Marketing Rapid Fire and Your Financial Ego Tax

Darryl:
I'm gonna say something, and I already know what you're thinking René.

René:
Ah, you said enough. What am I thinking? I don't even know what I'm thinking right now. I'm in summer mode.

Darryl:
I know you were thinking that this episode's gonna be a little different.

René:
This episode is going to be slightly different than the usual, my good buddy.

Darryl:
Yeah. Instead of doing a deep dive into big, juicy topics, I'm gonna do some rapid fire. Like, not actual rapid fire. I'm just gonna bring up three topics, just enough to get the wheels turning, make you rethink your business. And, René, you're going to do a bit of a financial reality check about being wrong.

René:
Yeah. We call it the ego tax.

Darryl:
Nice. But before we get into that, at the risk of sounding dramatic, because we all know I'm very dramatic.

René:
No.

Darryl:
This is our season three finale.

René:
Already a crazy.

Darryl:
I know.

René:
It's been one of my favorite ones, man. Some of the topics that we addressed it later in the season. Oh, man, it's just so passionate about.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
I reflected a lot about the topics even after the conversation. It's been great.

Darryl:
And the feedback we've got has just been kind of life changing for me to hear.

René:
And how people are connecting with the subjects, for sure.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Amazing.

Darryl:
Honestly, podcasting, it's kind of like a friends with benefits situation. We show up, we make you feel things, we mess with your head a little, and then we disappear long enough for you to realize you miss us.

René:
Yeah. Make you feel things.

Darryl:
The good thing is we don't need birth control. This is taming the hustle...

René:
... or Something of the Sorts.

Darryl:
I apologize for the season three finale, but we need a break sometimes.

René:
And as do you... A break from us.

Darryl:
That's it. I'm not saying we're too much because I like to think you can't get enough of me.

René:
I'm saying you're too much.

Darryl:
Oh, you're saying I'm too much? Gotcha. Gotcha. I see, I see.

René:
All right, well, start spitfiring what you have to talk about there, bro.

Darryl:
All right. I don't want to take too much time because it is the finale, and I think people want to have a nice little break from us. So, like I said, I'm going to do a little bit of rapid fire with topics today, and I'm going to get things rolling with three things your business absolutely needs, and this will get your wheels turning and get you thinking.

René:
Well, I. I said spitfire, so you knew what I meant.

Darryl:
Spitfire, rapid fire. It's all the same little spit shine. Never hurt anybody.

René:
Share with us a great one.

Darryl:
So if you've ever felt like your business lacked direction or just felt lost, maybe it's because you were focused on selling instead of serving who you used to be. And I want you to think about it. Were you once the overwhelmed parent, the anxious grad, the burned out executive, the late night Googler trying to figure out how to fix your own damn life? Whoever you were, you need to build your business for that person. Seriously. The goal is that your business, your product, your service, have the clarity for everyone to understand and need it. When you go back to serve the person you used to be, speak to them, solve problems for them, create the version of you who didn't know what you know now.

René:
Dude, we've been talking about this since the first day we started this podcast. It's the humanizing factor.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
You can't try to tailor your audience to the perfect customer because perfect people don't exist, man. No, you have to go get that humanizing factor.

Darryl:
I'd like to think I'm close to perfect. I'm just kidding, I'm so far from perfect.

René:
As close as it gets.

Darryl:
I'm like purfect with a U instead of an E.

René:
Yeah. No ragrets, not even one letter.

Darryl:
But that's the thing. Like you mentioned, it's about humanizing yourself. And the most magnetic brands don't try to impress. They try to connect. And connection starts with empathy. Right. And we could go back 20 episodes and I probably mentioned in each one of those. So if you're not sure what to say next, say what you wish someone had said to you back then.

Darryl:
Simple as that.

René:
That's wise.

Darryl:
All right, let's keep moving. Rapid fire, right? Repetition builds reputation.

René:
I agree with that too.

