From Zero to HERO - How a First Time Entrepreneur Sold Everything to Transform an Industry with John Day: An EOFire Classic from 2022

0:01Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation, JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. On today's classic episode, we'll be breaking down from zero to hero, how we first-time launch premiere sold everything to transform an industry. To drop these value bonds, I brought John Day and EO Fire Studios. John quit his day job and sold everything to launch AV Hero in March of 2020. AV Hero is now the largest network of audio-visual experts in the United States. And Fire Nation, today we'll be talking about how you can't let fear stop you.

0:34Every day you show up, do the scariest thing first. Once you do that, fear will have much less power in your life and oh, so much more. And the big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to John and our sponsors. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today. John, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

1:19Hey, Fire Nation, what's up? I'm happy to be here. And John, thank you for this opportunity. Great question. You know, the thing I would say that I believe most people disagree with is the idea that you can be and do anything you want to in life. I know that that's a classic motivational thing, right? You put your mind to it. But I firmly believe that actually we were designed to do specific things and have been given very specific gifts and talents. For instance, if I think about dancing or drawing or cooking, these are three things I'm terrible at. And no amount of effort will make me great at them.

2:02I'm telling you my wife will she'll tell you the same thing so I might be able to become average at these things but never great but on the flip side sales, public speaking, music these are things that come very natural to me and I'm in the process of becoming great at I believe so I think we need to stop telling people they can be anything they want to be and do anything they want to do and actually help them focus on what they're naturally good at and foster those talents Well, I love that concept. I love that premise. I think it's a great setup to the rest of our conversation today, which is focused on going from zero to hero and how you sold everything and transformed an industry.

2:43So with a title like that, I got to hear a little bit about this journey. Talk to me. I started in 2007 in the commercial audiovisual industry, and a lot of people wouldn't know what that is, but basically businesses, buildings, putting in all the technology for video conferencing and collaboration and meetings and digital signage, doing all of that. and I was terrible at it. I was absolutely horrible at it. I literally would go to bed every night before this job and would like almost have a panic attack just the next day because I was so bad. I was so nervous at selling. I was so nervous at cold calling.

3:25I was so nervous because I felt like, you know, my background was I dropped out of high school in the 10th grade and I, you know, spent a lot of my time just doing music and even into adult, doing a lot of music at my church and, you know, trying to be a pseudo rock star, I guess, to a degree. And so I never, you know, my college experience summed up to a semester of voice lessons at a community college in Bellevue, Washington. So being in the, you know, the business world was really nerve wracking to me. And I was bottom of the sales ranker. And I remember hearing conversations with some of our leadership, you know, kind of like fly on the wall that sounded like they were thinking about letting me go.

4:10And it was one day I sat down into this meeting with my boss and a potential customer. And it was like things just clicked. This is after a couple years, though, of pain, of pain every day going to this job. And it was like I was natural all of a sudden. And I was I was asking the questions that I thought needed to be asked and making suggestions. And at the end of that meeting, my boss literally turned to me who had been doing this for 20 plus years, said, man, that was one of the best meetings I've ever been in. And the penny that dropped for me, John, was realizing I could just be myself. I could be natural.

4:49I could say what I thought, ask the question, crack the jokes I thought were funny and actually be effective. And so that really launched me off into a career of, you know, sales, enterprise sales, working with some of the largest companies around the United States in the audiovisual industry, being number one in my company, making more money than I ever thought that I would make in my life. And it really all hinged on the concept of I'm just going to be myself and have fun doing what I'm doing. Now, I want to paint the picture because, you know, after hearing about that journey, you know, here we are, it's March 2020, and you have this idea, this concept to launch AV Hero.

5:35Tell us what that light bulb moment was for you, like that led up to that concept, that idea, and then tell us why you started it. Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, like I mentioned, I'd had a good amount of success as a salesperson in a relatively large organization, and I felt like I had reached the mountaintop. And so I started talking to upper management, hey, what else can I do, right? Can I be a, can I sales manage? Can I contribute in some other way? because for me, it wasn't just about the money. It was about the challenge. It was about being able to use creativity to do cool things. And when they came back to me and essentially said, well, we're not going to be able to pay you as much as you're making as a commissioned sales person.

6:23So we don't think you're going to be happy. So unfortunately, there's no other opportunities for you other than to keep doing what you're doing. I really started digging in. And what else could I do? What else mattered to me? And classic story, I'm sitting in a bar and I'm having a beer and I'm looking at the televisions on the wall and I'm listening to the music. And I had the thought, what would this restaurant bar owner do, the manager do, if all of a sudden their technology stopped working? What would they do? And knowing what I knew about the industry, there's not a good answer. Most people aren't going to know who to call, especially if there's a level of urgency and you need to get your technology working, whether you're a business, whether you're a resident, whatever you are, there was no good answer for quick response.

