OoM 007： How to Make the Entrepreneurial Leap with Ever Gonazalez
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Summary
Ever Gonzales is a serial entrepreneur and is currently the founder and CEO of Outlier Inc., an online publication, a physical co-working space, and a conference series geared towards establishing startups and entrepreneurs. Ever has always enjoyed taking the road less traveled in his business and also in every aspect of his life, and that s what he s here to talk about today.
Transcript
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The statistic says that up to 60 to 70 percent of people are dissatisfied with their careers.
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Is that you? If so, you'll love the show we have lined up today. My guest Ever Gonzales
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shares with us how we can make a successful transition from a dissatisfied work experience
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to the life we love. You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest. Embrace your fears
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and boldly chart your own path. When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time. Every
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time. You are not easily deterred or defeated. Rugged. Resilient. Strong. This is your life.
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This is who you are. This is who you will become. At the end of the day, and after all is said and done,
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you can call yourself a man. Thanks again for joining us on the Order of Man podcast. My name
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is Ryan Mickler, and as always, I'm excited to be here with you today. Just a couple of housekeeping
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notes. The first thing that I wanted to do is remind you that Mother's Day is coming up.
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It's Sunday the 10th, 2015. I am a huge believer that women have a very real role in helping men
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reach their full potential. So with that, guys, do not, do not forget to honor the women in your
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life that have played a part in making you the man that you are today. It would be a huge mistake to
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forget. So you can thank me later, and if you really want to thank me, you can show me some love
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and appreciation by leaving us a rating and review for the podcast at orderofman.com slash iTunes.
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As always, you can find show notes for this episode with an overview of the show,
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the links, and how you can reach our guest at orderofman.com slash 007. Now, I'd like to
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introduce you to our guest today. Ever Gonzales is a serial entrepreneur and is currently the founder
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and CEO of Outlier, which is an online publication, a physical co-working space, and an amazing conference
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series that I've personally been to, which is geared towards establishing startups and entrepreneurs.
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He's a true outlier, and I know that Ever has always enjoyed taking the road less traveled
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in his business and also every aspect of his life. He has a passion for helping the next generation of
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entrepreneurs, and that's what he's here to talk with us about today. All right, Ever, thank you so
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much for joining us. I'm glad that you're here today. Hey, thanks for having me, Ryan. I'm really
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looking forward to this chat. I think we're going to have a good conversation for those guys who maybe
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feel a little bit stuck and want to escape that corporate environment or that career-type
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environment and go out on their own, and I think you're the perfect guy to discuss and have a
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conversation about that. I'm looking forward to it. So tell me a little bit about what you're doing
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with Outliers now. Tell me a little bit about what that is. Yeah, so Outlier, we have Outlier Inc.,
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which is kind of the mother company for Outlier Magazine slash podcast, and then Outlier Labs and
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Outlier Conference Series. Everything we do is geared towards helping entrepreneurs either start,
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grow, or scale their businesses. With the labs, it's a physical space here in southern Utah.
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For 50 bucks a month, we invite entrepreneurs from the city to kind of come in and have a professional
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working environment. We have meetups and summits all the time to kind of help them by bringing in
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experts to talk about the different things that it takes to either start or grow a business.
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The conference series as well, we have conferences on a regular basis. At least we're trying to get
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two big conferences a year, and so we bring in keynote speakers. We have workshops, and again,
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it's everything to do with helping the young entrepreneurs and startups kind of get to the next
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level. And then my baby here, which I spend most of my time with, is the magazine and the podcast.
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With the podcast, we interview entrepreneurs from all over the world, and we just kind of get their
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story. We like to find out who they are, the company they're working for, how they got started,
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the good, the bad, and the ugly of being an entrepreneur. And then kind of towards the end,
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we like to kind of leave the audience with a few words of wisdom from our interviewee with their
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experience, saying, hey, I'm an expert in sales. This is what I suggest you do in order to get the
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most bang for your buck from your sales guys or whatever, right? I'm an engineer. This is what
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you should be doing. And it's working well. So I know you've literally had hundreds of conversations
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with entrepreneurs. And so I'm so excited to get into this because you'll be able to tell us what's
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working well, what isn't. So for those guys who are looking at making a change, what are some of
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the things they can get doing? So we'll get into that. But before we do, I know a little bit about
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your background because we've known each other for several years, which is completely different than
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what you're doing now. So tell me a little bit about that transition or what you were doing before
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and then why and how you transitioned into what you're doing now with Outlier and all the things that
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you have going on. Absolutely. Yeah. My background is in logistics. So I ran a freight management
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company for a few years before I started Outliers. So I would negotiate contracts between my clients,
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you know, their manufacturers or anybody that shipped anything and the trucking companies and the
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airlines. So I would kind of go out, wine and dine and kind of get to know manufacturers all over the
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U.S. and then kind of bring them onto our network because of the network that I was able to build.
