Episoder
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On this episode, we learn how Rohan Gilkes went from losing his job after 10 years of work as an accountant to building a series of seven figure businesses by developing his branding & marketing skills and leveraging the power of the internet.
To learn the step by step process to build the same type of local services business that Rohan continues to profit handsomely from, sign up at gameofgrow.com/27days
Book recommendation: Made to Stick
Success habits:
Do the most uncomfortable things first Prioritize the activities that will generate more money firstParting advice: Getting clear on your WHY is critical
This episode is sponsored by my first book, "The 7 Steps to App Success".
12 million downloads, 8 years of grinding, 7 months of writing & editing, and thousands of dollars of my own money later, it’s finally here…. And you can get it for wayyyy less. Head to appmagic.co/book and pick up your digital copy, in its 108 pages of glory.
Stay connected with the movement:
Join the Facebook Community: gameofgrow.com/community
Instagram: instagram.com/gameofgrow
Facebook:facebook.com/gameofgrow
Twitter: twitter.com/gameofgrow
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/muoyo
To sign up for our weekly email updates from "The Hustler's Corner" visit us at gameofgrow.com and use the sign up form at the top of the page. -
We are back! You are now listening to the Game of Grow Podcast and I’m your host, Muoyo Okome.
Episode 5 of the most dangerous business podcast in the world!
It doesn’t matter where you start or where you are right now. If you are willing to develop your skills, study success, and work tenaciously over a long period of time, your future can be WAY bigger than your past. That is my promise to you.
Take for example my man James. If you read the very first of the Hustler’s Corner, the weekly update I send via email, you already know this story. If not, you’re missing out… Make sure to sign up for the Hustler’s Corner. Go to gameofgrow.com and submit your name and email using the form at the very top of the page. And if you like, email me at [email protected] and I will personally forward you volume one, which I happen to be very proud of.
Today we are talking about how to start. Well James started, I am super excited about James and his progress in the app game! To quickly share the story, James is one of my App Moguls who joined me over a year ago before the program was even really a program. He won Co-Member of the Month for December when his first app Mobile Fax for iPhone went live -- well designed app which fills a real need in the marketplace (yes people are still sending faxes). I always advise people to get to market as quickly, cheaply, and imperfectly as possible, as the real learnings begin when you're live, making adjustments. No one ever listens, and neither did James, haha (neither did I at first), but now he is live and getting those real learnings from the market, and it is a joy seeing him trying many things, adjusting, and truly becoming an entrepreneur. I've already seen him plow through several setbacks on the way to nearly 100 PAYING SUBSCRIBERS who will pay month after month. This will only increase and compound, but he had to actually start and get out there to make it happen. Round of applause for James (and feel free to review his app if you like it.. no need to subscribe/pay to do so). I’ve saved the link for you at gameofgrow.com/faxapp.
Definition of the Game of Grow...
Review of the Week
Alright, so before we dive into today’s topic… You guys are killing it on the subscribes & reviews. We’ve crossed 50 reviews, so let’s see how quickly we can make it to 100. We’ve crossed 1000 downloads. I think 2000 will happen a lot quicker.
In case you didn’t know, podcasts are notoriously hard to grow, but thanks to you guys passing on the word guerilla style… very grass roots, we are doing exactly that. So I’ve been thinking. One thing I want to do in true Game of Grow fashion is to be extremely transparent with the downloads and the metrics… this is not something youre going to get on most shows, I want you to see the true impact of what happens, when you listen, subscribe, review, recommend. That is how we are growing it bit by bit. And it’s my job to bring you top level content that makes you proud to spread the word. And as we hit those milestones faster and faster, I am going to figure out some cool ways that I can reward you individually and collectively to celebrate. It should be a lot of fun!
But yea, anyway… Each week we feature one review of the week as a way of saying thank you for helping us to grow the show and the movement.And to that end, for the very first time. I wanted to make sure I featured somebody new, who I don’t know personally (or at least I can’t decipher the username). So big shoutout to TuneJunez. Without further ado…
“Sit back and relax as Muoyo Okome tells listeners about the trials and tribulations of not only his life and the app business but the marketing and savviness needed to become a true self-made entrepreneur.
Love the length of time and detail with each pod episode. Each episode stands on its own but together it flows like beautiful African fabric to give listeners what they need: advice and positive energy to pursue their dreams in any field they’re in.
I expect the episodes to keep getting better but it’s a great start that’s far and I am entertained and intrigued by what’s yet to come and the guests that will eventually arrive to supplement Muoyo’s words of wisdom.”
And again, that review came from TuneJunez. Thank you so much. Please feel free to email me at [email protected] so I can say thanks… and I would love to let the community know a bit more about you.
So go ahead and subscribe and leave a review on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud or your podcast player of choice… and perhaps I’ll be featuring you next!
And guys… after you subscribe and leave your review, please email me to let me know that you did, as well as a bit about you for 2 reasons. 1) it’s great to learn more about you guys in the community 2) gives me the opportunity to share more about you when I do the review of the day
Alright, so moving on…
Today's Episode...
On this episode…. We are discussing How to Start. How do you take the first step in your entrepreneurial venture.
First thing to establish is that there are 1,001 ways to do this. Anyone who tells you that there is one path alone is just lying to you. It’s not true!
There are many ways to get it done. What I want to share with you is how I’ve done it. What I’ve done right, What I’ve learned, what I could’ve done way better, and I have a feeling this is going to be a more helpful approach for you. Cool?
So let’s revisit my origin story which you’ve heard from a couple different angles in episodes 1 & 3… I think episode 3 is particularly relevant to this question, but we are going to go more in depth here on the “start” thing… on the question of START.
Our story starts with me working as a “Business Manager” for one of the biggest technology companies in the world. In reality I was mostly managing spreadsheets and managing not to go crazy. Throughout life, I had mostly done all the things we’ve all been told to do… go to school, study hard, get good grades, and that is what I did. For whatever reason after both college and after graduate school, I was rejected from A LOT of jobs that I applied to, before I finally landed this opportunity, and I was making the most money I ever made in my life, the elusive six figures… I could not complain about that.
Like a lot of folks in the corporate world, all I wanted to do was do well… dominate in my job, get recognition and promotions, more responsibility, and more money. I didn’t necessarily care about climbing up the ladder (I always had a vision that eventually I would work for me… I didn’t necessarily think it would be that soon), but making money was important to me.
The struggle ended up being that I was working long hours... days, nights, and weekends in a job that I did not enjoy, where I was not learning much on a daily or weekly basis (funny story: when I visited my business school on a couple occasions on recruiting trips, while speaking to the students, I actually realized that my mind was atrophying, and I was getting dumber from lack of using it)... and I was pretty certain from their actions and our interactions, that the people I worked with… the higher ups, did not respect me.
The worst part: I was starting to internalize some of this negativity and negative energy in the atmosphere (if you are in an environment anything like this, make sure to go the extra mile to fortify yourself against it) and had even begun to wonder if I was smart, competent, or capable. I gained a lot of weight and I just was not feeling good about myself overall. I wondered how it was that no matter what I did and how hard I worked, I kept finding my way back to the exact same familiar place… utter & complete failure
Then, because things were not going poorly enough, I discovered that I was being demoted or moved into a position that I wasn’t actually trained for or credentialed for, and wouldn’t be able to contribute. It’s kind of like they were just looking for a place to park me because I was not seen as a valuable member of the organization.
(I am grateful that they didn’t fire me though while all this was going on, and I was able to collect that check!)
I still remember crying quietly to myself in my car driving on Washington Boulevard at nighttime on the way home.
And it was around then I made a decision that something had to change. And for any of you who are going through something similar… who are going through a terrible time professionally, and perhaps even personally, I want you to pay attention to this story, and hopefully you can use it to your advantage and it can serve you as well as it has served me.
And then you know the story… I was running around frantically… I had massive energy…. Just looking for a way out. Anything else that was legal that I could potentially pursue, whether it was another job or an entrepreneurial opportunity. Negative energy can be powerful fuel. Especially when you feel like you’re out of options.
I was looking at everything, and I came across an entrepreneur doing mobile apps. I studied him for a while, and said “hey, I think this could be my thing” I loved that individuals and small teams were succeeding with it and I loved that you could build them one time and benefit many times over… not that there was no work to it… that doesn’t exist, but your work could be magnified. The apps kept on working without getting tired, complaining, or taking breaks, and you could always add more to the team!
