July AOTM Winner

Thaddeus Strickland

@Thaddy

[Q&A]

1) Q: Give us an introduction about yourself? 

A: My mom came to the US on a boat from Vietnam. My dad is Greek & Italian. They eventually had me at some point along the way. I went to SDSU for one year of college, and then I started business stuff with e-commerce & SAAS.

2) Q: Where are you from? 

A: I was born in San Jose, and I moved to Seattle in first grade. Basically, I grew up in Washington. 

3) Q: Where do you live now? 

A: Now I live in LA.

4) Q: How did you get to where you are today? 

A: Well my parents really wanted me to stay in college. My mom is Asian, so I feel like the Asian people listening can relate. She wanted me to stay in college, but I really didn’t think I would last four years. I was like damn I need to figure out a way how to make money. After the first year I got into e-commerce & my first store was doing like $70k a month. That’s when I just told my parents I want to take a break from school, and just focus on this. 

5) Q: Is there anything notable that happened while growing up that shaped you into the person you are today? 

A: My dad worked for Microsoft for 12 years, and then one day when I was in 7th or grade he came home crying because he got laid off. He was like the senior VP up at Microsoft too. super high up, and they just booted him with the snap of a finger. I think from that moment on is when I realized I was going to do my own thing, and not have to rely on someone else for money. Literally, it was the weirdest experience seeing my dad in tears. Especially as a kid when I was just playing Xbox, and he came home crying so I was shocked. In high school I was the kid that was on government food stamps, and my parents didn’t have any money. I really had nothing to lose, and that experience really made me flip a switch in myself to start taking control of my own future. 

6) Q: If you could live anywhere in the world for free, where would you choose? 

A: Monaco or Bali. 

7) Q: What are your talents? 

A: The first thing I would say is marketing & psychology. I think that it is super important  for whatever industry you’re trying to be in, or for whatever you’re trying to do in life. Understanding human behavior, how they interact, and what makes them purchase is essential. If you understand that then you can basically print money online (not literally). That’s the blueprint. Outside of that I think a lot of my success can be contributed to just being curious. If I see somebody crushing it I think “oh, good for them! I wonder what they’re doing well? What am I not doing compared to them?” It’s really just being curious. Figuring out what other people are doing in this day & age is crucial. There are literally kids making millions right now. If you’re not doing it then you’re missing out, because you should be doing it. Now is the time to act on the opportunities. 

8) Q: Are you naturally talented, or did you acquire your skills? 

A: I’m really competitive. I used to play soccer all my life, and I gave up a full scholarship in college. I had a full ride to San Jose state, but my gut was just like telling me that college was not the move for four years. Especially if I took the scholarship I would be obligated to play for four years. Homework & sports would have left me no time left for business & leisure. Schoolwork kills you, and its really unfortunate. I’m not going to say college is a scam, but the entire education system is pretty flawed. I think if you’re not in a specific niche, like a stem program or something, then their are so many other better ways to make money besides relying on your college education. There are kids doing the weirdest things you could imagine, and they’re profiting $20k a month. If you’re not taking control of that right now while the internet is still in it’s infancy then you’re really missing out. 

9) Q: How do you develop your skillset & improve your talents?

A: One is consistency. For example, going to the gym. I could not do that before, but now that I go every day it feels weird when I don’t. The gym is more physical, so let me talk more about mentality. For anything with business then I think it’s all mental. That’s the hardest thing. For a lot of the kids listening to this I’m sure you can relate to how in sports the coach pushes your limits, but that teaches so much mental fortitude. A lot of the kids that I interacted with who have the willpower to actually push themselves are the ones who end up seeing results. I feel like the kids who haven’t had to push themselves growing up don’t have any mental fortitude, and they don’t go anywhere. They think they’re doing a lot, but they’re really not. If you’re listening to this thinking about how you are that person who is slacking off then you need to have the discipline to be real with yourself. If you’re not performing to your highest ability then you need to make changes. I can get that it’s not okay to compare yourself to others, but I do that anyways just because I’m competitive. If I see someone killing it in the same industry as me then I start thinking about what they’re doing that I’m not, and how I can learn the skills they’re using to perform well in our space. It's really comes down to hard work; so many people don’t know how to work. Especially nowadays people are way too comfortable. DOn’t be content, and don’t limit your abilities.

10) Q: How do you leverage these talents in your professional career? 

