Total Disruption - How to DOMINATE Your Industry....Even if it's Saturated with Ben Glinsky

0:01Light that spark fire nation JLD here and welcome to entrepreneurs on fire the only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we'll be breaking down total disruption, how to dominate your industry, even if it's saturated. To drop these value bombs, I brought Ben Glinski into EO Fire Studios. Ben is a visionary founder and CEO of LiveGood, the fastest growing wellness brand in the world, revolutionizing the supplement space with premium products at affordable prices. Today, we'll talk about disruption. Can any industry be disrupted? We'll talk about hype and branding.

0:34We'll talk about the process of building a fast-growing company and oh so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Ben 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. Ben, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What's up, Fire Nation?

1:18Thanks for having me. Super excited to be here. So yeah, one thing that I think most people disagree with or don't do right when they're starting a business is kind of knowing what they're doing. I think a lot of people want to know or be fully prepared and have everything ready before they even start. But I think if you just go out there, I mean, your show is called Entrepreneurs on Fire. If they say ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice, just make something happen. Go out there. You don't need to know everything. You don't even need to know half the stuff. You're going to learn as you go.

1:51But just I think that's my advice. And something And I think a lot of people think they need to be, have everything prepared and everything lined up and ready. But I say, just go for it. Fire Nation, you can tell we have a fiery episode coming your way, talking about total disruption, how to dominate your industry, even if it's already saturated. And I want to talk, Ben, about that disruption. I mean, let's be honest with our listeners today. Can any industry be disrupted? That's a good question. I mean, I think, you know, in my case, I think the word disruption kind of has to be defined. And my definition of it is fixed.

2:24You know, can an industry be fixed? And I think there's always something that you can find that you can make better in any industry, whether it's cars, real estate, clothing, toys, whatever. There's always a way that you can find some part of it, if not all of it, to make better. So yes, you know, in that definition, I think everything can at least to some degree be disrupted. I mean, I can say I experienced that firsthand. I mean, this is going back before Entrepreneur was on Fire, which by the way, was a disruption in and of itself going to a daily podcast. Nobody was doing that. I disrupted the podcast world.

2:58But I moved to San Diego with no job. And I'm like, I'm going to do real estate. This is like back in 2010, 29, 2009. And people were like, you can't do that. Like everybody's doing real estate in San Diego, obviously. And I'm like, well, I'm going to find a niche and I'm going to disrupt that niche. And my niche, to make a long story short, ended up being in BPOs, Broker Price Opinion of Values of Houses. Nobody wanted to do those. I did them in bulk and was making five figures a week for multiple years because I was doing it on such a high level that nobody else wanted to do because that was an opening to be disrupted.

3:34So you can do that, Fire Nation, in any industry, whether it's already as saturated as real estate or podcasting or whatever that might be, supplements. I mean, we'll see what happens here because, Ben, in a world that is just full of hype and branding, how the heck can we create something that people actually stick with? That's a good question. And that's awesome that you moved to San Diego. I actually moved to San Diego right after college, had no job, no idea what I was going to do. I bought a surfboard before I even had a bed, but definitely loved it out there. So that's awesome. Great story.

4:0510K a month or a week while you were just figuring things out. That's - It was cool. It was cool. Yeah. Congrats. Awesome. So yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of hype in branding and I think a lot of people kind of buy into that hype. If a company spends a lot of money on a celebrity or an advertising or whatever, trying to convince you that something's good, doesn't always mean it is good. And I think now more than ever, consumers are getting smarter. They're doing more research. They're comparing prices. They're looking for value. They're looking for a good deal. And so, you know, the hype is kind of wearing off and it's not working as well.

4:41And that's kind of something that I recognized and wanted to change. And so it really comes down to, I think your question was, how do you get people to stick? And I think it really is about value. You give people a high quality product at a great price and be fully transparent. I mean, the industry I'm in and supplements, it's so easy to disrupt because literally 97 % of companies out there are shady. They're not showing you what's in their product or they're not even putting what's in into their product, what they say they're putting into their product. So we came out, we're saying, Hey, we're going to be fully transparent.