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Then we would go out to the trucking companies and say, hey, instead of just shipping 100 shipments
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a week, now we have a thousand shipments a week. How about you give my company, the third party,
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a discount? We would turn around and give our clients a cheaper rate. We would provide them with
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software to be able to track and trace all of their shipments. We would give them access to
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reporting on a daily basis so they could run reports on a daily, weekly or monthly, which worked
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well with visibility for some of these smaller manufacturers that were doing business. It was
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the first time that they kind of were able to keep track of all of the things that they were doing,
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when it delivered, who signed for it, that kind of stuff. And things were going well for a couple
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of years. And then I just kind of, I don't want to say, I don't want to sound like a jerk and say
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it was going too well, but I mean, it was going well enough where I had a lot of free time on my
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hands. You know, I spent a lot of time golfing, actually golfing with you as well, right?
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I was golfing quite a bit, just kind of hanging out. And then I'm thinking, you know, I'm going to try to
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figure out what to do so that I'm a little more engaged with the business community. And I like
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talking to people. I like talking business. So I was thinking, you know what, on the side,
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I'm just going to throw up a little blog and invite people to kind of come on and I'll email
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them a list of questions to find out about themselves and their companies. And then I just
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post their pictures and the response to my questions on the blog. And I was doing that for a few months and
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it gained a lot of traction. And I was thinking, you know, I might have something here. So I kind
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of put a little bit more time and effort and resources into it. And it kind of blew up and
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Let me ask you a question really quick before you get further than that, because what was your goal?
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Like when you started and you did this side project, or we hear a lot about this side hustle
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while you were still with the logistics company that you owned and ran, what was the goal as you
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were starting that? Or was it purely just a hobby? Yeah, it was just a hobby. The goal was to get to
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meet interesting people and keep myself occupied doing something that I enjoyed. But in the back of
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my head, I mean, I was still angling to kind of get more business. And one of the things that I was
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saying, you know, if it's easier for me to kind of call up at the president of a manufacturing company
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and say, hey, I would love to interview you for our show or our blog, than it is for me and say,
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hey, I would love to meet up with you so that I can try to sell you on my logistics services.
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So I was on the side, I was trying to get in by getting to know them through the interview show.
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And then I would talk to him about the freight. But I mean, that was, you know, third or fourth
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on the list of things that I was actually trying to accomplish. But yeah, for the most part, it was
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just a hobby, something to keep me entertained. And I got to meet a lot of great people that I
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still keep in touch with, by the way. So in a way, just because of the conversations we've had,
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I know that you're kind of like your own client, because you're trying to teach other people out
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there who want to become entrepreneurs or who already are entrepreneurs and want to take it to the next
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level. And it sounds like that's what you were. I mean, you made this transition. So what were some
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of the biggest challenges that you had as you started to make this transition more of migration
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over to outlier as opposed to the logistics company? Yeah, for sure. Well, I, you know, I'm not
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trained in broadcasting or media, or I don't have any or marketing or any of that type of training or
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experience, really. Everything I did from the time I was 22 to about 35, I was, it was freight,
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it was logistics. So one of the biggest challenges was trying to convince the wife to kind of, you
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know, convince her to let me or, you know, talk about selling the freight company, which was a
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steady paycheck and start something that I really knew nothing about. I mean, what do I know about
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running the magazine back then or a podcast or having this co-working space? I didn't, I didn't know
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much. Um, but it was something I was passionate about, something that I knew that I I'd be able
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to do. Um, and so it's, it's, it's working out well. The thing that's, you know, took us all of 2014.
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I didn't, we didn't pay ourselves. Um, we were, we were building this, this, this platform, uh, to be
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able to be in a position now in 2015, where we have an audience. Now we have people that are engaging
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with us on a regular basis. Uh, I feel that we have this voice that can help us be able to get the
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message across whatever message we want to get across. We'll be able to get across now. Um, and the
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message that we want to get across right now is whatever you need, uh, in order to kind of quit
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your nine to five to start your own business finally, or now you're in your own business and
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you're, you need a little bit of help with expertise or mentorship. That's what we're there for. Whether
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it's here in Southern Utah or virtually because of our podcast and our articles and, um, eventually our
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traveling conference series. Uh, this is the message that we're trying to get across. If you want to do
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it, there are ways to do it. Um, but to kind of get back to answering your question, yeah, the hardest
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part was trying to figure out if this was just going to be a very cool side project, a very cool
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hobby, or whether I'd be able to make a business out of it. And so we took a chance and we decided
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to make a business out of it. So you talked about not having any training or education in this
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particular field. So obviously there's a huge learning curve when it comes to trying to figure things
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out. What are you, what did you see as being some of those hurdles or, you know, how did you get
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that training, that education that you needed and the experience to get you to where you are with
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outlier in the company now? Yeah, great question. So I, like I said, I didn't have any experience
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and I knew, um, that if I wanted to make this successful and give it a go, I would need help.