A: I think the biggest thing that speaks for itself is results. There’s a lot of kids out there that don’t have results who are trying to do network marketing to get connected. The best thing you can do is to throw your phone away for six months, focus on whatever you’re trying to do, become a master at the craft, get positive results, and then it’s prime time. Networking becomes a breeze when you have something to actually show for. I had results because I was one of the first people to get into drop-shipping, and broadcast my success publicly. I was showing that I had results in certain time spans, and people were just impressed with the facts. Your goal shouldn’t be networking, but instead making friends with people who are doing similar stuff. You can’t get into those friend groups if you’re slacking, doing nothing, and you don’t have any sort of work ethic to build a reputation. That’s why I think focusing on yourself is important. I think too many people have shiny object syndrome. I’ve hired people just out of college to do things for me, and I’ll invite them over to my place to train. They see that I’m working on a bunch of cool projects, and then they start slacking all over the place. It’s cool if you’re ambitious enough to want to do more, but you have to understand that you cant be a jack of all trades who doesn’t focus on doing one thing extremely well at a time. For example, anyone can make $10k a month online easy profit. No question. It all comes back  to results. Like if you want to show people how to make money online with e-commerce by using Facebook ads then you need the proof to show you have done it before yourself. Selling that as a service when you haven’t done that before is ripping people off. I know so many people online in the online teaching space that have only made $10k profit a month, and they’re selling that success as a service. Like okay, your ad says you made $10k profit a month… what are you actually selling though, and what do you know how to sell? For me, I also have a website development business that I kind of keep on the side. For that, I run my own Facebook ads. It comes down to psychology. I have experience, knowledge, and resources that I provide to others; so that is how I leverage my talents.

11) Q: What are some opportunities you have gained because of your talents? 

A: It comes back to results speaking for themselves. Once you have results in a specific niche it allows you to position yourself as a successful person in that space. For example, I got started in drop-shipping. Once I started broadcasting the results I got recognized as one of the leaders being known for it. Since I reached the apex of that circle then I was able to start hopping into other spaces. I was able to go on tour with Drake Bell because he had some music stuff happening, and I told him I do content. He invited us out to Peru, and we cruised with him. That’s just one opportunity in itself. There’s so many opportunities given once you start. Like seriously, sit your ass down for 6 months, focus on yourself, and just work. Once you have the results you have so many more options compared to if you try to flex false outcomes. There’s so many better ways to go about something if you’re just patient. Nobody likes to wait and see what happens after a few months of hard work. 

12) Q: What industries are you experienced in? 

A: I build out teams, and I build out processes. I work in e-commerce, I work in SAAS, and I do content marketing. I am a lazy person, and I am a huge fan of automation. I want to make all of my businesses automated, and have teams producing over 6-figures a month. The biggest tool I use is Zapier, but a lot of people don’t know about Process Tree or Air Table. Those two will literally change your entire business if you start using them. Air Table is like a super advanced google sheets. I feel like people should know about them, so I don’t care to expose my tools. It’s so efficient, and Air Table is where I store all of my business information. If I have a brand that I am getting orders fulfilled for, or need customer service requests completed then I will use Air Table. If you research business then you might have heard the Mcdonalds interview where they are just talking about having their entire process structure written out, so they can show someone a piece of paper which allows them to replicate the Mcdonalds business. Now with Process Tree that’s an automated checklist, and that just automates every aspect of your business. If you can’t show someone your process tree checklist on the road, and have them do that specific task for your business then you’re not processed enough. For example, I can travel to work remotely. Like I can travel here to come out with you & ricky to Miami which is where we are right now. I can come out here without having to worry about too many things because my entire team has a checklist to follow. Seriously a baby could do it. Using these programs for e-commerce, content creation, business communications, or really just any task that takes time is crucial. Getting your team as close as possible to where the actual money is closed is what you should spend your time automating. I have something for my website development business where if one of my guys closes a deal then we use Panda Doc for the contract, and my sales guy will send them out a customized contract template during the phone call. After that, if they go through with it, then it will trigger a Zapier automation sequence that sends them an actual quickbooks invoice for what they actually signed for. Everything is really automated to the point where I could literally die, and my team would still be making money because everything is streamlined. That’s really the biggest thing, and the hardest thing man. It’s harder to be a system builder than it is to be just a hustler. If you’re a system builder then you build systems where if every person on your team died then you would still be closing deals from the grave. If it’s not at that point then you have work to do. Thats the hardest part, and it takes more time than hustling. Obviously it has it benefits though. you can have more time for yourself, and you could even sell off a portion or the entirety of your business. Simply by showing the future owner that you literally don’t have to be involved for them to continue profiting from the system you’ve built. A system with processes is what it’s all about. If you can’t do it then you’re doing something wrong. I’ve had big companies pay me $10k plus just to consult their systems. They know my mastery with automating sequences, backend flow, eliminating costs, and etc. With that in mind I am able to go in with precise advice that will really help them develop there brand, and help them evolve a better process to automate their system. If you’re not getting on that train right now then you’re going to get left behind in like a year. 

13) Q: Who, or what, inspired you to get started in your career? 