7:07And so AV Hero just kind of evolved into this idea. And it's like, well, let's use the gig economy. Well, let's create a platform that people can go to and hit a button and make it simple and fast and cost effective. And let's not just take care of customers, but all these experts around the United States that are great at audio visual stuff, let's give them the ability to market themselves and make a greater hourly wage and to have control of their schedules. So, um, so yeah, uh, that's, that's how AV hero started. And man, my wife and I went all in. I mean, uh, as I'm sure your listeners know, John, you know, it's expensive to start a company and we bootstrapped this thing, man.

7:53We sold our house, quit my job, sold our house, converted my 401k into a funding vehicle for the company and went all in, man. And it's been a wild ride ever since, about March 2020. Man, I mean, that's crazy, Fire Nation. We're going to talk about what it's like to start a company in the midst of a global pandemic. We're also going to talk about the fear of the unknown. We're going to talk about discovering the path you're meant for and so much more when we get back from thanking our sponsors. You've got AI helping you write emails and name your dog. Shouldn't you be using AI to help you invest too?

8:34Seriously, I know investing can seem a bit overwhelming. I've been studying it since a young age and I still have questions 30 years later. But it's an incredibly important part of my overall long-term wealth strategy. Is it part of yours? Public.com is the investing platform for those who take it seriously. With Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and more. You can also access industry-leading yields like the 4.1 % APY you can earn on your cash with no fees or minimums. But what sets Public apart? AI isn't just a feature. It's woven into the entire experience from portfolio insights to earnings call recaps.

9:10Public gives you smarter context at every touchpoint. Plus, you can earn up to$10 ,000 when you transfer your existing investment portfolio over to Public. go to public.com slash fire to fund your account in five minutes or less. Paid for by public investing, full disclosures in podcast description. Okay, let's talk about a platform that's completely changing how entrepreneurs are running their business. And they are also our featured partner, High Level. If you're an entrepreneur, coach, agency, or course creator looking to grow faster and smarter, High Level is the all-in-one platform that replaces your entire tech stack.

9:46Seriously, think ClickFunnels, Calendly, MailChimp, Kajabi, and even your CRM all rolled up into one powerful white label solution. You can build funnels, send SMS and email campaigns, schedule appointments, manage pipelines, run memberships, and even launch your own branded mobile app. It's drag and drop simple, incredibly customizable, and built for serious growth. My favorite part, you can resell high level under your own brand. That means recurring revenue, loyal clients, and total control. So whether you're tired of duct taping tools together or ready to start offering high value services with ease, High Level is your unfair advantage.

10:23On top of it all, their support team is second to none and has your back every step of the way. Seriously, every question that pops up, they will have your answer waiting. And if you visit my special partnership link, you'll get a free trial. So visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial and see why thousands of businesses are switching. That's highlevelfire.com, where marketing, sales, and automation finally come together. High level, join the revolution. So we're back, and I'd love to know, John, what is it like starting a company in the midst of a global pandemic? What was that experience?

11:00Obviously, we didn't know what we were getting into. We had started development on the platform avhero.com towards the end of 2019. and with plans to launch basically spring-ish in 2020. And so when maybe February, you started hearing rumors of a virus in China that was making its way. And then in March, everything starts getting more serious. And I'm in California at the time. And so the weekend of literally our planned launch is when California announced the shutdowns. and I'm having conversations with my team that's been working with me to start the company. And what are we going to do? Are we going to push pause?

11:47Because initially it was 14 days to slow the spread, if anyone can remember that. And the consensus was, no, we need to stay the course. We need to launch. We need to go for it. Even if things change up, we believe we can still add value. So it was definitely crazy. I would say also exciting. You know, it's like you're stepping into the unknown and the pandemic was nothing, nothing good about the pandemic. But what ended up happening is initially we were going to launch just in San Diego and Phoenix. These are going to be our test markets when everything locked down. It's like, well, what are we going to do?

12:24Because businesses aren't open. People aren't allowed to go into other people's houses, et cetera. And so we just said, Hey, you know what? We're going to open up this platform to audiovisual experts all across America. And so we did that. We opened the platform to everyone and we had John around 7 ,000 people sign up to become AV heroes. I mean, just like flooding in and, um, which within a matter of a month or two literally made us the largest network of audiovisual experts in the United States from nothing. So although the pandemic is the worst, that was a really amazing thing that happened for our company.

13:06And it's been step by step. It's like at the beginning, when you're in the middle of something, when you start a company, you just want the fire hose, right? You want all the revenue, all the customers all at once. But what we've really seen is a great kind of slow drip, as much as we could handle at any given time, and growing into that and just seeing this thing really be very healthy and growing as I'm speaking with you today. And Fire Nation, this is where it's so important to be listening to episodes like this and hearing people that are succeeding in all different industries at all different times and all different ways, shapes, and forms.