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Right. So, um, one of the hardest things for me starting this other than, you know,
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giving a steady paycheck up was, uh, working with people. One of the, I was running my show for a
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long time. Uh, I love people, but I have a hard time with, you know, managers or bosses telling me
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what to do, especially if I think that I know how to do it better, which being a young punk kid,
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I thought I knew better, you know, growing up in my twenties and early thirties. Right. Um,
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but I knew that I needed help. So I kind of built this little team around me. Uh, and some of them,
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you know, um, here in Southern Utah to, to help, uh, some of them were focusing on marketing,
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others on web design, you know, they were the creatives, they were the operations managers.
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And so we kind of built this little team. Uh, and the hardest thing for me was, um, now working with
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partners, right? For, for a long time, whatever I said, well, we just did now, not that I have to,
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I'm the CEO of outlier, not that I have to kind of, um, make everybody or have everybody be on the
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same page as far as how we move forward. But, uh, I want to be able to communicate with them and
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kind of help them with the, understand the vision. And, uh, a lot of times I forget that they can't
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read my mind. Right. And so now, now I have to communicate a little bit better. I have to kind
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of put the plan out there, um, so that everybody can see it and understand it and not just in my mind.
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Uh, but not having the experience, um, I brought these people on board and we've, I've just kind
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of learned as, as, uh, for this past year and a half, you know, we had Melinda Yeaman, who was a
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great marketer, uh, uh, Justin Jenkins, who was great at the creative side of things. And, um,
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I'm never going to be a professional marketer. I'm never going to be a professional, um, creative
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type of person that way, but I've been able to learn enough from them where I know how to do a
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few things and, but I know what my limits are. So once I know that, Hey, this particular project
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or this particular thing right here is going to need something, uh, or someone that's, uh, knows
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more than I do. So I'd like to think that I've learned when to be able to do that instead of
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kind of doing what most of us entrepreneurs do or thinking that we can do it ourselves,
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uh, everything right from the marketing to the accounting, to the message, to everything.
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Uh, we kind of get in that rut thinking I'm going to do it all, but we can't. And one of the most
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humbling things. And one of the things that I've struggled with most is realizing that and then
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being able to kind of reach out to others and say, I need help with this. Well, and I think you're
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right. And I've run into that trap too. And I think part of that too, is that for, for a while
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or even to a certain degree, we can do it ourselves. But really when we want to start
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scaling and growing our businesses, the way that we want to grow them, you're right. We have to bring
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on a team. And I know most of your team personally, and I know that they're great people. So my question
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is, how do you find those great people to surround yourself? Like how have you done it? And there's
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few companies out there that I know of personally that have done that, have surrounded themselves
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with great teams. How do you find those great people?
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You know, I was thinking about the other day thinking I've been pretty lucky with the team
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that I was able to build in my logistics company. And then now here with Outlier. I don't know. I
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think I'd like to think that, you know, even though I'm not the best communicator that I'm able to kind
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of communicate well enough where people can see and feel who I am, what I do, what I represent.
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And I think, you know, without getting too touchy-feely, my good karma, the fact that I
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really care about people attracts other like-minded individuals. And I think Outlier on top of that
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is such a great message, a great platform that it was easy to kind of sell to my partner saying,
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this is what I'm trying to create. And then it attracted a lot of people saying, I want to be
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a part of that. And I had to say no to a few other people just because they weren't going to be a
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cultural fit. But there were a lot of talented people that said, hey, listen, I see what you're
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doing. I love what you're doing. How can I be a part of it? But as far as my partners with Melinda
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and Kim and those guys, they kind of saw the vision and agreed that what we were trying to do
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was something that was going to be a lot of fun, something that was going to be noble,
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and we were going to be able to not only help ourselves, but help those around us.
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Well, and I know that the very first time we met, and this is a testament to what your answer you just
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gave me, because the very first time we met, I've always, always been impressed with your passion
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about what you're doing. And from the very first time we met, I'm like, man, that's a guy that I need
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to be around, because I can see that you're passionate, you're enthusiasm for what you're
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trying to accomplish. So yeah, I totally agree. I can totally see how having that vibe, for lack
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of a better term, is a huge motivating factor to drawing people around.
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Right, I appreciate it. And it's funny, because I feel the same way with you. We've sat for hours
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and hours just talking business, and we kind of shoot ideas around all the time, and it's fun.