I decided I was going to build a big app portfolio, so that out of this portfolio, some would be big winners, and overall they would work together to replace my income and free me financially.That’s where I dove in and invested in a book and then 2 different online courses to educate myself. I started with small results, but it was enough to show me more was possible if I kept on pushing. 936 downloads for $81.78. I then knew that my biggest problem was more downloads, so I dove deep on marketing and was able to reach a $1000-$2000 monthly revenue plateau. I wasn't there yet and ran into a number of problems, so I just tried to address them one by one when they arose
That December, the momentum started to compound and things really started to take off and the numbers started to make sense financially and I knew I was on my way
I was getting more money than I had originally hoped for, I was experiencing the freedom I dreamed of, and I was being looked to for leadership, and having the pleasure of helping a lot of other people with their own journeys… Which is exactly what we’re here to do today. I hope by sharing my story and my experience that I can be helpful to you.
And I am still on that journey to this day. Just because you experience success once doesn’t mean that you don’t have to continue earning it or that there are not different levels to unlock, but today we are talking about how to start… or even how to re-start. Maybe you’ve experienced success already and you want to build another thing. I’ve been there… Maybe you’ve experienced a failure or 5… I’ve been there… Maybe a little bit of both...
Based on my own experience that we just recapped, here is roughly how I would approach it. Again keep in mind there are many other ways. This is my take:
Make a decision that you’re going to start (and that you’re going to finish)
I didn’t know how I was going to get from here to there, but I knew for damn sure that I needed to make a change, no matter what it was going to take and no matter how long it would take. In my experience when I approach with that kind of conviction and that level of fervor and determination, I have a much better success rate in getting what I want than if I just go through the motions or “give it a try”
And another hack I like to use in combination with this is to make an investment so I have some skin in the game, and I am less likely to forget about the idea and move on
For example, the night in the coffee shop when I came up with Game of Grow, minutes later I was signing up for the social channels and buying the domains. Not as huge an investment in this.You don’t want to give it a try, you want to make a decision about what is going to happen. Slight shift in thinking, but it is powerful
StartThis might be the biggest thing. Even though I didn’t know what the heck to do in the beginning, I got into action and started trying a lot of different things. A lot of these things were the wrong things for me, but it allowed me to find some of the right things. Had I just stayed in one place and tried to come up with the best plan, it never would have happened.
Just start. If you can nail points 1 & 2 you’ll be ahead of the game.
What are your interests?Very simply, this is going to be a lot of work over a long period of time if you want to be successful with it. While you don’t necessarily need extreme passion in the thing you are working on, if you don’t enjoy at least some part of it, you are going to struggle to put in the work necessary to excel.
Market demandWe talked about this in episode 3, so feel free to go back. If we look at things from first principles… if we break it down to the essentials…. To have a business, you need to solve a problem for some set of customers, and in return they compensate you for it.
In my app business to this day, I research the top charts and other data sources to determine what people want and how they are spending their money so I can use that data to inform my decisions. No matter what you decide to go into, it can’t JUST be about what you like. You want to be sure that whatever you decide to offer the market, there is demand for it. You can do this by looking at things that are already selling, and/or uncovering problems that you are aware of that could be addressed better, faster, more efficiently… whatever…
Something I definitely could have done better earlier was zeroing in on exactly which customers I wanted to serve so I could offer them a series of complementary solutions rather than just moving from opportunity to opportunity. So that may be something you want to think about that will definitely bring value to your business. But don’t let it stop you from starting
Establish a baseWhile I know there is power in visualizing where you want to eventually be… (begin with the end in mind. I do love that) I didn’t allow it to paralyze me. What I needed was to replace my income or at least be able to cover my expenses plus some allowable margin of safety. My target became about $300 per day. If I could do that in a reliable fashion, I was in business. And that is pretty much all you need to do from the start. If you can cover your needs and then some in a recurring fashion, it’s going to allow you to go out and take bigger and bigger risks without even needing an investor, and I’ll tell you that you gain a lot of confidence by handling that for yourself, or at least I did. A lot more achievable than if I thought I needed to build Amazon or Facebook on my first try, which is what a lot of people set out to do… and that can be very daunting.
Find a Mentor
All of the things we talked about above can be expedited if you find someone who has already done what you want to do, already achieved the results you want, and then you walk in their path. I had several mentors for the app business, as I’ve discussed. I paid for their books and their online courses, and I’m glad I did because it saved me a ton of time and allowed me to get to the results I wanted a lot quicker than I would have otherwise. To this day I invest a lot of time and money in my skills and personal development in order to acquire the skills I need to accomplish what I want to accomplish. I also leverage free and inexpensive information… podcasts, books, audiobooks, etc. And sometimes I will be lucky enough to find myself in a position where someone has taken an interest in me and I’ve cultivated a relationship where the mentoring is free of charge. But I don’t count on that and I to this day I don’t have a problem paying to invest in my future if I know there is value there, and most of the people I know who have had some level of success will tell you the same thing.
Note that It has to be in the right person for your goal, so definitely do your research before you start signing up for everything left and right and spending money foolishly, and note that it doesn’t absolve you of doing the work or running your own race. So know that as well. But mentorship can be a major shortcut when it comes to this entrepreneurship game. And like I said… I will never claim I have all the answers for you. Keep letting me know what your goals are and what you want to learn. As much as I can, I will do my best to introduce you to accomplished and credible people I know that can help you get startSo that’s about all I have to say today on how to take the first step. Well actually… I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this. After all, my wife is Nicaila Matthews Okome, aka Side Hustle Pro, of the chart topping Side Hustle Pro podcast.
I did not leave my job until things were up and running and making significant revenue and you don’t have to either. You can certainly get started on the side as a side hustle and still be effective, in my experience. You just need to be disciplined and take it seriously, subtract from the areas of life that you need to so that you can focus and give it your all.Question of the Week
Which brings us to the question of the week…. What do you want to learn about doing business online?
Send your response in to [email protected], or the Game of Grow Community, gameofgrow.com/community, or you can reach me @gameofgrow on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter
The Fee
This episode was sponsored by you, so IF AND ONLY IF YOU GOT VALUE, for each episode you liked bring me back one like minded person who you know would enjoy this content and show them how to subscribe and leave a review… and obviously I would love for you to do the same. And send me a screenshot at [email protected] so I can say thank you! Tell me a bit about yourself and what you want to learn! This is exactly how we are growing the show, through word of mouth… and it is working big time! They don’t want us to win, but guess what… we gon win anyway
Alright…
And with that, I’ll see you guys back here real soon on the Game of Grow Podcast.
Would love to see you in the Game of Grow Facebook Community. Join us at gameofgrow.com/community
To sign up for our weekly email updates from the Hustler’s Corner, check out gameofgrow.com, and use the sign up form right at the top of the page…
This is not your typical entrepreneurship podcast. A lot of people ask me for advice, and I figured rather than tell you, I want to show you exactly what I’m doing. You’ll see when I get it right, when I fall on my face (it happens more than you think… that’s how we grow), what I learn, and everything that happens along the way. I don’t want to show you the result. I want you to see the process.
It’s not about where you start. It’s about where you want to go, who you want to become, and the price you’re willing to pay to get there.
A lot of people talk about VC’s and investors, but here in this community (gameofgrow.com/community), we take action and invest in ourselves.I LOVE the game. I LOVE the Hustle. I’m grateful for every moment and can’t put my foot on the brakes.
If you want to build or grow a powerful, profitable, ethical business that makes money AND but also makes CHANGE and leaves the world a little bit better than you found it at the same damn time, I’d love if we could work on that together.
It doesn’t matter where you start. Are you willing to take the challenge and GROW?
DJ drop that beat and take us out...
This episode is sponsored by my first book, "The 7 Steps to App Success".
12 million downloads, 8 years of grinding, 7 months of writing & editing, and thousands of dollars of my own money later, it’s finally here…. And you can get it for wayyyy less. Head to appmagic.co/book and pick up your digital copy, in its 108 pages of glory.
Stay connected with the movement:
Join the Facebook Community: gameofgrow.com/community
Instagram: instagram.com/gameofgrow
Facebook:facebook.com/gameofgrow
Twitter: twitter.com/gameofgrow
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/muoyo
To sign up for our weekly email updates visit us at gameofgrow.com -
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We back! Episode 4!
Welcome back! Amazing news! Super exciting… we came out the gates strong and broke into the top 100 of all Business podcasts, getting as high as #98 in Business, as well as #56 in Marketing. We made the New & Noteworthy Podcast lists for both Business and Marketing.
And all thanks to you guys Subscribing & Reviewing. Please continue, and don’t stop!
So give yourselves a pat on the back. The movement is STRONG
….but at the same time, at the time of recording, we have about 30...34 reviews live, so a lot of you guys should not be patting yourselves on the back that much.