A: Honestly, I would say my dad. Like we didn’t come from a lot of money, and my dad was working two full time jobs to provide for my family. He really wanted us to live in a good environment with a good school, and so he was busting his ass off which is something I’ll never forget. Especially when he got laid off after 12 years of hustling at a company he was the VP at, and then they just kicked him with no remorse. I was just kind of like “what???” I never want to be in a position where someone else can control my future. I’m not chasing money. I’m chasing freedom. I want to be able to do whatever I want, and it sounds so cliche… but it’s the truth. If you want to make a lot of money then you need to study money. School will teach you a profession or a skill. If you study money though, then you can make yourself as valuable or invaluable as you want. The whole reason I do all this business stuff is because I want to start a space company down the road when I’m like 35. That’s the end game, but you need a lot of money for that. ha.

14) Q: What is something you have failed at, and did you learn from it? 

A: I failed at a lot. People hiring was a challenge. The young kids online who think that they can do business stuff online without any help are going to face obstacles. I had that alpha mindset too for a while, but over time you realize that you need a team. Even alphas have betas in their pack. You can’t be working in your own business on the small tasks. You need a team to work on your business that you can delegate roles to. You should almost be happy when you’re not good at something because then you can assign it to someone to handle much better than you could. If you think you’re good at everything then that’s going to hurt you. thinking you can design all of your ads, build out all of the funnels, do all customer service requests, etc. then yeah, you could be cruising along doing it all by yourself for sure. However, you’re going to be working 22 hour days, and do you really call that freedom? You could instead build out a team with a system that allows you to wake up at 2PM if you wanted to, and there’s no consequences. Having those teams in place, and those systems will make your life 100x easier. You can do whatever you want when you have your business automated, and that’s real freedom. 

15) Q: What are some of the biggest myths associated with your field of work? 

A: One of the biggest myths is that you get to pick your own hours. Also, the myth that you can tell your customers what they want. You can go out of business if you don’t listen to your customers. If you don’t listen to your customers then you’re going to go broke. Your customers are your boss. People think like “oh I don’t have a boss because I’m an Instagram entrepreneur, so I can do whatever I want.” Acting like a celebrity since no one tells you what to do, but it’s like alright buddy when your customers start going down the road to the guy doing it cheaper, and more efficiently then what are you going to do? If you can’t cater to your customers needs then you’re going to go out of business. You don’t choose your hours, and you don’t have control over your customer’s needs. I’ve had suppliers hit me up at 6AM when I am dead asleep hungover that I have to respond to or else there will be issues. Say I have people waiting on refunds from a clothing brand. If my suppliers can’t get to them in time or my fulfillment center cant complete it in time then they’re going to charge back. That charge back is going to hurt my merchant account, and then they’re going to stop hosting me. Finally BOOM, 6 days later I can’t even accept payments anymore. It’s huge to know your customers are your priority, and being honest with them is everything. 

16) Q: What are some recommendations for others just getting started in your field of work? 

A: You really just have to start. You have to be prepared to lose money. For example, taking risks on ads is something that is crucial if you want to make sales. I literally have a team thats about to spend $50k a day on one of the stores ads, and that risk could lead to a huge reward if executed properly. 

*Ricky Guitierrez walks up mid-interview*

Ricky: If you guys want to scale… hit me up. 

17) Q: What is your opinion on social media?

A: I hate it. It’s just bad. Especially if you wake up & go to bed looking at it. That’s the actual worst time to look at it. Social media is just showcasing all the best moments, and it makes people’s lives look better than they really are. If I could go back in time I would literally get a flip phone so I wouldn’t get as distracted. Instagram is just wack. Do a test with your phone by switching up where your social media apps are on your home screen, and watch how many times a day you’ll try to go on it but can’t find it.

18) Q: What are your top 3 goals in life?

A: Start a space company. Probably name it something like Atlas. 

19) Q: What motivates you daily to achieve these goals? 

A: My family motivates me daily, and my own ambition for starting a space company. 

20) Q: Best advice on being productive?

A: I don’t even wake up until 10:30am to be honest with you, but the first thing I do is hit the gym. 

Ricky: I wake up at 5:30AM every morning. 

21) Q: What is your philosophy on life?

A: To have some sort of fulfillment, or a sense of purpose. It will really drain you in your day to day if you don’t. 

Ricky: Doing what I enjoy every day. I don’t live my life for other people. I’ll be extremely selfish if I have to. I do what I want every single day if it’s something that will benefit me, or someone in my position for the future. If you want to be successful you do not need to enroll in any course. You just need to practice something deeply, and implement what you’ve learned to your advantage. If you really want to learn how to scale then you want to learn how to understand what you’re getting into.

22) Q: If you could be any animal what would you be?

A: Cheetah

Ricky: Cheetah 

23) What is a fun fact that no one knows about you? // or // a fun story that you would like to share? 

A: I have been drugged in Bali & Japan.