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And I can tell that the conversations that we have, and I've kind of called you out on a few
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things, and you've called me out on a few things, and it's great, right? And then we just go grab
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a burger. I mean, I think that I've told you, hey, I don't think that's a good idea, or I completely
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disagree. You've done the same. But because we're passionate about what we do, we're passionate
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about people and their businesses, and maybe some of the mistakes that in our mind we see them
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making. But because we do it with love, or trying to help, genuinely trying to help, I think that
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people are okay with that. I would much rather be surrounded by people that are completely honest
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with me, even when it's a stupid idea, and they're able to tell me that it's a stupid idea, than a
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bunch of yes men saying, oh, that's great. Absolutely, let's run with it. I have a hard time with those
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type of people, and you know the team that I've been able to build. There's nobody like that in
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this group, and I think that's why I work so well. Well, and I think you're totally right. It all
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comes down to motive, right? What is your motive? If my motive is to come and talk with you just to
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beat you up, then that's going to come across, and that's not going to be a relationship. If my motive
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is, hey, I want to see you succeed, or vice versa, then I can say just about anything, as long as it's
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coming from the motive, I want to help, I want to see you succeed. Yeah, for sure. So, well, one of
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the things you said is you said you didn't pay yourself all of 2014, and I know that's somewhat
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of a unique circumstance because you were able to sell a logistics company, and I'm sure you had
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some money from that to be able to rely on and provide some sort of lifestyle. What do you say to
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the guys who are listening who want to make the leap and make the change, but don't have the
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financial resources to pull the trigger all at once and not pay themselves for an entire year?
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Yeah, which happens quite a bit, right? I mean, that's usually the story, that they don't
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have the resources to be able to do that and take a year to figure it out and take a year
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to try to build it. So I would say stay at your 9 to 5, but if you're passionate about it
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and if you truly want to build something, just go do it, right? Don't wait for the perfect
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opportunity or until you have enough money in the bank to quit your job and then you go start
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your thing. You know, you're working 9 to 5, 5.30 on, build your company or your project
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or whatever it is that you're trying to do with your entrepreneurial venture. Just go
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do it. Don't wait. Don't wait around for somebody to give you permission. Don't wait
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around for somebody to come and give you a handout. If it's something that you want to
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do, figure out a way to do it, whether it's waking up early or staying out late. But it's
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possible. There's no reason why you live in here in the States and in America that that
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can't happen with a little bit of hard work. Actually, with a lot of hard work.
00:19:38.160
Yeah. Yeah. Make sure you clarify that. So that's one of the things that I think I've seen
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and even to a degree with my businesses that I've started is that I've seen myself even
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in a way think, oh, if I just put something out there that's great, it'll work and everything
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will happen magically. So I know one of the things that I was doing wrong with some of
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the projects that I've started is thinking that that would be enough when I know that
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it isn't. And it takes hard work and dedication and long nights, early mornings. What are some
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of the other things that you see entrepreneurs are doing as they're making that leap? Because
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I know you've had hundreds, if not thousands of conversations about this very topic. What
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are some of the mistakes these guys are making as they're going out on their own?
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Well, not having a clear vision of what they want to do or who their clients are going to
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be. Those that are going to be paying, who are those people? You're building an app. What
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kind of people are going to buy that app? Or you're building a service company. What
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kind of people or companies are going to be using those services? You can build the most
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beautiful app, but if it doesn't serve a purpose or if it doesn't have an audience, then you're
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not going to succeed. So first of all, they need to figure out what they're passionate
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about and if that passion can turn into dollars by either building something or providing that
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service. So a lot of these guys think that, hey, because I would use it or because I would
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buy something like this, they think that the rest of the world is going to as well. And
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that's not the case. I see that type of mistake. Another mistake that I see is these entrepreneurs