We can do better. If you enjoy the content, let’s really work together and grow this thing. WE’re doing well and we can do a lot more well. I am working extremely hard to bring you a great product for free… and I really really believe in it. And I am truly grateful for those of you who are taking those few minutes out of the day to help us out.
I guess this is a good analogy for the Game of Grow itself, or anything else in life worth accomplishing. We did the hard work and got started, which is a great thing. We got some early results. Now to get where we want to be, and where we can be, we need to do the work over a long period of time until we are operating on an elite level. This is true for podcasts, movements, careers, physical fitness, being a chef… you get the idea. It doesn’t happen overnight.
ALSO Super exciting… I am hopping on a plane to Jamaica in the morning (this is Saturday night, at the time of recording) and I have been on my grind this evening because I had to make sure this episode was locked and loaded tonight so it can be ready for you first thing Wednesday morning…. And after this I need to pack and hopefully get a few hours of sleep
It’s my wife’s birthday, and I’ll be joining her in JA…, so everyone head to Instagram and say @sidehustlepro, wishing you a happy birthday from @gameofgrow and I… or something like that. Shoutout to wifey
Anyway! You are now listening to the Game of Grow Podcast and I’m your host, Muoyo Okome.
Episode 4 of the most dangerous business podcast in the world!
Grateful to have you all here listening today. You could be anywhere in the world, but you’re here with me, and I will never take that for granted, so I promise to give you all I’ve got and deliver as much value as I can, and give you some tools, some techniques, some ideas you can truly use to impact your business and your life.
It doesn’t matter where you start or where you are right now. I know you can fill in the rest by now, right?
Review of the Day
Before we go to far… let’s hit the review of the day. This is of course the brief segment where I grab one of the recent reviews I like and feature it on the podcast, as a little way of saying thank you, and encouraging the behavior I love to see, that benefits us all in this movement.
You subscribing to the podcast & reviewing the podcast, and indoctrinating your friends and relatives… these are the best tools we have to spread our message and help as many people as we can.
So PLEASE subscribe and review. I know I keep saying it, but it really really helps.
Today’s review comes from FC Hammer 718:
“Like Mitch in Paid in Full, Muoyo loves the game and it shows. He’s breaking down the steps in order to win like him.”
Big thanks to my brother FC Hammer 718.
I hope that one didn’t go over your head…
And if you haven’t watched the movie Paid in Full, that piece of fine cinema… wow, I am really sorry for you.
Fun fact, Fritz was one of my 2 roommates in grad school, along with my brother Vlad, who is doing amazing things as an investor in the footwear world. Shoutout to him. FC was the best man at my wedding, and is also a podcaster. If you have interest in learning about the crypto, even if you don’t know a thing, you want to check out the Coin Gamma Podcast
But anyway!
So go ahead and subscribe and leave a review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play… wherever you happen to be listening and perhaps I’ll be featuring you next on the Game of Grow Podcast!
Today’s Topic
So without further ado...
And I had a completely different topic planned for you today, but while I was in the gym this morning (where I start my day most mornings) and this really hit me hard (while I was struggling through my final sets… didn’t get enough rest last night… it’s important) and I knew I needed to share it
Today, we’re going to talk about why you don’t need a Grammy, and how this knowledge… how this concept can improve your business and your life.
Let me tell you a quick story…
You might have heard there was an event a week or so ago called the Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, and not too long before that was the Grammys… or vice versa, who knows?
Now I don’t typically watch any of these shows because it’s just not my thing… I don’t get much enjoyment or entertainment out of it, I don’t care who is wearing what, it doesn’t affect my life or move move me towards any one of my goals, so for me it’s a waste of time (btw, I am not saying that YOU shouldn’t watch them. There is nothing inherently wrong… and I am not going to lie, I do get excited when I hear that one of my people won, that somebody I support won, just because I know it’s a big moment for them)
But there is also another reason besides entertainment value that I thumb my nose at the award shows. As a kid, I did watch some of these shows, and after a while they all started to seem to me like some old, out of touch dudes in a room deciding which art was the best based on their taste, and their taste alone, no matter what anyone else thought or was going on in the real world.
Seems like a crappy position to be in as an artist. Spend countless hours year after year of your life working on and honing your craft, only to have the decision of whether you are “worthy” come down to the opinion of some random dudes.
And I really started to think to myself how often are we put in that position, or how often do we ALLOW ourselves to be put in that position in everyday life? Let me explain...
Enter Drake...
The day after the Grammys, I learned that Toronto’s own Drizzy Drake had said something I agree with, so here it is:
"I want to let yall know that we're playing in an opinion-based sport, not a factual based sport. This is a business where sometimes it's up to a bunch of people who might not understand what a mixed raced kid from Canada has to say, or a fly Spanish girl from New York, or a fly brother from Houston."
"If you have people who are singing your songs word for word, if you're a hero in your hometown, if there's people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain and the snow, spending hard earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don't need this right here," (talking about his Grammy) "You already won." ...and that’s when the Grammy’s cut him off and cut to commercial
Funny, right… but this is a business & entrepreneurial podcast. This is a personal development podcast. This is a podcast for ambitious people. Why on earth are we discussing the Grammys?
I’ll tell you why…
How often in our work or in our businesses, projects, side hustles (shoutout to the Side Hustle Pro podcast and my illustrious wife). How often in our work, in our businesses, projects, side hustles, or even in life do we get critical feedback or opinions from others on the outside looking in which hurts our feelings, or makes us feel less. We get upset, we get down, we get frustrated... And then we want to spend all of this time trying to prove to this person (who usually is not even our customer by the way) that we are indeed smart, right, worthy, whatever… Sometimes we’ll even go into a funk. It’s all very much just like the Grammys.
I want to encourage you not to do that, because you don’t need a Grammy to be validated.
And I could stop right there and call it a day, but I want to give you a few more points to flesh this out. Feel free to take a pen and a pad and jot down some notes if you like
Advice vs Counsel
Anyone in the world can offer you can opinion or give advice, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with hearing them out. This is a good thing, mostly. But not everyone can give counsel. Counsel is wisdom backed by experience, which can only come from doing the thing. So when you get the piece of criticism or feedback from Person A, consider what qualifies them to give this advice, and whether they have done the thing that you are trying to do at a high level. Is it advice, or is it counsel?
And I am not saying you can never gain wisdom from people not in your profession, but just make sure you’re taking that advice with a grain of salt and giving it the proper weight.
A quick shortcut I like to use. Ask yourself… Would you trade places with the person giving you the advice? And then act accordingly.
If the panel handing out the Grammys or the Oscars or whatever have not done what I want to do…. if they are not playing in the same game I am playing… why would I care one bit about their award or any criticism they had about me? You don’t need a Grammy.
Do things that move you towards your goals
My mentor in my head, Tom Bilyeu (his podcast Impact Theory is definitely worth listening to) has a saying which he says often… “Do and believe that which moves you towards your goals” and on the flipside “Do not do or believe that which moves you away from your goals”
I liked this concept so much I included it in the App Mogul Mindset, which is a set of beliefs I share with all my App Moguls students. By the way if you’d like a copy of that for free, head to appmagic.co/imamogul and you can download it. There’s a printable PDF, a copy you can use for your phone, an editable copy, and some other fun stuff: appmagic.co/imamogul
Invest in those who invest in you
As humans, we all have a tendency to overfocus on the negative things that happen in our lives, our businesses, etc… even if there are a lot of positive things. I think this has to do with survival, with biology, etc. But this does not always serve us.
There are probably a lot of people, or at least some people who enjoy your work and what you do. In most cases it’s going to be a better use of your time and energy to try to serve them at the highest level rather than trying to pander to some out of touch guys in a back room smoking cigars who don’t quite get it. You don’t need a Grammy.
Nobody owes you shit
While it would be amazing if everyone were universally nice, respectful, professional, and sufficiently aware of your abilities and awesomeness, the fact is that will never happen, and you don’t have any control over it. Even though all those things would be nice, you can’t expect them.
Nobody owes you a damn thing and it does not serve you to allow their actions, even if they are rude, dismissive, uncalled for, whatever… to throw you off your game. Even if you are “in the right”, you are not serving your own interests and the things you want to accomplish by wasting time on people whose opinions frankly do not matter.
As the great Tywin Lannister once said “A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of sheep”
Especially if you are an entrepreneur or want to be an entrepreneur… but this really applies to anyone. You are 100% responsible for your life, your results, and where you are right now. People are going to do what they do and say what they say. Sometimes it will be mean, sometimes it will be hurtful, sometimes it will be dismissive. But you have to do your thing regardless… or at least you should.
