A bunch of my friends are in private membership groups for CEOs. I used to think these groups weren’t worth it but I’ve completely changed my mind. It’s hard to get advice from other operators who have built companies. In my Hampton group we talk about strategy, capital allocation, dealing with difficult decisions and making key tradeoffs at all of our firms. I've also learned about new software tools and vendors that have added value. It’s been great for me and I appreciate Sam for building this.

Is there anything less passive than a YouTube channel?

The best advice I can give: Do not marry somebody who comes from a messed up, disfunctional family. They break the cycle maybe once or twice in ten. Do not play those odds. Because nothing will ruin your life faster than a mentally unstable spouse.

Pro tip: Put an AirTag on anything you might lose track of. Wallet. Dog. Keys. Wife’s car. Remote control. No brainer.

Sunscreen is horrific for you. Do NOT spray it on your face or your kids. My advice: Wear long sleeves and hats. Use Zinc only and moisturize.

Reminder: Trying to go big in entrepreneurship with zero experience, zero capital and zero network is one of the best ways to end up with a JOB! Let me tell you a secret: You have to crawl before you can walk and eventually run. Business is all about momentum. If you set big, exciting, world changing goals the little stuff you need to do to learn and get some momentum won't be exciting or feasible for you. Getting a few customers or making $25,000 won't feel like it moves the needle so you'll try to jump past it. When I started my pick up and student storage business, my first goal was to get 100 customers. The next year my goal was to get $50k in my checking account (financial freedom for me as a 22 year old) and well over 1 year of runway. The next year my goal was 3,000 customers and over $1 million in revenue. The next year it was to put $500k in our company checking account after all expenses and taxes were paid. The next year it was building my first self storage facility from the ground up (this took 2 years). The year after that we tried to build a second facility and we failed. The year after that we decided to buy one and we succeeded. The year after that I wanted to buy 3 properties and we ended up buying 4! A few years later and now we have 68 properties, a massive portfolio and I own several other companies that are growing fast. Notice something about my goals: 1. All of these were short term goals. (1 year) 2. None of these were sexy, far fetched goals. 3. All of them were achievable and realistic. 4. I didn't accomplish all of them. My advice: If you can get excited about the little stuff and making realistic progress each year, you can win. Big swings are great when you already have cash flow! The thing that crushes so many is they take the big swing before they know what they’re doing and end up failing. They run back to a job with their tail between their legs. Most rich people I know got rich doing common things uncommonly well. They focused on stacking small wins each year. For 95%+ of people reading this, this is the best way to succeed.

I met a guy recently who took a $20k loan to do a bunch of orthopedic surgeries on a German Shepherd that was born with messed up joints. He makes $65k a year. Just another example of how much emotion can cloud judgment.

What business should I start? How should I vet my idea? How do I figure out what businesses are good and what are bad? Free workshop in 1 hour!!! Link in bio to register.

We “won” a $38k commercial painting job It’s way beyond our normal scope of work Additional insurance cost us $15k Needed to hire a sandblaster $15k One of our employees who’s osha certified is required to be onsite the entire time We’ll be lucky to lose $5k by the time it’s done Good reminder not all sales are good sales