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that are waiting for the perfect opportunity, whether it's to jump ship to their first company
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or now they have a product or a service, but they haven't pulled the trigger because they're
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waiting for it to be perfect. Guess what? It's never going to be perfect. I would rather
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have you guys kind of go out there and test it and do those type of things, but don't wait
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until it's absolutely perfect because it's never going to be and your opportunity might pass
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you up. So if you have a, let's say, I mean, let's take apps for, for, uh, for a sec. It's
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never going to be the perfect app. Put the app out there and let your potential, uh, buyers or
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people that are going to be using your app tell you what they like and what they dislike and then
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just tweak it or pivot or completely pivot. Right. How do you get that mindset though? Because I know
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that's really tough and I know it's hard, especially when you're getting overwhelming
00:22:09.260
criticism versus overwhelming accolades for what you put out there. So how do you change
00:22:14.800
your mindset to say, Hey, I'm not really worried as worried with perfection as much as I am getting
00:22:20.560
something out there and testing a concept. Yeah. Well, that, that, that's where the rub is,
00:22:24.920
right? I mean, that's, that's tough. You don't want to put something out there that's going to be
00:22:28.520
criticized. You don't want to put something out there that's not going to do well. Um, but then again,
00:22:33.220
on, on the other side, if you put some out there that's, that you're waiting for, that's going to be
00:22:37.400
perfect. Uh, that opportunity might've passed you up seven months ago or now you're seven months to a
00:22:42.520
year, uh, behind on something that you could have, uh, switched or, or tweaked or pivoted, uh, early
00:22:49.920
on. Uh, and so, yeah, it's, it's one of those things that it's not easy, but my opinion and my advice
00:22:57.400
would be, uh, as soon as you can possibly have it, you know, your MVP, uh, put it out there and let it
00:23:04.980
be sometimes torn apart by clients or critics, but then take that information, uh, not to heart,
00:23:12.520
but take it and then make a better product or a better, you know, offer better service because of
00:23:16.960
it. So what's given you then some of the staying power that I know you have in the face of, and I,
00:23:24.320
and I don't know how much criticism or anything you've received, but I know that there's always
00:23:27.780
some sort of pushback. So what, what gives you that staying power when you have a down day or a down
00:23:34.060
week or a down launch? What is that driving for you? Yeah. So I, my, the kind of what we talked
00:23:40.560
about already, my whole goal is to be able to help other people, uh, start grow and scale their
00:23:45.140
businesses. And so that's what kind of keeps me motivated. Uh, you know, the older I get,
00:23:49.500
the less I'm motivated by money. Although I love money and I'm a filthy capitalist and I want to be
00:23:54.100
able to make a lot more money again. Uh, but, but right now my goal and my passion is being able to
00:24:00.020
help the guys here at the labs or the people that we interview or our listeners. So when I have a
00:24:05.000
rough day or rough week or even a rough month, knowing that in a small way, we're helping that
00:24:12.620
I'm helping, then that's what keeps me motivated. Uh, you know, not only do they have the magazine
00:24:17.220
and the podcast, but one of the things that I've always done, even when I was younger, uh, I, I consider
00:24:22.360
myself a connector, you know, somebody that, uh, connected individuals together that might be able to work
00:24:29.140
together or be, you know, they're each other's clients, those types of things. Uh, and so being
00:24:34.560
able to see those relationships that I kind of put together, uh, blossom into either new business or
00:24:40.660
new partnerships, that's what keeps me motivated. You know, we're not, I'm not asking for anything in
00:24:44.760
return. I'm not asking for, uh, whatever, right. Favors or anything like that. It just, it, it helps me
00:24:51.560
and it makes me feel good when, uh, I introduce Ryan Mickler to a potential client and then it ends up
00:24:57.520
happening. That's the, that's what keeps me motivated, uh, on a regular basis. Yeah. Cause
00:25:01.220
it's, it hasn't always been easy and it hasn't always been fun. Um, uh, with, with Outlier,
00:25:07.760
uh, there were some dark days with not knowing exactly how we're going to, how we're going to go
00:25:12.620
forward. We had a conference that we, that we canceled, uh, not last minute, but kind of a couple
00:25:19.040
months into the planning of it just because it didn't feel right. It wasn't at the right time or the
00:25:24.020
right venue. And so that was pretty tough being able to, having to tell the rest of the partners
00:25:28.460
and then the people that already bought tickets and, and then the speakers that, Hey, we've decided
00:25:34.380
to put it off to spring. Um, that was not a fun time. Right. Well, I appreciate you sharing that
00:25:40.780
because I think what we tend to believe when we're considering making a change, whether it's to another
00:25:44.860
career type position or out on our own, we always have this, Oh, you know, the grass is greener on the
00:25:49.300
other side mentality. And it certainly can be true. But then the other phrase is the grass is
00:25:55.140
greener where you water. Absolutely. I completely agree. Yeah. So there are great things about
00:26:00.080
working at a corporate job, right? You have a steady paycheck, working with a lot of great people,
00:26:04.660
you know, whatever you're doing, but there are a lot of great things, uh, by going at it on your
00:26:09.220
own, you're able to kind of control it a little bit better. Uh, you're able to build your own team.
00:26:13.180
You're able to, to, to work on the projects that you're passionate about. Uh, but then, you know,
00:26:17.800
you don't have a steady paycheck for a while. You, any day you can shut down. There are pros
00:26:22.980
and cons to everything that you do in life. Right. So, okay. So you talked about the first
00:26:28.600
pitfall that you see is not really having a clearly defined audience. The second one you
00:26:32.600
talked about is being too much of a perfectionist and using it almost as an excuse not to ship,
00:26:37.660
right? Not to get your product out there. Is there anything else you see as a pitfall that
00:26:41.000
we should be aware of? No, just move forward. Even if it's, you know, even if it's in the
00:26:45.300
wrong direction for a little bit, move, do something. I think some of us are paralyzed
00:26:49.900
by fear or, uh, or making decisions. Uh, I know I certainly have not only with Outlier,
00:26:55.860
but starting the freight company, uh, there, there are times when I'm like, shoot, now what?