You don’t need their approval and you don’t need a Grammy.
Use it, no matter what
If they are right, use it to get better. If they praise you, feed off the positive energy.
If they are wrong/spiteful/trying to hurt, use it as fuel.Negative critiques and negativity in general… or those that you perceive as negative (because sometimes that is not the intent) can be some of the most amazing fuel. Highly underrated. During his playing days, Michael Jordan would make up stories in his mind about how opposing players had wronged him, slighted him, or talked about his mama just so he could get fired up and perform at a higher level. Many other elite athletes do the same. I can remember so many instances in my life and career in which I’ve leveraged this kind of thinking.
I still remember sitting in the office that cold January morning with my "assigned mentor", who I probably spoke to once a quarter if I was lucky...
"It happens to us all, Muoyo. You think I haven't been passed over for promotions or treated unfairly? It's just something you have to learn to deal with", he advised...
In that moment, at the very same time I nodded my head in agreement slowly, I realized that I could not agree less
I thought to myself "Maybe YOU do, but that's not what I have in mind", and I made a decision. I said F this shit. Let’s GO. And I did.
You don’t need a Grammy. Let the fact that they are rejecting you drive you to greater heights.
And I could go into another example, and another one, and ANOTHER ONE… but let’s save some ammo for a future show. Why not, right?
Alright… I want to bring this thing to a close by sharing with you one of my favorite quotes, from Theodore Roosevelt. I think you’ll see why in a minute. If you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing it before, this alone should be worth the subscribe, review, and tell a friend (hint, hint)
The Man in the Arena
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
What’s left to say...
Join us in the Game of Grow Community. That’s where we’ll be turning this into more of a discussion, and moving from theory to practice. Go to gameofgrow.com/community or you can search for game of grow community on facebook if you prefer.
Make sure to sign up for the mailing list at gameofgrow.com, as I’ll have a lot of exciting things coming your way that you don’t want to miss out on.
Question of the Day
Which brings us to the question of the day…. Tell me about yourself
Not really a question, I know, but I really want to know more about you, the people who are listening in. So hit me up at [email protected] or @gameofgrow on social and tell me a bit about who you are, what you’re working on, and that kind of thing. Whatever you want to share.
Bonus question: Someone who listens to this podcast is a A) Grow Getter B) Grow Runner C) Growth Hustler D) Something else… you tell me.
The Fee
As always, guys… you know that we are constantly focused on spreading this message and bringing more people into the Game of Grow Community (by the way, gameofgrow.com/community takes you right there), so IF AND ONLY IF YOU GOT VALUE, for each episode where you got value, bring me back one like minded person who you know would enjoy this content… If you didn’t get value, You don’t have to do a thing. But if you got value, bring me back one person back for each episode where that’s true. You can even tell me about it and you’ll be a hero
Alright… Enough of this
And with that, I’ll see you guys back here real soon on the Game of Grow Podcast.
If you’d like to hear more about the app business I described and how you can start to implement something similar, this episode was sponsored by my first book “The 7 Steps to App Success”. Super proud...
12 million downloads, 8 years of grinding, 7 months of writing & editing, and thousands of dollars of my own money later, it’s finally here…. 108 pages of app business education glory. And you can get it for wayyyy less. Head to appmagic.co/book and pick up your digital copy.
Actually… you know what, let me read a little snippet for you to give you a free taste. This comes from my Acknowledgement section of the book, which I happen to be super proud of...
I recently read a Twitter status which started: “My parents were tasked with the job of survival and I with self-actualization. The immigrant generation gap is real.”
My parents arrived in the United States in 1981 as grad students from Nigeria with two ugly yellow suitcases and a bad check from a so-called family friend who had purchased their car. Through their hard work and sacrifices, they proceeded to build a life full of possibility for my brother and I, teaching us that anything is possible through positivity, learning, and relentless work, all while keeping a sense of humor and playfulness (and preparing delicious Nigerian food). I’ll never forget it or take anything in my life for granted.
Thank you to my late grandma, who taught me “Hard work does not kill. It is poverty that kills,” and many other pieces of Yoruba wisdom she not only spoke of, but lived by; to my students and clients, whose success means the world to me, who have enabled me to clarify, refine, and distill my thoughts on what it takes to build an app-based business; to the App Magic team and our amazing partners, who I love working and learning with in the trenches every day; and to the many entrepreneurs who have paved the way, including mentors such as Trey Smith, Zeb Jaffer, Carter Thomas, and Chad Mureta, as well as others who have taught and inspired me from afar, such as Tom Bilyeu, MJ DeMarco, Reginald Lewis, and the list goes on and on.
Thanks also to my editor and friend, Angela Clements Johnson, who has spent many long hours helping shape my very raw thoughts into a truly useful resource we can all be proud of, that will go on to help many people.
And last but certainly not least, thank you to my beautiful wife, Nicaila Matthews Okome, whose always direct and timely feedback I have come to trust and rely on, and who has encouraged and pushed me every step of the way. I promise we’ll take more vacations.
So go get your copy at appmagic.co/book, learn some amazing things, and support our illustrious show.
For everything else: to sign up for the mailing list, join the Game of Grow Facebook Community, connect with us on social, to send me an email…
check out gameofgrow.com, and it’s all right there…
Remember…It’s not about where you start. It’s about where you want to go, who you want to become and the price you’re willing to pay to get there.
Be honest, though… we gotta win the Oscar for best theme song. Am I right?
DJ drop that beat and take us out...
This episode is sponsored by my first book, "The 7 Steps to App Success".
12 million downloads, 8 years of grinding, 7 months of writing & editing, and thousands of dollars of my own money later, it’s finally here…. And you can get it for wayyyy less. Head to appmagic.co/book and pick up your digital copy, in its 108 pages of glory.
Stay connected with the movement:
Join the Facebook Community: gameofgrow.com/community
Instagram: instagram.com/gameofgrow
Facebook:facebook.com/gameofgrow
Twitter: twitter.com/gameofgrow
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/muoyo
To sign up for our weekly email updates visit us at gameofgrow.com -
Welcome back! You are now listening to the Game of Grow Podcast and I’m your host, Muoyo Okome
Episode 3 of the most dangerous business podcast in the universe.
It’s not about where you start or where you are right now... It’s about where you want to go, who you want to become, and the price you’re willing to pay to get there.
Are you willing to take the challenge and grow…?
Guys, I am going to keep it real with you here. I had episode 3 done and in the bag yesterday, but I decided I had to scrap the whole thing and completely re-record it.
While I do want to keep things bare bones, raw, and real in the spirit of imperfect action… you will hear my ums, verbal mistakes, and imperfections…. And keeping things light is also good for my consistency. I had to pull out and do this one over because it was cool, but not up to standards.
When I think about the purpose of this show and how I will measure it, it’s always going to be about whether it is useful and usable to you. I don’t just want to get up here and talk for the sake of talking. I want you to be able to put things into practice.
This is not a motivational podcast. I’m aware I have a certain way of talking… my wife always tells me babe… take it down a notch, you can talk normally, but I can’t help it.
You stick a mic in my face and allow me to talk about a subject like business & entrepreneurship and I get excited… and this is what you get. Similar to how I would sound telling a funny story at a social event.
So if it’s motivating for you, that is awesome, and that’s a bonus, but it’s not my main goal.
First and foremost, I want it the information given in this show to be usable, I want it to be actionable, I want it to be valuable, and that is the question I will always be asking myself and the standard I will be holding myself to.
You may have noticed that one of the central themes & messages of the show is that you can essentially accomplish anything, given enough time an effort. If you can’t do it now, it’s probably because you lack the necessary skills. The good news is that almost every skill can be learned and acquired, with enough time. That is what we are here to do.
So that is why we are doing a new version...
Review of the Day
Alright! Shall we do the review of the day?
Guys, you already know that my singular purpose, my north star, my obsession with this show, as I just mentioned providing you value and helping you to level up your game and get results, so nothing is more important to me than your feedback. That’s why I am reading these reviews of the day, because I want to hear more from you so I can know whether or not this Game of Grow movement is doing it’s job and making a difference.
This one is also came in before the show actually released, but it still made me feel amazing and it’s good practice... I want to help get you guys in the habit. Here’s the review. This one is from Kara:
“Woooo hooooo!!!! Congratulations on building your empire Muoyo!!!????????????????????????
I’m pumped for another podcast—it allows me to listen to your influence on the go!! ????????????You have such an authentic and endearing way of communicating transparently to your listeners and students ... I’m really pumped for another way for you to share what you know, and how you grow!!