5:18We're going to show all the tests, all the toxicity tests, all the transparency, just all the certificates of analysis, everything, and let people know that, Hey, this, what we say is in this product is in this product. We get given you high quality, pure premium USDA certified organic ingredients, doing it right, doing it honest and giving it to you at a great price. So, um, yeah, I think that's how you create stickiness, just create trust and value with your, your customers and your clients. And, um, you know, they're going to continue buying from you. Fire Nation, that openness, that honesty, that transparency.

5:52I mean, that is what builds bonds with your audience. I mean, back in 2013, when we made the decision to just open up our books and share our monthly income reports, which we did for 130 months in a row with our lawyer, with our accountant, validating the reports. Like we were just doing things open and transparently that nobody else was doing. That's what Ben's doing with his business. And people love that. They can rally behind that. So Ben, if we are in the process of building a fast growing company, I mean, that's our goal. We want to leverage, we want to scale, we want to grow fast. How can we balance both mission and money?

6:31That's something that I think a lot of people get confused. And really, I think you got to figure out at the beginning, what's more important? Is it the mission or is it the money? And a lot of people that they'll say it's the mission, it's the money. And you know, if something's not working on the mission side, they might kind of abandon that mission to focus on the money just to try to make it quote unquote successful, even though it's completely away from why they even started the business in the first place. So I think that's the first thing you really got to define what's more important to you.

7:05Is it mission or is it money? Yes, you can definitely have both if you do it right. You know, for me, it was about full transparency, fixing a broken industry, giving people high quality supplements that are actually going to help them get healthy, stay healthy and do it in an affordable way. So that's the mission and it's working. So the money is there, which is great. But yeah, so, you know, that is a tough balance. And I think that's a challenge for a lot of companies and a lot of entrepreneurs is sometimes if, you know, the reason they started the company isn't working, sometimes they get away from it.

7:42And so again, you know, if the mission is more important and it's not working, sometimes it's okay to throw in the towel instead of completely go the other way and just abandon the mission. But if the money is more important and the mission doesn't really matter, then focus on the money and do what's working on that side. Fire Nation, what a powerful concept and just powerful takeaway so far. And we are just getting started. We have more coming your way 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 to?

8:16Seriously, 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.

8:52Public gives you smarter context at every touch point. 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.

9:28Seriously, 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.

10:04On 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. Ben, we're back. And something that I'm pretty impressed with, if I'm being honest, is that you scaled to 1.5 million members in under two years.

10:43What the heck? What's something that you did that most people overlook? It's a great story. I mean, it took Amazon two years to get their first million members. We did it in 13 months. Now we're approaching 2 million members. And it's because we're creating value. We're giving people a high quality product at a great price. in an industry that is just covered in companies that are doing it the wrong way, the old way, the way that's not aligned with where consumers are spending their money, that's not aligned with where the economy is going. People are not going to continue buying overpriced products when they have a lower price alternative.

11:17No one's going to go back to spending more money when they can spend less. And so, you know, that trend is never going to go back. But, you know, how do we do it? I think we just found a niche. And just like what you did with your real estate in San Diego and with what you're doing on the podcast and stuff, you can find something that separates you from everybody else. Just find your own identity. Find your USP, your unique selling proposition. Find your niche. It doesn't have to completely disrupt an entire industry, but you can definitely carve out a little piece of it and make a lot of money.

11:52And so it's very easy, again, to find and expose something that's not awesome in any business or any industry and just go after it and hammer it and, you know, get your little niche. And, you know, if you want to go after the whole industry, like I'm crazy enough to do, then, you know, go for it. All right. Beyond what you've already shared, what's something else that you did that you really feel like worked? I mean, obviously a lot worked in the 13 months to get to over, you know, one, 1.5 million members. Now you're closing it on 2 million. But like, what was like one thing that our listeners could really take away from what you did that just really worked?

