   have no idea how to use it why not we'll try so um  what charity they're gonna donate to yeah or those   not yet so we so um my uh my wife is very involved  so i had my college friend son had a traumatic   brain injury called holton heroes he's they're  actually out here in l.a and it's uh he his   was with a nanny and he uh it fell off the  couch and and traumatic brain injury and he's   paralyzed and he's it's like i think six or  seven now and so so my wife's on the board   and so we we do um a lot of charity involved to  holton's heroes so that's that's important to us   and i was also on the board of paul's which  is the philadelphia animal welfare society so   um i that's animals i know you're a dog lover yeah  yes so i have three dogs but i also i also donate   to a lot of animal charities as well so yeah yeah  so that they haven't decided but i'll let them   decide there's a group of eight of them i do not  want to get involved in that whatsoever that's not   please send us the link so that we can actually  buy i appreciate it i shall you can even design   them yeah maybe i'll do the logistics  for you for free mind you there you go um   so how long are you in town for until thursday  thursday and are you visiting some sites while   you're here or is it strictly business even though  we have the sun i know you bought the cold weather   with you because it's a little chilly today for  a little time yeah i you know i that's one of the   things is that the if if i bring my family  out here that's when we do the sightseeing   when it's when i'm here it's not as much fun to  do it yourself so there are only there are three   places that i'd like to go to in la that i haven't  been to yet which are um was it the pete millen   museum which is a collection i think he's up in  oxnard a collection of like a crazy car collection   and there's there are two other car uh museums  that are in la that i'd like to check out   because that's that's fine that's something my  wife would never want to do and that i would   that's vintage cause uh both vintage and  current it's like you know the it's not jay   leno's collection but it's it's it's similar i'll  i'll i'll bring him up and i'll show you um so   i know you're in jiu-jitsu the fighting beating  the hell out of someone when you're stressed   i'm i'm usually the most trying to do stay quiet  i'm usually the recipient because i'm the old man   in the room most of the time um so you're seeing  the uh publicity with this youtuber boxing yeah uh   one thing about the main ones right now is jake  paul versus ben akron yeah uh did you watch the   um the interview yes the exchange it wasn't much  of an interview as an exchange of profanity and uh   embarrassing uh yes it was it was pathetic but yes  i thought he was trying too hard so jake paul was   trying very hard to um piss off uh he was fully he  was a bully yeah yeah i made you want him to get   bn yeah i hope he does yeah well and plus ben's an  mma practitioner so and a jujitsu practitioner so   i'm outside with him you think that the boxing  side of um that would be a little difficult for   him you know i i don't i don't know jake paul's  i i watched his fight against nate robinson it   was kind of pathetic i i you know look i i'm not  a professional boxer but i think that he there's   something a little bit left to uh to desire i  think he's solid i think the guy is solid like   i think he's got he's got good buildings he's  stamina without his training stuff i i i think   that he if he hits i think he's a heavy hitter  well he's tall and has a big reach too yeah so   um but i think that uh with ben i think that it's  um he's a long long fighter like he's going to go   all the way to the end i think that if it's going  to happen it's going to happen that he's going to   if he does if jake paul doesn't knock him out in  the beginning of the first two rounds i think that   ben banneker will take him out at number six oh  you bet are you betting man is that what you're   doing is that what we're getting to right now  let's throw it on the waitress i don't know true   i would say that um it's it's a different type  of he's olympic he's an olympic guy too yeah   wrestling or something yeah yeah so yeah so the  look what conor mcgregor did against uh mayweather   like that's that's that's he lasted like it there  is something to be said about the mma world and   the the stamina and perseverance that you have at  being attacked and and they're trying to kill you   boxing is a gentleman sport it's a great sport  i love boxing it's it's beautiful it's beautiful   to watch um it's just not it's yes they're trying  to hurt you it's just not the same intensity i i   i don't think but what's my opinion i think  ben's got such a big chin i don't think that   anyone's going to knock your mouth out once  we'll see we'll see we'll see we shall see so plans for the future what were you trying  to achieve where do you retire i would   where are you going are you going to the moon uh  yeah that's i i don't ever see myself stop working   that's that's that's probably part of my uh my  demise is that i just don't i i can't see myself   doing it you enjoy it right yeah every every day i  get up i i'm i i don't i'm never depressed i enjoy   what i do i love what i do i enjoy enjoy my taking  care of my customers i was with the customer today   and we had a great conversation literally  she had me penciled in for an hour   it was an hour and a half and we didn't  even talk about the business so we were   talking about life and it was that's that's when  you can bridge personal and build a relationship   with a customer then it's kind of transforms into  a real relationship so and that to me is more   important than talking about business and what  the opportunities are and uh i don't like to beg   for business