Darryl:
If you're worried that you're saying the same thing too much, you're probably not saying it enough. Like, most business owners get bored of their own message before their audience even hears it for the first time. Like René with you, we started #callRené back in 2018ish. And it caught on so well that people actually call you that in the grocery store.

René:
Yeah, I know. And some people just hear it for the first time now. Still, it's incredible.

Darryl:
As your marketing firm, are we tired of hearing it and writing it? Sure, we're on autopilot when we write it, but what about your audience? They're not tired of it all. Like you said, if people are still Learning about it, if anything, that's making it stronger.

René:
So often, dude happens, like, to this day that someone will introduce me to someone else at a function or wherever. In public.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
And they'll be like, this is René. Do you know René? I'm like, no. Well, have you heard a hashtag call René? Yeah, I hear that all the time. Well, this is the René. But to us, it's so repetitive, it's almost old.

Darryl:
Well, that's the thing, right? Every business owner gets tired of their message. And we see this on social media, where small businesses are constantly changing their messaging.

René:
Yeah, it gets confusing.

Darryl:
It is confusing because you go there one day and you know what their messaging is, and then you go back the next day and it's different. You're like, is this the company I looked at a few days ago? Because I don't recognize it.

René:
And then the brand is lost.

Darryl:
And then the brand is lost. With repetition that's how you get remembered. It's how you build that reputation. A recognizable voice, a signature message. You don't need to reinvent the wheel every week. You just need to say the same thing a hundred, slightly different ways. Because consistency doesn't mean boring. It makes you branded.

Darryl:
So keep showing up. Keep saying what you stand for and say it loud enough and often enough for it to finally stick.

René:
Yeah. Clarity, man. Clear message.

Darryl:
Okay, last one. This is it for the season for me about marketing. I promise this one is a reality check for everyone. People keep asking, is AI going to kill marketing and advertising agencies? The honest answer is yeah, some of them. The ones built on fluff, the ones doing the bare minimum and charging premium rates to recycle the same Canva post for 12 clients, that's circling down the drain. But the ones who connect, the ones who know how to tell a story, build trust and actually move people and make the audience feel something. Those ones, they're not going anywhere.

Darryl:
But here's the thing. Marketing's not dying. You and I discuss this all the time. People don't want perfect. They want honesty. They want to hear your real voice, not the AI generated image or video. They want to feel something, not scroll past another caption that sounds like it's written by ChatGPT. Yes, AI can help you go faster, but faster doesn't mean better.

Darryl:
If your content doesn't make people care, it doesn't matter how quickly you created it. No one's going to give a shit.

René:
To collaboration between AI and the humanizing factor we keep talking about.

Darryl:
Exactly. And we hear this quite frequently in the industry about AI and it's like people tend to think that it's the be all end all right now because the graphics are getting better, the video is getting better, the prompts are getting better. However, they're not telling a story because it doesn't know your story and it's never going to know your story. You could tell ChatGPT what your story is, but what's inside you, in your heart as a business owner, as a compassionate person who cares for your business, it will never know that. So you can never get that messaging out there that makes you disconnected from your own marketing, that allows your audience to become disconnected and not trust you or your message. Nothing says I don't care about my audience like having AI tell them what they want to hear and it not coming from you. So when you don't use AI, say it tell people that. Right.

Darryl:
It doesn't have to be your marketing strategy, but when you are talking to people and people compliment you on your social media, be proud of it. I created that. The team I work with, the marketing agency, we've created that together. We use that strategy and now people actually give a shit.

René:
I love AI, man. I seriously love AI. It added so much value to our business.

Darryl:
Yes.

René:
But it has its place, Right? What you said earlier about it being the be all, end all again, you lose that humanizing factor and you just have to recognize where it belongs in your organization.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
To make sure that you're effectively using it and that you're not watering down your marketing.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
Because if you lose that humanizing factor, you could really lose your brand and your identity, in my opinion.

Darryl:
Yeah. Like, I've seen videos of like, and I'm not even talking just about chatgpt type stuff. To the extent they're building these AI robots that look like humans and function like humans, and it's actually kind of scary to see those things in action.