12:31Yeah, I'm glad you asked that because that's interesting. You know, like I said at the beginning of the call, just go to work and you're not going to know what you're doing. You're not going to know what works. And that's why, you know, when people start to make a plan, this whole business plan is business model. And guess what? As soon as they start, everything changes because everything they thought was going to work didn't work. And we actually launched LiveGood about five months before we say was our official launch. And we struggled. We couldn't get traction the first five months until we learned where the market was, what the market was looking for, what consumers were looking for, and what we needed to do to tweak it, to give them what they wanted to be able to be successful and then, you know, go from zero to a million members in 13 months from that point.

13:16So, you know, it's just about learning and figuring it out and making a game plan. For us, it was creating and we had a little affiliate model where we would incentivize affiliates to go out there and sell the products, share the membership the way that we had it. And we made it a little bit more, a lot more aggressive to really reward affiliates, give them more incentive to go out there and share it and, you know, talk about the brand and the products and the membership and what we were doing. And that was the difference. You know, that's what works. So sometimes you got to go through a few things to find what does work.

13:57Sometimes it happens right away, rarely, but, you know, you keep trying. And that goes with everything. I mean, any ad campaigns you're doing, it's not going to work the first time. That's why you test, you see the results, you test again, you test a new creative, you test a new medium, you test a new source, whatever, until you find what's working. And then, you know, you continue to scale and just commit to the things that are working and continue to learn. Ben, let's be honest with our listeners today. Many people, they fall into the trap of creating just another company. How can we avoid this?

14:31We're Fire Nation. We're entrepreneurs on fire. We don't want to create just another company. So what do we do? That's a tough one because a lot of people just want to create a company because they want to be an entrepreneur. They want to be successful. And the fact is, you know, 98 % of companies fail within their first five years. And so you've got to recognize that. And it's okay to fail. I think there's kind of two different answers here. one way you know a lot of people kind of hold on to their idea for too long when the market's telling them look dude this is a bad idea this isn't gonna work you need to throw in the towel this isn't aligned with anything that the consumer wants right now move on but at the other side you know if you find something that works then you know stick with it you can scale I read a good book man like 20 years ago I can't remember what it was I think it was someone Walsh multiple streams of income.

15:25You know, once you find something that works, you kind of build a business off of it that's related to it that you can monetize and continue to build and grow and stuff like that. But yeah, you know, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. It's just, you know, to if everyone has a million dollar idea somewhere, you just got to go for it, make it happen, hope for the best, work your butt off. And, you know, sometimes it's going to work. Quite honestly, sometimes it's not, but I guess keep swinging the bat and, you know, listen to the market and figure out what works. And by the way, every failure is a lesson learned and a pivot that you can make and another swing of the bat that you can try.

16:09Now, Ben, I want to talk about three things that you believe every entrepreneur should focus on in their first six months. Give us this masterclass. The masterclass. Number one, as we talked about, just get to work. Don't worry about having a game plan. Don't worry about having all the steps, tools, strategies know exactly what you're doing. Just go out there and start doing something. The worst thing you could do is sit there and try to build a business plan or make it whatever and not actually go out there and start selling. So number one, get to work. Number two, learn, you know, figure out what's working, figure out what's not working and continue to adjust, continue to tweak, continue to make changes until you find the thing or the things that are working.

16:54focus on those, build on those, scale those, continue to learn more, continue to grow, and just be open to the fact that, you know, sometimes your idea that you thought was going to be awesome, whether it's a marketing tool, whether it's an advertising source, whatever, isn't the way to go and isn't working for your business or for your model. Go a different direction. Sometimes you'll be surprised. So that's number two is learn. And Number three, man, from someone who's starting out in a business, I say stay lean. And really, you know, this by lean, I mean, keep your overhead low. And this kind of depends on where you are in your life cycle.