00:27:01.280
And then I sit on it. I don't do anything in fear of making the wrong decision. And I think
00:27:06.800
that kind of hurt more than if I would have made a decision, even if it was the wrong decision,
00:27:11.400
I would have been able to see it a lot sooner and, and, and kind of tweaked my, the course a
00:27:17.520
little bit to kind of get back on track than just sitting on it for days. Sometimes even weeks on end
00:27:23.200
because I was too afraid to make a decision. Um, I think you're hurt in the, in the long run. Uh,
00:27:28.900
so having fear of making a decision, make something, make a decision. And even if it's the wrong one,
00:27:36.360
then you'll see it sooner than later. And then just correct it. Well, and I think that tends to
00:27:41.360
be the difference between those entrepreneurs, those guys out there who are successful and those
00:27:47.200
who aren't. And in my mind, the guys who are successful, whether it's in their families or
00:27:51.340
their businesses or careers or with their money, it seems to me from my experience and the interviews
00:27:55.820
that I've done is because those guys are the ones willing to take action. They're willing to make
00:28:00.600
a decision. They're willing to move forward. And that's all about, you know, courage and,
00:28:05.620
and strength and everything that it means to be a guy, right? Absolutely. You know,
00:28:08.760
we've interviewed close to 200 people now on our podcast and, and every single one,
00:28:13.500
except for one, and I won't mention any names, but every single person that we've talked to,
00:28:17.720
uh, we asked them the question. So what are, what are some of the low points in your career
00:28:22.220
or some of the mistakes that you made? And again, every single one of them, but one said that,
00:28:27.180
that they all have them. They, they, they're continuing to have those mistakes,
00:28:30.280
but that's part of being an entrepreneur. That's part of running the business.
00:28:33.540
Uh, I think if you're not making mistakes, you're playing it too safe and your, your potential is
00:28:38.540
not, you know, you have a lot more potential, but if you're, you're playing it too close to the
00:28:43.000
line, I think. Which is fine. So I got to know what that other person said out of those hundreds
00:28:48.100
of interviews that you've done. So what was the entrepreneur that said there was no mistakes?
00:28:51.900
He said he's done everything, right? Yeah. So I won't mention any names, but Melinda was
00:28:54.900
interviewing this guy out of Chicago, successful entrepreneur. If I, if we mentioned his name,
00:28:58.820
most of you, um, might not recognize the name, but they would recognize that the company,
00:29:03.460
uh, said, yeah, said something like Melinda asked something like, uh, so, you know, what
00:29:10.460
are some of the setbacks for some of the mistakes that you've made? And he was like, well, not,
00:29:14.520
I not nothing really. I've, I've been successful at everything at everything I've touched. I don't
00:29:19.300
think he meant it to come off as, uh, arrogant as, as, as it, as it did come off. But, uh,
00:29:25.220
I think either he was just, has just been completely lucky or truly is a genius, but
00:29:31.640
he, he truly said, uh, no, I, everything I've touched has been, has worked out.
00:29:37.480
That's interesting. You know what though, do the other side of that? And I don't know the
00:29:40.020
conversation or even who you're talking about, but to the other side of that, it might just be a
00:29:44.340
mind frame of, yeah, I know. I mean, there's gotta be something that's not gone right. And I'm
00:29:50.200
wondering if he's just so focused on, Hey, if something goes wrong, I use it as a learning
00:29:54.400
experience and then I can move forward and then I'm successful because I learned from it.
00:29:57.680
And I think that's what he, at the end, I think that's what he meant. At least that's what I hope
00:30:01.540
he meant where, yeah, Hey, this, this campaign or this part of the company didn't work well or
00:30:07.820
failed, but you're right. I think maybe he's seen it as far as, yeah, it didn't fail, but overall for
00:30:13.980
me, it didn't stop me. It was just learning experience. So hopefully that's what he meant.
00:30:18.380
Right. So, okay. So on the flip side of that, then let's talk about some of the things that
00:30:22.560
you've seen that guys, entrepreneurs are doing extremely well. What are some of those things?
00:30:27.080
You know, there, there are a lot of people with a lot of passion and luckily the, and this could be
00:30:32.340
good and bad. The, the barrier of entry into starting your own business is low, right? You can start a
00:30:38.580
business with your cell phone and your basement and you can do something cool and great, right? Or your
00:30:46.200
laptop or that kind of stuff. You don't need to spend a lot of money on expensive equipment or all that
00:30:51.820
stuff. You just kind of can start literally within 24 hours, right? Doing something. Uh, and so these
00:30:58.620
guys that have this passion, it's, it's, it's great. They can go out there and experiment. And like we've
00:31:04.900
talked about before, uh, put in a little bit of time and a little bit of resource into, uh, starting
00:31:10.660
this. And if it's not for them, they kind of get into it and they don't really, um, like it, then they
00:31:16.760
stop and it's not that big of a deal, right? They didn't spend, they didn't spend a lot of money on,
00:31:20.900
uh, huge warehouses or truckie or trucks or anything like that. They just kind of stop doing
00:31:25.620
it. And it's a learning experience. Uh, I have, uh, one of my close friends here, you know, he's
00:31:31.460
young, he's trying to figure out what, what to do with his life. He has, uh, a specific skillset
00:31:35.720
and he kind of started out thinking that this was what he wanted to do. And he was doing it for
00:31:42.020
quite a while. And, um, in my mind, he was successful. He had a few clients, but then he
00:31:46.180
was like, you know, I, I don't, I like what I do, but I don't like the, the sales part of it or the
00:31:51.560
getting new clients part of it. I just want to be able to do this. And so he kind of shifted a little
00:31:56.200
bit, um, to focus on just the, what he did best. And I think he needed to, to focus on a little bit
00:32:04.480
on the business as well. So now he's doing something completely, completely different,
00:32:08.580
which is, which is fine. He didn't spend too much time or too much, um, too many resources
00:32:13.520
figuring that out. So I think what people are doing well now is they can kind of go out there
00:32:19.040
and test the waters without being out too much time or too much money. And we're seeing that all
00:32:24.140
the time. I mean, being here at the labs, at the outlier labs, uh, on a daily basis, we get all kinds
00:32:30.420
of people coming in with different ideas. Some of them good, some of them bad.