René:
If I could replace myself in the AI body, I just make myself a little more buff and slim with a lot more energy. I'd be down for that.

Darryl:
Okay, that's it. That's my rapid fire. Get those wheels spinning. Don't overthink it. Just be you.

René:
You be you.

Darryl:
We'll be right back.

Darryl:
So you're going to talk about how I'm wrong, I think you said. I asked you what your topic was today and you said you're wrong.

René:
No, it's not admitting that you're wrong. It's being able to recognize when you're wrong and sometimes putting more focus on the possibility of being wrong. So we call that the ego tax and why being wrong might be your best move. So I'll give you a couple of examples. It could apply to life, it could apply to business. You know, let's look at it in my industry as someone who gets lucky with one stock pick and all of a sudden they focus on that one right.

René:
But the wrong is, well, what is the possibility of me being wrong in the long term with this instead of just rolling with it forever, is how do I control risk? Right. Should I admit that there's a risk of my right being wrong and that possibly a good idea for me to divest long term to protect myself? The other thing is the focus on being right on, okay, well, we should implement some life insurance to protect. Like, often this happens where we'll design a full financial plan. Of course, we talk when we do full financial planning is what's the risk of you becoming disabled and how would that affect you and your family? What happens if you die? How would that affect your family financially? If you don't die or become disabled and you retire, that's kind of like your lifelong project because you need to build an enormous, enormous amount of wealth to be able to stop working for any length of time. If you retire with money and your money outlives you, how do we protect your estate? To do proper estate planning? And then the fifth piece is like the asphalt. It's everything in between, educating your kids, paying off your mortgage, all that shit. Those are the five pillars.

René:
The one pillar is protecting your family when there's a risk of dying. And that's often the pressure point. We're working with miners that are making megacoin and will recommend, you know, $3 million of life insurance just to replace their income in the event that they die so their family is not fucked in the event of an unpredicted death.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
They'll say, well, I'm not going to die. Like, the chances are so low I'm going to die. Sometimes you have to focus on the possibility of being wrong on that one and saying, okay, maybe I should protect my family. Maybe I should do something about this because maybe I'm not going to be right on this one.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Same as disability. Your probability of becoming disabled is a lot higher than your chances of death. A lot of people don't see the value in disability insurance.

Darryl:
It's crazy to me because it's almost like a checkbox, I feel, where there are certain things you can do to protect your family. And you look at that list and you're like, I'm not going to check that one. I'm okay.

René:
Yeah, 100%. And let's look at more practical, like daily stuff in terms of your own planning is like, this is another one that we see regularly is people that were working at the banks that weren't getting any advice. So you essentially become a do it yourself. Or when your banker is not advising you and you're in an income tax bracket, that doesn't justify doing an RSP contribution because the tax benefits aren't there and you should be doing a tfsa. When you realize this or someone advises you differently, often our ego will say, well, no, I'm right and I'm just going to keep doing it this way. When you can recognize that you were wrong and you change your strategy and you pivot and you try to improve your situation by then maybe investing in a tax free savings account instead, because long term you're going to put more money in your pocket. If you can have the ability to set your ego aside of always needing to be right and possibly admitting that you're wrong, then you can improve your situation. It could be something as simple as your fear of changing advisors.

René:
Oh, I picked the greatest advisor. No different than in an episode we talked about hiring an employee and then realizing that they weren't a good fit for your team. You have to come to the realization that maybe you have to cut your losses.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
You know, and in terms of investment strategy, it's like you adopt an investment strategy and you never change. You never adopt to changing economic environment, differences in interest rates, your circumstances in your own personal life where you may be willing to take on more risk or less risk because of whatever reason. The focus on being right all the time could cause you harm not only in your regular day to day life with employment and relationships, but financially could cause you a lot of financial loss. Maybe you should focus on the possibility of being wrong and trying to protect against that and allowing yourself to pivot. Does that make any sense?