and that's that's not my mo so  you don't beg for they just throw it at you   sometimes too much sometimes too much but but  but the yeah success i i don't know stopping i   don't foresee it i'm relatively young so i still  have another 20 years or so what do you see like   you know you see these sales people or the people  who are kind of not under you specifically but you   see people in different industries and they  can't get it right is it lack of motivation   do you think that they're lacking motivation or  there's nothing burning inside them or they they   don't know where they're going i think it's you  know it depends on the person right so so so each   everybody's wired differently and everybody has a  different perspective on anything and some people   suffer from the uh the fear of no they don't  they don't they don't want to be rejected and   that's that's pr in sales that's probably the  biggest thing is that as nobody wants to hear no   and um and you know knows knows a part of life  it hurts but it's a part of life you know in   in your in your teens and 20s when you're out  dating and you get you go you're how many times   have you heard no so so but but that but that's  life so it's a ratio thing 10 no's equals one yes   well that's what they say about sales right and  so right it's all about the numbers the attempts   and completions and so yeah and i agree i agree  to that and so if you're not out there trying   you're not going to close anything so that's  that's that's one thing i think that people so   fear of no people are also um some people feels  like they become a victim because if they don't   get the business then they're looked upon by  their bosses with a quota and if they don't hit   the quota then you know that then they're targeted  and then that's the whole the victim complex and   some people just don't have the the personality  and or the experience in and what i've learned   is the the most i'm doing the opposite right now  but is is to be able to listen yes you know and so   the most important thing is listening yeah and  stuff right right you got me talking the whole   time i'm not listening so but no but but the  truth is is that you have to listen to somebody   and so that's and you can't project your needs and  desires onto that person you have to you have to   hear what they need and then you can customize  your response to to what their needs are   so when you see people who want to be you and they  say hey i want to drive a car like you own away   you tell me that who that person is right i'd  like to meet that person but but when they're   when they're just saying that they want to  be you rather than putting the work in um   what makes them like what do you say to that  person so look i say lest you're behind or   is it just because last week uh one of  the one of the guys who works for me   he he was kind of lost and he's very  articulate intelligent kid he's probably 34   and he he asked if i would be his mentor and  i said of course with pleasure so we found the   one guy right right right well he didn't want  to be like right he wants it he wanted advice   he wanted to lose close right and so i said okay  send me an invite for a weekly meeting and we'll   carve out a half hour an hour a week and we  can talk did he do it no he hasn't done it   right so so that's the follow up and and as i  said in the beginning watch what people do not   what they say yes so yes he said he would do it  he didn't do it and so shame on him i'm not and   i don't need to chase him because you know my  time is very valuable and so that's so that's   that's that's part of it is is it's just it's just  the challenges that some people just are not wired   for sales some people are uh just are happy and  content with the way things are and good bad and   different there's no right there's no wrong if  they're happy god bless them that's i'm glad that   they found happiness because i'm still searching  for this for happiness so i i have people who like   to talk and hear what they think they're going to  do so i had someone come to my office and he goes   hey i want to start a business doing this and  doing this and i said okay let's figure out how   you do it because i want to help if i see somebody  doing it and going into entrepreneurship or trying   to do a business i know how tough it is it's tough  you have i questioned myself and i said how tough   am i because it's so freaking hard and so he comes  to my office and he tells me about his business   oh that's a great it's a great idea so how are you  gonna do it so let's put a plan together because i   love create being a creator i love that so i said  okay let's put a plan together let's write this   out let's write this out let's do this what you're  going to do where the money is going to come from   you can import first over here you're going to  place it over here this is how you do distribution   and we spoke about everything social media name  we spoke about everything two months later nothing   and he's done nothing and he didn't want to talk  about anything and then he starts avoiding me   but i was excited to get his business off the  ground to be a part of creating something i   think so fascinating and i think that some people  are just lacking that to do i need to do it and   they don't do it no and that's and that's part  and it's and as again blessing and a curse of   being a serial entrepreneur and that's it's always  trying to do something else and now my kids are   watching shark tank and they and like it's it's  it's really it's really spiked in my house the   entrepreneurialism in my house and but it's but  it's good but i i don't want them to lose sight on   just being normal yeah yeah normal life like like  and that's then that's again the balance so it's   it's it's it's really