00:32:33.900
Uh, but there is not a shortage of ideas or people willing to take a chance to make it happen
00:32:40.240
out there. Right. Yeah. And you're talking all about adaptability, right? Is, is finding something
00:32:45.680
that you enjoy. But then also one of the things I'm a big proponent of is, is just taking a step
00:32:50.000
back for a minute, occasionally, very often if you can, and just trying to figure out, am I on the
00:32:56.100
right track? And that could be with money or family, or even for me, it's community service. I know
00:33:03.600
that I started to get overwhelmed with as much, um, service and contribution as I was trying to
00:33:08.280
give that I couldn't give full attention to other things I want to do in my life and even, even the
00:33:12.400
other charities that I belong to. So I think you're totally right. It's just evaluating where you're
00:33:16.760
at and making sure that you're still on path for what it is you want to accomplish. Sure. I mean,
00:33:21.140
even with outlier, there've been many times when I'm like, is this the path that I should be on
00:33:26.200
right now? I mean, especially last year when we weren't making any money, sitting there thinking,
00:33:31.780
you know, what am I doing? Am I wasting my time? I don't know what I'm doing with trying to build
00:33:34.880
this media company. I can easily just stop this and go build another freight company or, or get
00:33:41.540
hired as an executive somewhere, um, throughout the, throughout the country and it would be fine.
00:33:47.000
But at the end of the day, as I get older, like I was telling you before, I'm not as motivated by,
00:33:52.760
by money as I was before. I'm motivated by freedom and I'm motivated by the fact that I can, uh, say yes
00:33:59.200
or no to things that come up in my life, right? If, if somebody says, Hey, let's work on this project
00:34:05.140
or, Hey, this is gonna be a lot of money. Let's do this. Uh, I have the freedom to say yes or no. I
00:34:10.580
don't want to be because I'm desperate for money. I don't want to have to take every job that comes at me.
00:34:15.140
I don't have to interview every entrepreneur that wants to be interviewed if I don't think it's a
00:34:19.300
good fit. That's a great position to be in, being able to say yes or no to the different things that
00:34:24.580
come up, uh, not, and not having to do them because either you need the money or it's a boss
00:34:31.200
or anything like that. Um, well, you know, it's funny is as, as you're saying this, I can already
00:34:36.020
hear some men that are listening to this say, and this even used to be me to say, well, man,
00:34:41.560
that's really nice for you, but that's not the boat I'm in, but it can be. Absolutely. And I'm not
00:34:46.920
saying that that being an entrepreneur and having your own startup is for everybody. It's not for
00:34:51.780
everybody. Uh, I've told a few people, Hey, it's probably best that, uh, that you kind of stick to
00:34:57.200
your nine to five at least for a while before you really figure out what to do. Yeah. It's not for
00:35:01.360
everybody. Even if you're working nine to five and you know, a corporate job, you can still build
00:35:05.980
these kinds of freedoms, um, being a regular employee, right? You can be, uh, you can build
00:35:12.880
this within yourself as far as, uh, your time, maybe not work-wise, but you can say yes or no to,
00:35:20.420
um, to the things that you're going to occupy your time with, right? You come home, say no to the TV
00:35:26.600
and work on a project or be with the family or all of that stuff. Nine to five, unfortunately,
00:35:31.860
you're probably stuck there. And even then I think that you can kind of, there's a little bit of a
00:35:35.340
wiggle room. But after that, you're saying about, you're talking about community service. You're
00:35:39.640
talking about just time with the family. Now you're, you're the, the one that's in charge as far
00:35:46.740
as what you can do with your time and, and, and how you spend it, do it, take advantage of it and let
00:35:51.980
it grow into your career as well. It's not going to be overnight, but it's doable. Well, one of the
00:35:58.060
things that it's funny that you mentioned this because I did an interview just a couple of weeks ago,
00:36:01.740
uh, for, for this podcast as well. And we talked a lot about finding your core value. And when you
00:36:08.200
can find your core value and find out what's really important in your life and what it is for you,
00:36:12.960
you almost get to stop this horrible, I think, comparison game where you jump on Facebook and
00:36:19.920
you see what your buddies are doing and you think, Oh, they've got the life. Or you see that this guy
00:36:24.000
started this business and all of a sudden you think you want to be in that exact same business.