Darryl:
It does. And it's funny you said pivot as your last word on that point because you've talked about pivoting in previous episodes and I feel like if I've learned anything from, from our last three seasons is that there's lots of moving parts to financial planning. And if you're not willing to pivot when you need to, it could be disastrous.

René:
100%. Real estate. There's another one. Yeah. Everyone thinks their house is worth more than what it's actually worth for the most part. And then you put it up for a certain price, and then, you know, no one's bidding on it because you're way overpriced. And you don't want to drop your price, but you want to sell it. And you just don't want to come to terms with the fact that you might be wrong with the value of your house. Like, you know what? Put your ego aside.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
And just reassess things.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
I don't get it. But you know what? It's normal behavior. You just have to learn to gain control of that. And you need to understand when you have to admit that you're wrong or possibly focus on the fact that the wrong that you're avoiding might be a real detriment to your financial health. You want to make sure that you protect yourself against it.

Darryl:
Have you had moments with clients where you see the light bulb go off and they're like, I'm wrong on this?

René:
Absolutely. And I'm not stereotyping. But women, for the most part, will be quicker to admit that they were wrong on these types of things and accept advice more easily. Maybe because I'm a male. If I was a female advisor, maybe it would be different. But men know it all, and they want to be right. And it's really difficult for them to admit that they were wrong or that maybe they should focus on the possibility of being wrong and protecting it against it.

Darryl:
I blame concussions in sports on that. We've all had too many concussions.

René:
Or too much testosterone.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
So that's it for me, man. I wanted to leave you with this thought for the summer to maybe reassess your own situation and maybe just reevaluate what is important. And maybe winning isn't one of them. And being right and possibly being wrong could be your best investment.

Darryl:
That sounds right. No, wrong. I'm confused. We'll be right back.

Darryl:
All right, I don't want to be wrong on this topic, so I'm going to try to tread lightly. Or, no, maybe I do want to be wrong. Damn it. I don't know what's wrong anymore.

René:
I don't know what's right.

Darryl:
All right, let's talk about something a lot of us wrestle with, and that's the courage to want more.

René:
Oh, yes.

Darryl:
Especially when we've been told our whole lives to just be grateful for what we have.

René:
Yep.

Darryl:
Don't get me wrong. Gratitude matters. We've talked about this. Somewhere along the way, we started confusing it with settling. Wanting more doesn't make you selfish. It makes you human. And it means you've looked at your life and said, hey, this is good, but I think I'm capable of more. And as far as I'm concerned, that's brave as hell.

Darryl:
And, René, I'm sure you deal with this all the time. People's finances, retirement plans, life goals. People who say they want more. Probably almost like whispering it, like it's a confession. Like, why is this a taboo to admit that you want something better for yourself?

René:
I am a perfect example of that, and I will admit it.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
The moment I saw a significant change in my life, the moment that I decided not to settle.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
And that I was not going to be ashamed of wanting more. And I saw next level happiness in my life. I saw next level success.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Beyond anything I had planned for in any type of business plan. And it's not necessarily things. You know that, right?

Darryl:
Yes, exactly.

René:
Wanting more could be wanting more free time.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Could be wanting to travel. It could be wanting to be in better shape. Wanting to learn more. Right. To gain more knowledge.

Darryl:
Listen to this podcast.

René:
But yeah. Exactly. The moment I made a conscious decision to not settle and to not let any boundaries get in my way. Because life is filled with endless possibilities. If you put your mind to it and you have the right frame of mind and you're willing to put the effort right. We see this with clients all the time, and we try to encourage wins. And you know what? It's really tough with business owners, too. The business owner world, I am going to tell you, I speak of this with all of my clients, is do not be afraid to celebrate your wins and your success.

René:
Because every business owner I've come across, Darryl, has this fear that if they show their success, that their customers and their clients will not be happy because they're thinking they're making too much money off of their services or off of the markup on their product.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Like, there's a fear, especially in small businesses. Doesn't matter which province.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
It's across Canada. You see larger centers. Like, you're in a small community., you have drive a normal car.