13:44And I know this is a big, big question, John, but how does someone discover what they were put on this earth to do? That's the question, right? And I think one way, which I'm sure many of your listeners have heard, it's an exercise, you know, with personal growth is, you know, the billion dollar question. If you had a billion dollars, right, what would you spend your time doing? Money's no longer an issue. What would you spend your time doing? Stopping and thinking about that. But I think you can also look for clues, right? As a kid, what did you love to do? Thinking even what did your parents invest money into as a kid with lessons, right?

14:25The ones that have hopefully loved you the most, you know, or just family or friends or mentors, what did they invest into you? What did they see in you? And then I think you got to give it a go. I think that you have to sit there and determine, you know, if I had all the time and money in the world to do whatever I want to do, what would I do? And then don't allow fear to stop you. Give it a go. And I think oftentimes, something that I've found is that sometimes if I've said there's something I don't like, the truth is I don't dislike that thing. I just don't feel confident in doing it. And as I begin to try it, I begin to do it and apply myself.

15:01I realize, well, actually, I didn't not like this. I just wasn't confident. And now that I'm doing it, I can actually see that This is kind of cool. And I'm digging it and I'm liking it and I could be good at it. So, you know, there's a lot of things. I think you surround yourself with great people, right? Surround yourself with friends and mentors that are going to help point out what is your strengths, ask questions, do strength finders tests. But at the end of the day, it's all about putting action to your dreams and desires and taking that first step. Taking that first step, Fire Nation. And this is the thing.

15:38The first step is a step into the unknown. And the unknown is scary. It's full of fear. It's full of doubt, full of anxiety. How can we overcome this emotion? I'll tell you what, John. I mean, I'm married. I've got three kids, three young girls. And everything my wife and I have done over the past couple of years with quitting a great job, selling a house, actually sold multiple houses, taking the money that we have to invest into this company, because we don't want to just live a normal life. We want to live a great life. And, you know, recognizing that in order to oftentimes live a great life, you have to be willing to take risks.

16:24But there's a lot of fear, right? And so I've thought about this a lot, and I've had to process through this a lot. And there's days where I am afraid. I'm like, God, how is this going to work out? What is next month? What is next quarter? What is next year going to look like? And at the end of the day, I think a great question to ask yourself if you're struggling with taking that step into something that is unknown is – and it may seem a little bit morbid or a little dark, but what's the worst that could happen? Ask yourself, what is the worst thing that could happen? And chances are the worst thing that could happen, taking a risk towards a dream that you want to pursue, is you lose everything, right?

17:10I mean, this is what I think. I talked to my wife. I'm like, babe, at the end of the day, we're still going to have each other. We're still going to have our kids. No one's going to die. And we're going to start over. So if you stop and think about what is the worst thing that could happen stepping into the unknown, it's recoverable. It's not that terrible. The other thing I would say a key is recognizing that fear and let's call it faith, right? Use that term of stepping into the unknown. It's really the same emotion. Both of those emotions, fear and faith, are expecting something that you cannot see is going to happen.

17:58They're both the same thing. Your fear, something I can't see is going to happen to me. Faith, something I can't see is going to happen to me. So it's the same emotion. So learning to apply your energy towards a positive expectation, towards faith, and believing. And then the last thing I would say about the unknown is, hey, what's scarier, right? Doing something that requires risk and like how's it going to go? or thinking about, hey, the end of my life, I've got a bunch of regrets because I never really tried to do something that was in my heart. I love how you wanted that too, heart. Because Fire Nation, if you're going to do something, why would you not do it with your heart?

18:40Now, let's bring this home. Where is AV Heroes going in the future? What are you really excited about as you're seeing things unfold before you? You know, if I could have seen into the future, two years ago, I don't feel like we could have prepared ourselves any better than we currently are right now. And what I mean by that is you hear terms right now like the great resignation, right? And everybody is rethinking their lives. What do I want to spend my time doing? How do I want to live my life? What do I want to do? Everyone's rethinking that. And it's creating issues in the workplace and for employers because people don't want to go back to what they were doing.

19:20They don't want to go back to the office. They had a light bulb moment maybe and realized that their value is greater than what they were being compensated for and that they want time freedom. And so AV hero at the end of the day, John, is, I use the term taking advantage, but not in a negative way, but it's really that freelance gig economy and providing these people that go, hey, I don't want to be underpaid. I don't want to have my life and my time and my schedule dictated by someone else. I want to make these decisions. So AV Hero provides that platform for these freelance, for these independent contractors.