00:36:27.800
But if you find your core, you're not so worried about those things. You can find out what's
00:36:31.800
important for you. And what's interesting in my mind and what I've noticed and experienced
00:36:35.740
is when you find your core and you start following that path, that money will come in because you're
00:36:43.400
automatically going to start creating more value because you're doing what's important to you.
00:36:47.500
And money is a, is just an afterthought to the value you've created. So, okay, we're,
00:36:52.640
we're winding down. I got a couple more questions for you. One question that I ask every guest
00:36:56.680
that comes on the show. And I think I told you, I'd ask you this is what do you feel like it means
00:37:02.100
to be a man? Yeah, that's a, that's a good question. You know, growing up, I grew up without
00:37:07.980
a father, um, for since, uh, let's see, I was three years old. So from time, so from three on, um,
00:37:16.940
I didn't have a male figure in my life, uh, up until I was a teenager. Then I had, um, church male figures
00:37:24.480
that kind of took an interest in me and helped me with, with the different things, uh, in life.
00:37:28.860
But yeah, what, what it takes to be a man. I used to, I remember watching those popular shows in the
00:37:34.940
eighties, like Rambo and like, uh, all the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and, and, you know, being a
00:37:40.680
man was being tough and silent and not having emotions and then just kind of take care of business
00:37:45.300
that way. And I think it's different now, right? I think, uh, I'm certainly not like that. I don't
00:37:49.280
think I've ever been like that, but, but I think to answer your question is not waiting
00:37:55.160
for an invitation to do anything. Don't wait for your boss to tell you to do this and just go do
00:38:00.920
it, right? Don't wait for life to kind of hand you a million dollars. Go make it yourself. Don't,
00:38:07.300
don't sit around and wait. And in my, one of the things that I enjoy the most, and I kind of tell
00:38:14.460
people that, that if they truly want to do it, then, then don't ask for permission.
00:38:21.340
Don't ask for permission. So being a man is, is taking care of your responsibilities and not asking
00:38:26.040
for permission to do the things that, that you need to do or you want to do in your life. Uh,
00:38:31.440
whether it's career or, you know, kind of being with the family or, or anything else like that,
00:38:37.300
that's outside of, uh, of a job. Just go do it. Don't ask for permission.
00:38:41.860
Awesome. I love that. So man of action is absolutely. I love that. I'm on board with
00:38:46.520
action. Absolutely. So, all right. So ever, you've talked a lot about, um, how to make that leap,
00:38:52.600
what, what entrepreneurs are doing, right? Some of the things they're doing wrong,
00:38:55.400
how to be a person of action, how to overcome maybe some of that fear and move forward.
00:39:00.040
If, if those guys that are listening today are liking what you're saying and want to connect with
00:39:05.080
you, how do they go about doing that? Sure. So they can go to our magazine website. So it's,
00:39:08.720
uh, outliermagazine.co that's outliermagazine.co. Uh, they can connect with, uh, us on Twitter,
00:39:14.940
which is at outlier mag, and they can connect with me personally on Twitter at underscore ever
00:39:21.700
Gonzalez. That's what two Z's. Uh, and then we, uh, I'm on Facebook, I'm on LinkedIn. Uh, you can
00:39:28.380
just type my name in and I would be more than happy to connect with, with your audience and,
00:39:32.400
you know, hop on a call or exchange emails and just kind of chat about life and being a man and
00:39:38.440
starting different companies for sure. Awesome. Thank you. Or connecting them with the people
00:39:42.080
that they need, uh, that they want to be connected to in, in my network. I would be more than happy
00:39:47.480
to do that. Awesome. Everett, thank you so much for the insights. We'll make sure all the links
00:39:52.800
in the, uh, in the notes and everything that we went through will be on the show notes page. So
00:39:58.000
Everett, thanks again for being on the show. And it was a lot of fun. Thank you very much.
00:40:01.440
There you have it guys, Mr. Everett Gonzalez. If you're a man who's ready to make the leap or
00:40:05.920
at a minimum, get the million dollar idea going, I highly encourage you to connect with
00:40:10.380
ever. He has been instrumental in helping me personally flush out the idea for order of
00:40:15.560
man and a few other projects that I'm working on. Again, you can find all of the show notes
00:40:19.040
from this episode, including the links and resources mentioned at order of man.com slash
00:40:23.120
zero zero seven. Now next week, I've got another incredible interview lined up with a man who
00:40:27.960
is living a life of learning. He's going to share with us why curiosity is your best ally and
00:40:33.960
how you can make a quest for learning the catalyst for growth in your life. So make sure you don't
00:40:39.340
miss that. You can subscribe to the show at order of man.com slash iTunes. And if you know
00:40:44.520
of a man who you think could benefit from this show or any of the other shows that we've had
00:40:48.800
already, then we encourage you to share this show. Please feel free to pass it along. Thanks
00:40:53.780
again for being here with us today. And I will look forward to being with you here next week.
00:40:57.680
Thank you for listening to the order of man podcast. You're ready to take charge of your life
00:41:03.300
and be more of the man you were meant to be. We invite you to join the order at order of man.com.