Darryl:
Yes.

René:
You know, exactly. Like a mid price suv. Not showy. If you're in the city, you're in a community where there's a lot of wealth, like Kelowna, for example.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
They want you to show up at their house or at their office with a really nice whip.

Darryl:
Yeah, yeah.

René:
Successful people want to work with successful people. It does not mean you go buy yourself a 911 when you can only afford a Ford. Focus.

Darryl:
Yes.

René:
If you have the success and the means to do not be ashamed, do not be afraid and do not settle. And it is astounding the mentality and mindset. Business owners take risk, man. Like they should be successful.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
They take risk. They believe in themselves. They take a risk on themselves. And the idea that they have. They are the ones who are employing our neighbors.

Darryl:
Yes.

René:
They're creating jobs, they're creating employment, they're taking the risk. I don't get paid. My staff doesn't get paid.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
I have to be successful. There's seven of us on our team now and we continue to grow. You cannot be afraid of success and wanting more. I want more all the time. I want more time for myself. I'm always thinking of ways to create more time, which is buying back my time by getting other people to do shit for me. I want more time to travel. I want more success.

René:
I want to help more people. There's so many people that can use my expertise, my knowledge after 26 years that I have so much help to give that I want to help more people. So we continue to build our team to be able to do that. Like this topic you brought up seconds before we got into this episode. And I could talk to you endlessly without any preparation. This is so relevant in my life and in the life of the people we work with. People are afraid to show success.

René:
I know people that have sports cars that hide them in rented garages in another city. And they drive to the next city.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
To go enjoy their sports car for fear that their clients will think that they're making too much money off their hourly billings or the markup on their product. That is insanity.

Darryl:
It is. It's the way our society works.

René:
That is insane.

Darryl:
Yeah. Now, do you find you have to remind yourself every now and then to have that courage to want more?

René:
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And I get chirped all the time, like, remember when I had that Ford ST? It was an Explorer ST. It was like $62,000.

Darryl:
Yes.

René:
You know how many people came to me and said, oh, you must be making a lot of money off my money. Yeah, you're driving a fancy car. But you know what? One day I want a 911.

Darryl:
Yeah, yeah.

René:
I've wanted a Porsche 911 Turbo since I was a little kid. And I'm going to have one one day. It might not be new. Just depends.

Darryl:
Yeah, yeah.

René:
But I'm not saying if it's going to be in my budget, I'm saying I'm going to make that happen one day and I'm going to want more. And I'm, I'm a minimalist, you know, that I can live in 850 square feet, no problem, and be very, very joyful because I spend my time outside and I don't need shit. I need a toothbrush and I need some sandals and a good pair of sunglasses.

Darryl:
That's the problem with our society. It's all relative. Right. Like you just said, you could live in a small 800 square foot house and have no mortgage, have very little bills and you buy a Porsche. Or you could live in this extravagant house driving a shitbox car and people won't say two words to you because you're driving the shitbox car.

René:
Yeah, all relative, man.

Darryl:
Yeah, it's crazy.

René:
And you should be able to have the big house and the car if you want. If that's your prerogative.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
You know, like, again, shit doesn't matter to me. I'm not a materialistic person at all. Like that era of, what was it, three or four years that we lived above a repair shop in the middle of the pandemic, when we sold our house. Like we capitalized on making some coin on our home, it was that it was 850 square feet. If it wasn't for the exhaust fumes from the garage probably taking years off my life, I would probably still be there. It was one of the happiest times of my life with my wife.

Darryl:
Oh, for sure.

René:
The girls were at the age where they were on their own and we had no responsibility. I had no grass to cut. I had no gardens to weed. I didn't have to worry if something happened, the only thing I would do in that place is I would change the air filters in the furnace to keep the place a little bit clean. That's it. And if it was better air quality, I'd probably still be there because I don't need anything more than that.