Congratulations and Kudos to you!If you want to have me on your podcast featuring a “somewhat lost” entrepreneur in the making, I’m available! lol
Maybe others can learn from my confusion..apprehension?????????♀️ It might be a helpful convo.
Yay! I’m pumped Muoyo!
-Kara”Big thank you to Kara… I really appreciate you.
So go ahead and subscribe and leave a rating & review on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play… wherever you happen to be listening and perhaps I’ll be featuring you next!
If you like the show, if you enjoy the content, this is one of the most powerful ways you can help us out, so don’t underestimate it. The subscribes and reviews help Apple and Google to understand that this is a powerful movement so they can give us better positioning in their stores and more people can hear this same valuable message you’re listening to right now. We are the underdogs here and cannot make this happen without your help.
Enough of that...
Alright! We’re back and we’re live! First of all, thank you for all the love and support… I truly appreciate it. You could be anywhere in the world… but you’re here with me.
Today I wanted to discuss something a bit different. Something I know is on a lot of your minds, because I am always getting these kind of questions….
Recently, someone asked me how I made the leap from corporate life to entrepreneurship. Was it scary? How did I know it was the right time? How did I decide what project(s) to pursue? Who did I go to for advice? I hear these questions often and I KNOW they are on a lot of people's minds, so I would like to touch on all of that today.
And if you ever have questions, I would love to hear them. Reach out at [email protected] and who knows…? Your question may be the next one to be featured on the show
How did you decide what to pursue?In my case it actually came to me sort of by chance… I was running all around the internet trying to learn marketing and looking for interesting projects because I needed to get the hell out of my job, and I ended up running into someone who was doing this app thing who caught my attention and earned my trust over time, then getting educated, getting hooked, and diving all the way in.
But speaking more generally let’s break this thing down… how SHOULD one decide what to pursue?
Demand Accessibility ActionDemand
When it comes to any business you want to do, demand is probably the most important factor we should consider.
If nobody wants the thing, I don’t care how brilliant it is, it’s not going to sell. It’s funny because novice entrepreneurs will often be far more concerned with lack of competition, i.e. “no one has done this before”, when presence of demand is far more important.
I knew there was obviously proven demand for mobile apps, because they were moving like hotcakes, and on a micro level, the App Store charts could help you figure out which types of apps had more and less market demand. That box was already checked for me, but that’s going to be something you always need to validate in order to move forward with confidence.
Accessibility
When I say accessibility here, what I mean is that my plan had to be one I could access without a whole lot of people having to say yes or give me the green light. It couldn’t require too much capital, because I only had a finite amount, and was not interested in borrowing money. You’re probably going to want to think about this as well.
In some cases, for some businesses, you may have higher financial requirements and capital needs, but I generally always recommend people start small with your first business, and give yourself an opportunity to learn a lot and make your first mistakes… and there will be many, on the cheap.
I know there are plenty of counterexamples to this…. People who have invested massively to start their first business…. but just my opinion based on my experience. I said what I said
Action
I think one big advantage I have over a lot of people I’ve observed when it comes to this entrepreneurship game is that I am willing to try things, do them badly, and get better over time. A lot of you guys want to wait for the perfect plan and are scared to actually try. What’s the worst that could actually happen?
In the beginning the truth is that you have no idea what’s going to work for you. But I do know what’s not going to work…. Thinking about it and not doing anything.
Another thing is that your first business does not need to be Amazon or Facebook, so you probably should not put all that pressure. It just needs to be a first step and a learning experience, and something in the real world outside of your head.
For me, it was about trying a lot of different things until one of them succeeded, then that became my first thing.
Let me tell you a quick story...
So I think we’ve established this. For a long time… Since late 2011, I’ve been involved in the app game in various forms, whether it be publishing my own apps (lots of fun), partnering with other people/businesses/entities, teaching others the game (App Moguls is my program where I currently do that), working on apps for other people (this has been by far the hardest and most painful, but sometimes it’s actually really cool too), or even writing my 108 page masterpiece “The 7 Steps to App Success”, which coincidentally you can pick up at appmagic.co/book for an amazing price… *shameless plug* haha
Early 2013, one of my apps took off to the very top of the charts, in the top 10, and I was definitely earning a healthy ROI from that app along with the rest of my portfolio. Things had already been going well. If you’ve listened to episode 1 already, you know a bit about how that was going. I had been doing well already. Shortly after, I resolved to quit my corporate job. I had originally planned to stick around til September and collect my next stock award, then it became June, and then this happens, and I had to be out in April, I believe it was.
Cheers to overnight success, right…? Not really, and it never is
There were a lot of steps and a lot of experiences that hardly seem related that have combined to help me, and I know there will be a lot more on this journey as we go forward. Let me highlight a few choice ones from over the years.
First there was the kid stuff...
As early as I can remember, I thought that I would eventually work for myself and not have to worry about money. Being the kind of kid that was fascinated by science, my thought was that I would invent awesome products and profit from them (Ninja Turtles validated that this path was possible, the downside being the bad guys that constantly raided your lab).
One of my early inventions was a bug spray concocted from stuff I found under the sink. Our house in Brooklyn had a big backyard which served as the perfect laboratory. Unfortunately my product ended up being not the best on the market but I was not about to stop right there
A little later, Mr. Wizard (I greatly preferred him to Bill Nye at the time, despite the bigger brand) introduced me to the wonderful and lucrative world of rocks and minerals so I quickly became an explorer or collector. After much exploration and collection, it was quite a blow to learn that broken sidewalk & asphalt crystals didn’t really count as valuable rocks. They did not go for much on the open market, but I was undeterred.
Later on at school, maybe a few grades and ideas later, we started to learn how to write basic computer programs in a language called BASIC. I was very proud of my program, which could tell you the day of the week, if you gave it the date. I tinkered with the home computer until it would run my brilliant program every time it started. My brilliant program eventually this stopped the computer from starting up. Several missteps later, the computer was wiped of all information, including an important paper my mom had been working on for years. For a time, I did learn to become an expert in using the recovery tools to get the data back, but Mom didn't want to pay me for that for some reason.
Even though this was kind of a bad experience, I now knew I liked the computers thing…
And there were many more ideas and missteps, but on to adult life
I did come back to computers eventually and graduated college as a CS-major and became a software developer by trade. I also did websites & graphic design on the side… a lot of funny stories from that era. Let me just say that people were sometimes happier to use the work than they were to pay for it, but I liked to get paid, which led to some amusing encounters and stories…
But anyway, I eventually this into a business along with my cousin (who is technically not my cousin by blood... this might be an African thing). After one too many low-paying, highly-demanding clients I could no longer take the burnout and quit. I learned I wanted to be properly compensated for my tim
My third job at the time was an education startup that I co-founded. We built a great product (totally unbiased) and had many great team dinners but did not make it so far without a viable marketing plan or means of distribution. I learned that marketing was important. Having a product alone doesn’t cut it. If you build it they will not come.
Towards the end of business school, I reasoned that shoes... especially women's shoes were a product that sold themselves, and started building an online business around that. Most women I spoke to about the idea were sold on it the moment I uttered "shoes". I was not as passionate about shoes, and as a result could not find the energy to keep on working hard on it, creating content and interacting with the community when I had no clear path to profitability The business died a natural death in a matter of months. I learned that I need to be interested in at least some part of the business. I also learned a lot about marketing.
"Formal education will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune."
-Jim RohnDuring the course of learning how to market products online, I came across a marketer who started to talk about making apps for the iPhone. This intrigued me so I followed his progress and did more research independently. He eventually started having a lot more success and offered a course to go behind the scenes of his business and learn. I did some more research on him and found him to be legit and the opportunity was compelling. So I dove in and the rest is history.
So basically, that is how I chose the correct entrepreneurial opportunity.
Each of my many failures and setbacks (there are more) taught me something along the way.
And I am very sure that soon enough we’ll have the opportunity to talk about where I am focused and what I am working on right now. We’ll do that right here on the Game of Grow Podcast.
Another reason for my choice: mobile applications are a lucrative and growing space in which small players are still able to have huge impact and one that I am very interested in, which makes it easier to put in the hours and do all the necessary work. I would not have as much luck going solo into the oil business, for example.
Market conditions are important and every opportunity is not created equal... but the best ones will probably be most recognizable in hindsight. Do your evaluation for sure… but you have to get off the sidelines, take some action, and try some things to figure it out for sure.
How did you know it was time?
In my particular situation, it was not all that hard...
Beyond the knowledge gained from these courses, another benefit was exposure to a community of entrepreneurs from all different countries and backgrounds, many of whom I still talk to on a daily basis to share information, success, and failures.