20:02And I see AV Hero eventually being like the Kleenex. If you just talk about the audiovisual industry, being like Kleenex for the audiovisual industry. It's going to be the obvious choice, whether you are a resident, whether you are a business, whoever you are, it's like you have an issue with an audio visual thing, TV speakers, cameras, microphones, whoever you are, AV hero would be the obvious answer. But the thing that I see that's potentially even bigger than that, John, which is really exciting is really just the concept of what I would like to call the hero economy. And that is a platform that allows multiple trades, multiple disciplines, anybody that could be utilized in an on-demand fashion, whether it's an electrician or it's a plumber or it's yard work or whatever it may be, the possibilities are endless, but the hero economy.

20:55And eventually as we prove AV Hero, which we're in the middle of doing, and it's going quite well, eventually that expanding into many, many more things and this whole great resignation and all these people that are like hey i want this control i want this value being able to have their services offered and utilized through the concept of the hero economy av hero's slogan is save the day right so how many different things out there and people and consumers customers on a daily basis go man if i could only have somebody help me with this well we want to eventually provide all of those things in literally where you hit a button, you connect with somebody local, they can get you taken care of for a really reasonable price.

21:38So right now we're just in the United States as well. We've had countries, other nations reached out to us, South America, Europe, Asia, wanting AV Hero to expand there. So eventually we will do that. And so the future is bright. Fire Nation, I love hearing all of this stuff. And this is, I hope, really inspiring you as you're sitting back and having your ideas and seeing what problems are in this world that you want to create amazing solutions for, just like John's doing here with AV Heroes. What's the one thing that you really want to make sure our listeners get, John, from everything that we talked about here today?

22:13Then give us the best way that we can connect with you, any call to action you have, and then we'll say goodbye. The one thing I would say, John, I want to encourage Fire Nation is don't let fear stop you. I know the pandemic has been terrible and serious. But in many ways, just as serious of a pandemic has been the pandemic of fear, which has caused people to become frozen and afraid of the unknown. Don't let fear stop you. Don't let fear stop you. A little exercise I did when I had the big transition from sucking at my job to being pretty good at my job is I had this thought, hey, every day that I show up, I'm going to do the scariest thing first.

23:04So I'm going to think about what is the thing that freaks me out the most today? Is it calling that person? Is it setting that appointment? Is it going to that? Whatever it may be. What is that thing that is the scariest thing first? All right, I'm going to attack that at the beginning because once I do that, everything else is downhill. And you begin to – fear just begins to have a much less of a grasp on your life. So don't let fear stop you. Don't let fear stop you would be the thing. And to connect with me, listen, I love helping people. I love helping people. And I do not have a consulting side gig where you pay me for my time.

23:48I would seriously, anyone that's out there that is struggling with fear, that's trying to figure out, hey, what's next? How can I, I would love to, to help. I'd love to have a conversation. I'd love to creatively brainstorm. So you can connect with me. It's simple. John, J O H N at avhero.com. John at avhero.com. Uh, send me an email and I would love to meet and help. As far as the business goes, John, uh, what I would say is that, you know, uh, the first 10 people, if anyone's interested in trying AV hero, maybe just to do an assessment of your current system, or maybe you have an existing problem, the first 10 people to shoot me an email as well, that john and AV hero.com.

24:26I'd love to just give you a complimentary AV hero visit. Don't worry, your hero, your technician will still get paid, but the company will take that one on the chin. But I'd love to offer that to the first 10 people to shoot me an email. Wow. I mean, fire nation, be a speed demon and be one of those first 10. And then absolutely, let me know if you made that first 10 cutoff. I'd love to hear that at John Lee Dumas on Twitter. And John, loved talking with you today because our audience knows without a doubt, they're the average of the five people they spend the most time with in Fire Nation. You've been hanging out with JD and JD today.

25:02So keep up that heat. Head over to eofire.com, type J-O-H-N in the search bar. His show notes page will pop up with everything that we've talked about. One more time? What is that call to action you have for our listeners, John? Two things. Number one, if you'd like to have a conversation about overcoming fear and stepping into the unknown, shoot me an email, john at avhero.com. Second thing, the first 10 people to send me an email and say, hey, I'd love to give AV hero a shot. We'll do a complimentary AV hero visit. Again, john at avhero.com, the first 10 people. John, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today.

25:42For that, brother, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. All right. Sounds great. Take care. Hey, Fire Nation. Today's value bomb content was brought to you by John and Fire Nation. Are you ready to rock your very own podcast? Check out our free podcasting course where I teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free, for free, for free, for free. Freepodcastcourse.com. I'll catch you there or I'll catch you on the flip side. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white-label your own software.

26:23Say hello to our featured partner, HighLevel, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today.