Darryl:
Yeah, no kidding.

René:
I rather spend My money on travel.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
And life experiences. Good food. I'll spend money at a restaurant because I love a good meal experience.

Darryl:
Exactly. I've almost orgasmed just a little bit there, when you said you had no chores to do outside.

René:
Yeah. A little semi.

Darryl:
It was just a little bit. Just enough to a little taste, you know?

René:
How many times do I call you and you're like, oh, fuck, I got to do this or I got to do that or a frig. We had to call the repair guy to come fix this. Not only does it cost money, it's a headache. It's a pain in the ass. You got people in your house. It's annoying. But anyway, let's get back to the topic. You should not fear and you should not feel guilty and it shouldn't even take courage because you just need to change your mindset.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
That wanting more. And again, it doesn't have to be materialistic, but I think you should want more out of life. I don't think you should settle.

Darryl:
I agree.

René:
Because you're missing out if you do. Wanting more doesn't necessarily mean for yourself either.

Darryl:
No.

René:
I'm a bit of a philanthropist and I'm going to work harder and later in life to be able to give more. If you're sitting here settling because that's how you were raised. Most of us were raised like that. We have to change that mindset.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
I call that bullshit.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Right. There's no reason for us to settle for less than to be just grateful.

René:
Of course you're grateful. You know, I wake up every morning, I'm happy to just be alive for God's sake. Let alone the wonderful life that I have and the wonderful relationships that I have surround me every single day. But wanting more keeps us relevant in life. It keeps us motivated, and it keeps us energized. And I think that people that are living a life without that are choosing a life of less fulfillment, and it saddens me a little bit.

Darryl:
Yeah, for sure. Like in a past episode, we talked about movies, and I'm going to relate that to this a little bit because I spent a good part of my life writing scripts, and I'm still doing it now. And most of those are stories about people chasing dreams, breaking cycles, messing up, getting back up and finding their way. And maybe that's what we've all been doing all along. Because like we said in that past episode, movies aren't just entertainment. Sometimes they can be blueprints for how we want to live. Like the movie Serendipity, it made me believe that fate was real. Not because it's magical, but because it rewards people for going after what they want, even if it's messy, even if it's hard.

Darryl:
Llike Eat, Pray, Love. Reminding us that it's not too late to start over, even if starting over means getting lost first. The Breakfast Club. It taught us that nobody fits neatly into a box, even the ones we try to put ourselves into. Movies like Father of the Bride capture how chaotic and beautiful family can be. Back to the Future. That one reminds us that the past only defines you if you let it.

Darryl:
Ferris Bueller. He didn't just skip school. He made sure to really live, even if it was just for the day. Good Will Hunting, Shawshank Redemption. Two movies that say, no matter where you come from or what's been done to you, there's a way out, there's a way through it, and you just have to believe it's not too late. So, yeah, I've written scripts, but the truth is, I think we're all writing scripts every day, with the choices we make, the chances we take, and the people we forgive and the risks we don't talk ourselves out of. And you don't need to have a movie deal to tell a story that matters. You just need to start living like you believe your story matters, because fuck it does. Do you need a hug?

René:
No, no, I need. I need a 911.

Darryl:
Fine. Fine. Three seasons. I can't get one hug out of here. Whatever.

René:
Yeah, well, you know what? I'll hug you once I have the 9 11.

Darryl:
All right, that's it for today. If this episode hit home, if it made you think, made you laugh, stare dramatically out the window for no reason, hit Follow on Spotify, Apple Pod, or wherever you're listening right now. And follow us on Instagram so you don't miss what comes next. René, I think I can speak for both of us. And we say we had a blast this season.

René:
Yeah, but now it's a blast from the past.

Darryl:
Thanks for sticking with us, for listening, for sharing, for being part of this little weird, chaotic, occasionally emotional corner of the podcasting world. It's not the easiest landscape to live in. Keep dreaming bigger, laughing louder, and write the kind of story you actually want to live.

René:
Take care, guys. Ciao.