There is a myth that entrepreneurs are extreme risk takers and people often commend me on being "brave". While there is risk inherent in anything, I believe that most of us are pragmatists and seek to mitigate the risk as much as possible… For example, Richard Branson is often perceived as a fun-loving wild man, but if you actually listen to him speak, you’ll hear him talk about “protecting the downside”
One factor in walking away is that I was consistently earning considerably more & learning considerably more with my "side gig" than with my main job. I would easily be able to purchase healthcare from the exchange with plenty to spare… one of the main concerns people often talk about.
It was getting to the point where I almost felt that my day job was holding my progress back. Another was that taking these courses gave me a "blueprint" of sorts... although not perfect, they accelerated my learning beyond where I would have been without them. Another was that I could see I was not unique in my experience. I had other friends achieving the same success or much more... many of who made fun of me for "still having a real job" (thanks again, guys).
After repeating for X number of months, I decided it was repeatable and set a date by which I would leave. And then once I was able to convince my Nigerian parents that the idea made sense and it was actually riskier for me to stay at this cushy corporate job I disliked (highly improbable scenario… I did not see that one coming), I knew it was definitely time and I resigned shortly after. Everyone's decision is going to be a little different.
And I’ll also say this. There is no reason to rush. Yes, you do want to act with urgency, when it comes to your work, and yes, pressure can be a powerful fuel source, but you don’t want to make rash decisions that are going to make your life harder than it has to be…
Like I mentioned, in my situation, all signals were pointing towards my time to leave, so I left, but there is no shame in working on your business on the side, learning the ropes, and scaling your side income until you feel secure enough to make the jump.
Actually, on a recent episode of Side Hustle Pro (I was listening to it while getting my sprints in in the evening… we were both down there actually), the guest, who has a successful hair & skin care brand called Alikay Naturals, that started off as a side hustle, suggested that you get your business earnings to around 60% of your salary while side hustling before you consider making the jump… Logic being that at that point you have proven the model and should be able to scale it up to where it needs to be when you can dedicate your full time.
And actually, you don’t EVER have to make the jump if you don’t want to. For some people, it can be satisfying enough to have a nice side business and extra income stream while keeping that full time job security.
That’s not for me… Not the life I dream about or fight for, but I see no problem with that decision or thought process.
Was it scary?
At the time, not at all. I felt quite smart & invincible (looking back, I may have been a bit naive… maybe there is some power in that).
Even if things went south, I felt I that the experience would be far more valuable to me than staying at my job. I also felt I was smart & competent enough to get another one if necessary (possibly true or untrue... I don't know). And even more than that, I had faith in myself, that if other people have done this before, no matter what, I could ultimately figure out a solution
Since then I have gone through upswings and downswings with the business. You try to detach yourself from the results and focus on process and execution, but that is tough. Bigger numbers still make me feel like a genius while smaller ones tend to do the opposite. One definitely thinks about the lack of a safety net more when numbers decrease, markets change, revenue streams dry up. It's all very human.
To get past this, it helps me to take a realistic assessment of my current position (count my blessings), consider the worst case scenario, then step away from my emotions & fear and figure out what to do. For me, the answer often comes back to acquiring new knowledge and skills, which inevitably lead to more success over a long enough period of time. You get more comfortable with the ambiguity and for me, the good greatly outweighs the bad.
Tony Robbins has a quote where he says: “The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably deal with.” and for me, that is one I can certainly vibe with.
I’m not going to lie and tell you it’s always fun and games, but I definitely enjoy life a lot more as an entrepreneur, taking full responsibility for what happens into my own hands… and I will always love the Game, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
So that is everything you ever wanted to know about quitting your job to become an entrepreneur and when and why to make the decision. But if I somehow missed your question, feel free to ask me anything below and I will respond as soon as I can.
Question of the Day
What is your #1 question about starting or growing your business online business?
You know how to reach me, so reach out and let me know…
The Fee
This episode was sponsored by you, so if and only if you received great value from it, make sure you pay that fee: subscribe, review (the single biggest thing you can do to say thanks, and help us to reach more people), for each episode you enjoy, learn from, resonate with… bring me back one like minded person who you know would enjoy this content as well… If you didn’t get value… this doesn’t apply to you. You don’t have to do a thing.
But if you got value, bring me back one person back for each episode where that’s true… show them how to subscribe and review and all that, and that will be a huge help.
I’m not talking 5 people… I mean I won’t be mad if you go out and recruit your whole group chat, your whole uber pool, your whole basketball team, entrepreneurship club, or community organization… I’m not going to be mad at you, but the fee is just one person per episode. I’m nothing if not FAIR! Right??
And let me know that you did it, so I can say thank you!
Show Close
Alright… Enough of this!
And with that, I’ll see you guys back here real soon on the Game of Grow Podcast.
For everything else: to sign up for the mailing list, join the Game of Grow Facebook Community, connect with us on social (@gameofgrow everywhere), send me an email…
check out gameofgrow.com, and it’s all right there…
Remember…It’s not about where you start. It’s about where you want to go, who you want to become and the price you’re willing to pay to get there.
DJ drop that beat and take us out...
This episode is sponsored by my first book, "The 7 Steps to App Success".
12 million downloads, 8 years of grinding, 7 months of writing & editing, and thousands of dollars of my own money later, it’s finally here…. And you can get it for wayyyy less. Head to appmagic.co/book and pick up your digital copy, in its 108 pages of glory.
Stay connected with the movement:
Join the Facebook Community: gameofgrow.com/community
Instagram: instagram.com/gameofgrow
Facebook:facebook.com/gameofgrow
Twitter: twitter.com/gameofgrow
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/muoyo
To sign up for our weekly email updates visit us at gameofgrow.com -
Welcome back! Episode 2! We made it…
You are now listening to the Game of Grow Podcast and I’m your host, Muoyo Okome.
Episode 2 of the most dangerous business podcast in the universe.
It doesn’t matter where you start or where you are right now.
Where are you trying to go? Who do need to become? What price are you willing to pay to get there?
Are you willing to take that challenge and grow?
Review of the Day
Before we dive into today’s topic, let’s tackle a little thing I like to call the review of the day. This is going to be a brief segment where I grab one of the recent reviews I like and feature it on the podcast, as a little way of saying thank you, because listen, we are underdogs here in the podcasting world. We don’t have huge budgets or influencer marketing like some of these other shows. This is grassroots. We sink or swim based on the actions of you, our community. You taking that minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, to subscribe and review the show and getting others to buy in and do the same is the only way we can hope to compete and get our message out.
So listen to this review I got… even before we officially launched (I’d given a sneak peek to just a few people… and guess what… they did the right thing and got back to me…. Here we go)
And this is exactly what keeps me going. I don’t make money on this show, so your feedback is the only KPI I’ve got... your feedback is life.
If you are getting value, and better yet if you are getting results, then this podcast is doing it’s job and I’m happy. If not, I have no idea what we’re doing here at all. Let’s all go home…
So here’s the review from Shirley:
“it was an EXTREMELY real powerful intro... it was authentic, it was simple, I made sure to listen on my drive to compare the experience with my other audiobooks and podcasts and it was really great quality...
I like the message mostly because u said u weren’t an EXPERT! I find too much of that and that really resonated with me... you shared where u want to go, no hidden agenda... very REAL!
This is NEEDED..”
That was Shirley…. Shoutout to you Shirley… Really appreciate you.
So go ahead and subscribe and leave a rating & review on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play… wherever you happen to be listening and perhaps I’ll be featuring you next!
On This Episode...
On this episode…. I guess we’re still getting to know each other, so I want to share a bit about my family and what makes me who I am. We’ll be discussing the lessons I learned as the son of immigrants, how they’ve helped me in business and life, and more importantly, how they can hopefully help you.
And I stillll want to hear more about you, so make sure you use those communication channels that have been provided on gameofgrow.com and hit me.
We also have the Game of Grow Community, which you can find on Facebook, so make sure you search for that and take advantage.
And I should also point out now, that yes, this is a business and entrepreneurship podcast, but the messages we talk about here are not limited to entrepreneurs alone.
Whether or not you own a business or even want to in the future, if you are striving to grow and have more success in your life, this show absolutely applies to you as well
Today’s Topic
So without further ado...
Today, we’re going to talk about what I learned from being the son of immigrants, and how you can apply that to your life and your business… cool?
And real quick since we are on the topic of family, big shoutout to my younger brother who I neglected to mention on our introductory episode of the podcast… (we don’t edit) He’s studying to be a doctor. Super proud…
And although it’s kind of a stereotype for African kids to be pushed to be doctors, lawyers, or engineers, there was no sort of pressure like that from my parents… shoutout to them… this is legitimately what he is passionate about doing and I wish him nothing but the best
So with that, let’s get right into it...