interesting it's really  tough but um yeah i just it's i feel like there's   there's opportunity and everything you look at  and then and so it's just being able to identify   the opportunity measure it and determine if it's  worth your time because we all have the same 24   hours a day so it's it's different it's you you  you know don't be mad at me because i spend my 24   hours differently than how you spend your 24 hours  and that's also the other thing is is that people   have criticized again like you said necessary  criticism as how much i work and what i do and   i say okay that's that's my 24 hours i choose what  i want to do with my 24. that work to live is you   work but how do you want to live right and that's  the that's the extension of that work to live so   you can work to live and you say hey i just want  to have my little apartment i want to do nothing   and i'm very happy and there's nothing wrong  with it at all everything i would love love that   but when you want to work to live because i want  to have good things i want to take care of my kids   i want to buy pay for my kids education i want  to buy my kids the latest nikes because that's   what they want in school i need to buy a printing  machine for screen printing machines for shirts no problem um i think it's um a very um hard road  to navigate yeah it's a very hard work because   everyone thinks they want something but when you  get you say man did i really ask questions right   and after you get it you're like wow was it is  it worth it is it right but it comes back to   the chase yeah like the chase was fun because  you say oh i'm gonna set my goals out so big   and i'm gonna keep running after it yeah and  that's that's you know that's that's the just   that's that's really the hunt and that's it's  really the hunters and gatherers right you're   you're hunter you're a gatherer and and so  yes and i don't even always eat the meat   after i kill it but i i but i i do i do like  to hunt you like to share the meeting yeah   and so but that's part of it is and again  going back to an organization is realizing   the importance of the assets the people and making  sure that you recognize and reward them and that's   i think i find that's the toughest thing in an  organization is that we are so busy all the time   running and we're always looking forward and just  keep sprinting is that sometimes you don't have   to you don't have the time just give an atta  boy or at a girl or whatever it is and say uh   you know thank you for the great job you've done  and and i appreciate you and okay i it might not   be much but here's 100 bucks for your pocket  and and thank you for doing it so that's it's   and i've i've suffered from it too what what would  you have wanted your kids i know right now they're   talking about business if you were to say hey i  want them to do this what what line of work would   you have wanted them to go into i mean at 10 years  old and eight years old uh that's a good question   what would i what would i i'm not a doctor right  now right dog training how about that uh no uh the   uh whatever makes him happy truthfully  whatever makes him happy but i i could see   my my my youngest he he wants to be an athlete  but i can see him being in comedy because he   has that he has that personality and my oldest uh  he loves to sing and he could be a singer we love   the arts in my house and um but my but he also  likes engineering and architecture because he   likes to figure out the way things work and and  so it's possible that's that will be his course   we'll see and i'll look back on this podcast  20 years from now and say look they came in i   called it i called it right they made it i brought  them into logistics and i told my i told myself   i wasn't going to do it but no yeah so so do you  hope to one day to come out to california is that   yours i mean maybe look i you know the as far as  retirement i i i want to be somewhere warm i i i   really would like to live and be somewhere  warm uh i'm done with philadelphia i love   philadelphia but i i've proven that i can work  from anywhere at this point and i think there's   a lot of opportunity the west coast and i think  that that's that's potentially it's where i'll be   or for florida but florida's horrible in the  summer you were just in florida right uh i was   in florida in december yeah you took the driver  yeah we drove down yeah how long was the drive   for 18 hours 18 hours yeah you drove in one  shot one shot yeah one shot peeing in bags and   they have little johnny on the spot bags  that you can pee in while you're driving   and uh luckily nobody had to make it number two  so uh but we were prepared we had one of those uh   little home depot things with your seat on it that  if you had to we weren't stopping for anything so   so but that was good and we made it my my lovely  wife and i we shared the driving duties and   right straight through how does your wife deal  with you being so busy because i know that that   plays a big part of relationships with business  ownership and uh why voicing you busy in time   and where your your time how does that play  a part in your life i it's fortunately for   our relationship i've been the same since uh  day one to today so she knows who she married   uh and when we dated it was it was always the  same saturday night has always been reserved   for date night and that's kind of other than that  uh it's it's business it's and she knows so felipe   i want to thank you for your time that's it uh  yeah i know that you enjoy your time over here   but i want to thank you for your time  here and i appreciate you sharing   your life with us thank you for  having me appreciate it thank you oh my by the way i still do this for the show

2021-04-23 06:28

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