17:35I mean, when you're young, you can go all in and all in for young, you know, monetary, monetarily with money. You probably don't have a lot to invest. And if you fail, if you lose everything, that's OK. If you're in your 20s, you've got your whole life to figure things out and recover. But if you're in your 40s, you've got a couple of kids, you've got a wife, you've got a mortgage, you've got a lot of responsibility. You know, as much as you want to go out there and just go for it and commit fully, you're not in a place where you could really do that. And I wouldn't risk all of that for, you know, the possibility of success.

18:13I mean, if your wife is on board, if your kids are on board, you know, if you want to go for it, then go for it. But at the same time, you know, stay lean. And that's one of my one thing that I've really prided myself on in business as a whole is we keep our overhead super low. I mean, we have we're doing over 100 million dollars in sales and my highest paid. I have no corporate officers. My highest paid employees are warehouse manager, Lee, and our customer support person, Michelle. I mean, wear lots of hats, learn everything, work hard, do all the little stuff. Like I'm still, you know, again,$100 million a year.

18:48I'm still the guy posting our posts on Facebook every day. So don't be afraid to work. And yeah, once you get big, you know, I should be outsourcing that. But I have this issue of relinquishing control of things. But yeah, stay lean. You know, you can, there's a lot you can do without needing a lot of other people. Hire the people you need. bring on the team that you need. But, you know, that's it. Just go to work, learn and, and don't overcommit out of your, you know, out of what you you're able to do to be able to grow. Ben, you dropped so many value bombs here today. I know that Fire Nation wants to learn more from you.

19:29So do this for us. Give us the one takeaway that you really want our listeners to get from our entire conversation today, then share the best way that we can connect with you. Give our listeners a call to action. I like the lean thing. A lot of companies, they have so much corporate overhead and so much extra overhead. I mean, what you got to do really is what Doge is doing to the government. Doge your business. If you have people in your business that you're paying that aren't bringing in the value that is justifying them being there, you got to get rid of them. And every dollar you spend that's not worth, that's not contributing to the business is a dollar out of your pocket, quite honestly.

20:11And so, you know, that's one thing that I've, you know, we work on very thin margins. That's why my business model works. We sell the highest quality supplements at just a few dollars above cost. And all these other companies out there can't figure out how we're making money with just three, four,$5 margins when, you know, they're struggling with$50 margins because they've got all this overhead. They're paying expensive celebrities and all this stuff so keep it lean keep your overhead low the best way to increase your bottom line is to decrease your expenses so do that um you know to connect with me i'm on facebook ben glinsky you can email me ben glinsky yahoo.com but uh yeah love to help you and definitely check out live good get some of the highest quality supplements at the lowest prices anywhere.

20:58Get healthy, stay healthy, do it in an affordable way. And yeah, thanks for having me, John JLD. Hope I brought some value and appreciate you being, let me, appreciate you letting me join. Oh, you crushed it brother. And by the way, their swag is next to just amazing Fire Nation. It's next to none. Nobody even comes close to a second place with their swag. I'm looking forward to my shirt coming in. Ben promised it to me and I will be wearing it on future episodes. So definitely Stay tuned for that. So Ben, thanks for bringing the energy, the fire, the heat, because Fire Nation, our listeners know that they're the average of the five people they spend the most time with.

21:34And you've been hanging out with BG and JLD today. So keep up that heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type Ben in the search bar. The show notes page will pop right up. And Ben, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. For that, we salute you and we will catch you on the flip side. Awesome. Keep crushing. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Ben for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, what can 4 ,000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs teach you? How about how to achieve financial freedom and fulfillment?

22:08My first traditionally published book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, is a revolutionary 17-step roadmap that will lead you to the lifestyle you've been dreaming about. This book took me 10 years of accumulating the genius of the world's top entrepreneurs, and you can get it all in one place when you visit UncommonSuccessBook.com. I'll catch you there or 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. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit HighLevelFire.com to start your free trial today.

22:53Thank you.