1981 they touched down in JFK airport. Two suitcases. One bad check.
Somebody had decided to pay my dad for his car with a bad check. This was a so called “friend of the family”.
So at the time, we're living in a small apartment in Brooklyn New York... probably an illegal apartment, but you know I had one of the best childhoods, even though it was difficult for my parents.
And I wouldn't say that I got everything I wanted. For example I never had pair of Jordan sneakers.
Grew up in Brooklyn never had Jordans... but I always had everything I needed. I was extremely provided for.
So in this household we had the education, we had the hard work, we had the athletics...
But more than anything, what I learned from my parents was resourcefulness.
You don't complain, you make the best of what you have and you just try to be extremely resourceful and make it happen… and that's what they did.
So I recall an instance that really drilled this don't complain thing home...
We went to Nigeria. I was still a young kid. We flew to Nigeria every so often…
So getting off the plane in lagos, we're walking to the car and I'm rushed by a bunch of kids who were touching my arms, grabbing on my clothing, and asking what I can give them... and the reason why was because clearly I was from America and they perceived that I had something that they did not…
And as we're making our way through Lagos… keep in mind not everyone in Nigeria lives in poverty... I don't want you to think that, but many people do... and this was my first exposure to it on that level...
And I'm seeing these scenes, experiencing these experiences, and seeing the way that people perceive me and it just really hit home that a lot of the things that I thought to that point where problems were not problems. And as I'm returning home, my young mind is reflecting on this and it really stuck with me and I just thought... man these things are not problems and I'm just not going to complain. And matter of fact, I don't need to go to Nigeria to find poverty or or hardship, I can find it right here in the US, and many countries around the world... Watching the news will tell you that much.
And so I resolved that I was not going to complain. I was gonna try to make the best of what I had and I'll be extremely resourceful. And those habits and those traits have really played themselves out very well and benefited me throughout my life.
The gratitude thing… it’s so huge.
Even to this day, I wake up each morning, and think about 3… well, at least 3 things I am grateful for.
I used to actually take time and write them down in a physical journal with pen and paper, which is cool and impactful for its own reasons, but now I just visualize, and it still works very well…
And one thing I’ll tell you… and this is not just woo woo, fluffy shit, this is real shit…
Putting that gratitude in motion from the start of your day helps to put you in a positive mind frame, which makes it much easier to operate and tends to make you a lot more productive, or at least it does for me.
So even on my worst days, when I wake up in a mood feeling like nothing is going right… believe me, i experience those often… at the very least I can think to myself yo… I woke up today and that is amazing.
I have my health, I have my legs… I can go to the bathroom and turn on water and it runs… amazing.
I can afford food. I have a roof over my head.
A lot of this may sound cliche, but if you think about it, it’s real shit. And a lot of the time, we don’t appreciate some of the most amazing things until we lose a friend, or take a hit to our health, or miss a check… etc…
Anyway, I'm not here to preach, but practicing gratitude is amazing. Give it a try for 3 weeks and hit me up to let me know your results. @gameofgrow everywhere… Game of Grow Community on Facebook, gameofgrow.com… you know where to find me
Moving on...
So in terms of the resourcefulness aspect, one really concrete example I'll give you people ask me all the time...
Hey I want to become an entrepreneur. I want to go full time… How do I get funding? How do I find investors?
Well I'll tell you, I invested in myself, and this all came about because of resourcefulness.
Now, when I got my first job out of business school, this was my first time making over six figures… making a hundred thousand dollars, which was amazing to me.
Some of you might be saying, wow, that’s a solid salary… that’s good money. Some of you might be saying, well, that’s not a lot of all
Well to me, it was A LOT OF MONEY.
I had never seen more in my life.
And rather than step up my my cost of living, step of my standard of living, get a really fly apartment like many of my peers I decided to keep it, you know, decent, but basic (people who are close to me still make fun of me for this apartment).
I lived in a simple nice townhouse, old townhouse… and I was spending a lot less for this apartment than many of my peers… and there were certainly some sacrifices that came with that. I’m not saying there weren’t...
But what this allowed me to do was to put away money every month which allow me just a lot more freedom when things got difficult at my job and I knew that I needed to leave and do something different I had the money to invest in online courses that we're going to help my mind, help my mindset help, my skills help me to advance myself.
I had the money to invest in my business before my businesses had the revenue that would invest back into themselves so things got difficult, and sometimes things sucked, but I was still grateful um for the check the job was giving me. I thanked God for that every single week, and I really tried to not complain, and instead just stay focused on solutions.
At that last job I had, on every Friday I would say, “I have no idea what we are doing around here or how we even make money around here… I don’t really like it around here…. but thank God for this check!” haha…
Because I knew they were investing in my future business, which was huge.
In each and every situation I’m faced with, if I don’t like what’s going on, rather than fix my mouth to complain I try to figure out what can I do about it and if I don't want to do something about it, then I gotta let it go.
So I really want to thank my immigrant parents for teaching me how to be grateful, how to be resourceful, how to have grit, and how to just make things happen.
(and maybe this is how other parents operate too… I have no idea… I can only speak from my experience)
So those are some of the biggest lessons my parents taught me…. There are many, trust me. No short supply.
What's the biggest lesson that you've learned from your parents?
Make sure to sign up for the mailing list at gameofgrow.com
If and only if you received great value from this episode, I ask that you pay the fee… which is, in addition to you subscribing and leaving a review (the single biggest thing you can do to say thanks, and help us to reach more people), for each episode you get value from, please bring me back one person, show them how to subscribe for the show, let them know what we do here and what we’re about, etc, etc… Sound fair??
Question of the Day
Oh, and of course the question of the day…. What’s the most valuable thing you learned from your parents?
And our bonus question: What are 3 things you are grateful for?
You know how to reach me, so reach out and let me know…
The Fee
This episode was sponsored by you, so IF AND ONLY IF YOU GOT VALUE, make sure you pay that fee and bring me back one like minded person who you know would enjoy this content… If you didn’t… this doesn’t apply to you. You can give me the middle finger and keep it moving. You don’t have to do anything. But if you got value, bring me back one person back for each episode where that’s true…
I’m not talking 5 people, 10 people, 20 people… I mean I won’t be mad, but the fee is just one. I’m nothing if not FAIR! Right??
Alright… Enough of this tomfoolery….
And with that, I’ll see you guys back here real soon on the Game of Grow Podcast.
For everything else: sign up for the mailing list, join the Game of Grow Facebook Community, connect with us on social, send me an email…
check out gameofgrow.com, and it’s all right there…
Remember…It’s not about where you start. It’s about where you want to go, who you want to become and the price you’re willing to pay to get there.
DJ drop that beat and take us out...
This episode is sponsored by my first book, "The 7 Steps to App Success".
12 million downloads, 8 years of grinding, 7 months of writing & editing, and thousands of dollars of my own money later, it’s finally here…. And you can get it for wayyyy less. Head to appmagic.co/book and pick up your digital copy, in its 108 pages of glory.
Stay connected with the movement:
Join the Facebook Community: gameofgrow.com/community
Instagram: instagram.com/gameofgrow
Facebook:facebook.com/gameofgrow
Twitter: twitter.com/gameofgrow
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/muoyo
To sign up for our weekly email updates visit us at gameofgrow.com -
Welcome to the very first episode of the Game of Grow! I’m your host, Muoyo Okome.
On this episode I will be sharing my vision for the show and how it came about, and also sharing a bit about my story, so we can get to know each other.
Sidenote: I’d definitely like to get to know you as well… I want to know who’s listening. Don’t be afraid, just reach out. I’m easy to find.
The gameofgrow.com website will allow you to sign up our mailing list where you can reply to me any time.. Those messages are coming directly to me and you can also connect with me on social media… all the handles are listed right there
So, without further ado… here’s how the show was born:
Origin of the Show
One recent night in the coffee shop, after a long day of work, I found myself asking myself some hard questions, like...
“What if I placed the demand that any business I build leave every person that interacts with it better off? What would that look like?”
“How could I make it successful & impactful at a scale I have not yet reached before?”
“How would I need to change & who would I need to become to make all of that possible?”
“How can I share the process with other people with similar goals?”⠀
Out of those questions comes my new podcast & project "Game of Grow", in which I will document my journey as an entrepreneur.
Why the name? Well… it’s kind of a play on "Game of Thrones", which is obviously dope. Plus, I love the Game of Entrepreneurship, the journey of growth and development that comes with it, the growth mindset needed to succeed, and all of that good stuff. So that’s how it happened.
If you are trying to start a business, grow a business, or simply level up in ways you have not before, this is for you...
It doesn’t matter where you start or where you are. A big part of this game that goes highly underrated, because everyone is overly worried about popularity (including myself sometimes, sad to say)... is skill acquisition.
It’s about acquiring the skills you need for where you want to be. It’s about if you’re willing to grow...⠀
By the way, this is not about me being the “expert” on everything. I am a student of the game just like you.
I won’t pretend I have all the answers. My goal is to transparently document and share the highs, lows, and lessons of my journey and bring as much value as I possibly can, hopefully producing one of the most valuable pieces of content you listen to each week.
In return, I get a ton of public accountability to help me move forward with my goals and I’ll be able to have an authentic conversation with you.
I still love the App Game and will continue to talk about, teach, and execute against that (shoutout to my App Moguls making me proud). However, I realized I also needed a more inclusive platform where I could help more people, and let them get to know me...
(a realization that recently punched me in the face when someone told me they bought my app course just so we could talk business. Shout out to you, my friend. If that's not a signal...)
I want to deliver it raw & real in a live format by leveraging platforms like FB Live, IG Live, republishing everywhere I can, and if and only if you’ve derived value…. counting on my community to help bring others in, one by one.
You’ll have the opportunity to ask me anything, and perhaps even a live consulting call here and there. We will experiment...
Expect that the show will often be unpolished, because it's happening in real time, and my focus is on the content over the production, but at the same time very real, valuable, and actionable.
Shoutout to my amazing podcast coach, valentine, and wife Nicaila Matthews Okome (even if she made me take Podcast Moguls like a regular student with no special privileges. What on earth is that about??)
I’ve worked my way through all the content and exercises, and it was extremely helpful. Now it is time to stop stalling and share with the world….
My Story
So now let’s get into my story. First of all, I’m from Brooklyn, NY and grew up in a Nigerian household with 2 Naija parents. I attended public school all the way from Kindergarten thru 12th grade (shoutout to Mom & Dad for getting me into the gifted program… I have the most supportive parents ever).
I’m married… coming up on 2 years now, to my beautiful wife Nicaila Matthews Okome, who is actually pretty well known for her podcast Side Hustle Pro, which consistently ranks among the top 100 or 200 business podcasts in the world. Super proud of her. Shoutout to wifey...
And if and only if you are getting value of any sort. If you care at all… I need you to pause right now and subscribe to the podcast and leave me a rating & review. I want to be able to show my face around here.
I did the "right things” all my life, went to school, studied hard, got good grades, went to great schools, was rejected by an endless number of companies I applied for (this happened after college, and again after grad school) and ended up stuck in a corporate job where I was not respected.
I wanted to be able to earn money and support myself and start building a promising and lucrative career as a technology executive
I was working days, nights, and weekends in a job that I did not enjoy, where the people did not respect me
Worse than that I was starting to internalize the beliefs being expressed towards me and had even begun to wonder if I was smart, competent, or capable. I gained a lot of weight and generally felt miserable most of the time.
I was demoted to an even lower position which I was not actually qualified for or credentialed for and often found myself at home without a role where I could contribute meaningfully to the team.
I had recently attended an online workshop from a surfer looking dude who would soon become my first app mentor
He discussed one of his apps making about $10,000 per month, which broke down to $120,000 per year, or $333 per day,
Meaning this one app was making more than my full-time salary by itself.
Did I mention he was not at all technical?
But what was even more interesting is that he had another app making $3,000 per month, a new one making $800, two more making $5,000 each, and the list went on from there.
At the time he had at least 12 different apps, all making modest but consistent profit.
But the craziest part was that unlike me, he did not have to show up to the office each day.
Nor did he code them himself. He did some research up front, created them for small amounts of money, and then got paid for them over and over again.
That’s when I realized I didn’t want be paid for my time like I was doing…. I wanted to create apps like this guy.
And so that’s what I did...
You can imagine my excitement when I first made $30 in a day
Given my $300 per day salary, this equated to a 10% raise.... and I wasn't working any harder
(ask me when I got a 10% raise overnight at work)
And then $100, and then $400, and eventually much more.
I had an epiphany: my apps kept on working without getting tired, complaining, or taking breaks, and I could always add more to the team!
I could give myself a new raise whenever I wanted by doing the research and creating a new well-positioned app.
My plan was to start building up a portfolio of multiple apps that together could pay for my lifestyle and my freedom.
I dove in and invested a bunch of money in a book and 2 different online courses to educate myself. It was by no means smooth sailing. My first month I achieved only 900 downloads and brought in about 80 bucks. The next few months I was able to build up to $1000-$2000 in monthly revenue by focusing more on the marketing, but it was still a tough journey. Not every app worked out. I sometimes hired programmers who did not deliver, and Apple would even change the algorithm on me, cutting my daily revenue in half… twice!
Six months in, my work started to compound and I finally broke through. 3 apps that I launched took off, and that month I would earn twice as much from my app business as I did from my six-figure corporate job. I even got an improbable 7-figure offer on my company, which I eventually turned down to bet on myself even more.
While the money was great, this experience gave me a taste of freedom, as well as the unflappable confidence that I could really cut it and take care of myself, and no one would ever control me again. And while it started out being all about me and being able to take care of some bills, my mission grew into something much greater that I never expected. unexpectedly I became a leader and someone that people consistently turn to for advice, and it’s been one of the greatest pleasures of my life to help thousands of entrepreneurs on their own journeys
Btw, that app business grew to over 12 million downloads and I sold it for a very nice chunk of change. Since then I’ve had other businesses and projects, but if we’re being honest, I have not yet reached the levels of impact and success I have in mind.
But that’s alright, it’s a journey, and that’s what this show is all about
The Game of Grow
This is not your typical entrepreneurship podcast. I’ve been an entrepreneur for years now, and had my fair share of successes as well as failures. A lot of people ask me for advice, and I figured rather than tell you, I want to show you the whole process.
You’ll see when I get it right, when I fall on my face (it happens more than you think… that’s how we grow), what I learn, and everything that happens along the way. I don’t want to show you the result. I want you to see the journey.
It’s not about where you start. It’s about where you want to go, who you want to become and the price you’re willing to pay to get there.. Because you’re going to need to put in the work and develop those skills.
A lot of people talk about VC’s and investors, but here in this community, we take action and invest in ourselves.
I LOVE the game. I LOVE the Hustle. I’m grateful for every moment and can’t put my foot on the brakes.
If you want to build or grow a powerful, profitable, ethical business that makes money AND but also makes CHANGE and leaves the world a little bit better than you found it, I’d love if we could work on that together within this movement
It doesn’t matter where you start or where you are right now. Are you willing to take the challenge and GROW?
Question of the Day
What is your #1 question about starting or growing your business online?
The Fee
Oh and one final thing, and I don’t want this to be awkward, but we do have a fee for this podcast.
Yes, it is a free show… I’m not talking about money...
but IF AND ONLY IF you got value from this episode, be that education, entertainment, inspiration… whatever the case may be. First of all, I need you to subscribe & review the show on iTunes, Stitcher, wherever you are listening. That is the number one way we’ll be able to move up the charts and help more people to hear this message.
For each episode where that happens, I need you to pay it forward and bring me back one person who is like minded and would benefit from this content. That is the only way we grow this movement, person by person, hand to hand.
I take this seriously…. So if you see me in the streets… or on the streets of the internet. Just know that I’m going to ask
Show Close
Alright enough of that… And with that, I’ll see you on the next episode of Game of Grow!
If you’d like to hear more about the app business I described and how you can start to implement something similar, this episode was sponsored by my first book “The 7 Steps to App Success”. Super proud...
12 million downloads, 8 years of grinding, 7 months of writing & editing, and thousands of dollars of my own money later, it’s finally here…. And you can get it for wayyyy less. Head to appmagic.co/book and pick up your digital copy. Shoutout to my wonderful editor Angela Johnson
For everything else: sign up for the mailing list, connect with us on social, send me an email…
check out gameofgrow.com
DJ drop that beat and take us out...
This episode is sponsored by my first book, "The 7 Steps to App Success".
12 million downloads, 8 years of grinding, 7 months of writing & editing, and thousands of dollars of my own money later, it’s finally here…. And you can get it for wayyyy less. Head to appmagic.co/book and pick up your digital copy, in its 108 pages of glory.
Stay connected with the movement:
Join the Facebook Community: gameofgrow.com/community
Instagram: instagram.com/gameofgrow
Facebook:facebook.com/gameofgrow
Twitter: twitter.com/gameofgrow
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/muoyo
To sign up for our weekly email updates visit us at gameofgrow.com - Se mer
