Ep94 Clay Hicks - The Mindset Shift To Change How You Think About Networking Forever

Clay Hicks, Welcome to the show.

00:00:15:15 - 00:00:19:20
Clay Hicks
Thanks for having me, Jason. Appreciate the opportunity.

00:00:19:22 - 00:00:42:08
Jason Croft
Yeah, absolutely. This is going to be a blast. I've had enough conversations to know that the people need to hear you. And then we're going to have a blast talking about the stuff that you're doing right now and have been for a few years. And heck, I'm so impressed with everything that you've built with H7 and everything.

00:00:42:08 - 00:01:06:04
Jason Croft
And I got to tell you, just a testament to your network, a network of networks. I'll say it a little bit is every interaction that that people have with me of. So have you heard of H7 now? Be like, Yeah, I've heard of it. Like you want to get there. Like they don't know that you know that I know you or anything else.

00:01:06:04 - 00:01:28:23
Jason Croft
And just like, it's the best one up. It's the best thing out there. You got it. You'll do this a lot. So over and over again. And there hasn't been one of those, like, negative ones. There hasn't been a, you know, like, it's okay. Like at all. I mean, this isn't fluence. Well, I if there were horrible ones out there, I just we wouldn't be doing this part of the interview.

00:01:28:23 - 00:02:08:13
Jason Croft
I'd just be like, yeah, so tell me about it. So you know, that's, that's how that would go. So I got to tell you, I'm impressed for sure. And so, you know, who better to talk about this subject that we get into today, which is this idea of not just, you know, networking. We could all kind of jump in and do our own thing, but really scaling intentional networking in all of those words very, very purposefully in there, because it's it's a reflection on what you're building and what you have built with H7.

00:02:08:15 - 00:02:25:19
Jason Croft
And I'm excited to dig into a lot of it to some juicy bits in there to dig into. but give some folks some geography though, with H7 with you, what led you to that and an overview of what H7 is.

00:02:25:19 - 00:03:08:04
Clay Hicks
And so so we'll start with this. So H7 is a B2B networking platform for you to come in to the community to train and to learn how to or apply techniques that enable you to build your business by word of mouth. More predictably. And that's really what it is. Something up. We're celebrating 15 years this month. I've been in business and I started in Cincinnati in one of the suburbs so long ago and we have literally scaled to where we are today.

00:03:08:06 - 00:03:42:09
Clay Hicks
So from just being in one much one one metro area in Cincinnati, 80 to 12 states over the last 15 years via word of mouth and champions that I've have, well, relationships that I have champion relationships with and haven't done any of it on my own. I refuse to do any of it on my own at this point because I enjoy the trust, the relationships that are around me and the community that I work with and and that I serve.

00:03:42:11 - 00:04:25:22
Clay Hicks
And so really, without them, without those champions, without those relationships that I have, we would not have been able to scale the way we have. And so, yeah, that's the geography. Like, for example, we're getting ready to open up in Phenix and Minneapolis and L.A. and New York City, and we started in Cincinnati. And so we, you know, we have met, we have meetings in Cincinnati, in Columbus, in the Cleveland, Austin, Texas, Houston, Texas, Rapid City, South Dakota, Detroit, Louisville.

00:04:26:00 - 00:04:46:05
Clay Hicks
Phenix. No, we're not there in Phenix yet. We have a meeting out of Denver. A meeting out of Las Vegas. We have a meeting that, you know, we're just all over the place. And that's all by scaling intentionally via the community and word of mouth marketing and and there were great relationships that I that are around me.

00:04:46:07 - 00:04:48:15
Clay Hicks
Very grateful.

00:04:48:17 - 00:05:06:11
Jason Croft
Yeah. That's that's, that's fantastic. Give us an idea of and this in this day of Zoom meetings and you know remote connection how does that play into these meetings in these geographic locations now what's that that dynamic.

00:05:06:12 - 00:05:27:05
Clay Hicks
Well so before I answer, I do want to share this one thing that's about the same topic. Okay. So yesterday was March 23. In three years ago, March 20th, 2020, everything was shut down. My wife and I were celebrating on Facebook, our health. And, you know, we're making it through. And of course, the country had really shut down by that point.

00:05:27:05 - 00:05:55:00
Clay Hicks
Right. And this one member, he's a leader. He's one my champion is great guy. He goes on to my post and I circled it, screenshotted it yesterday, and he said, Hey, you never know. One day you might have virtual only groups. So I texted him a screenshot of those Facebook that post and his message and I said, My gosh, you should be a psychic on the side gig, right?

00:05:55:01 - 00:05:57:00
Clay Hicks
And he said, Well, how many?

00:05:57:02 - 00:06:02:20
Jason Croft
Because at the time and at the time, I'm sure you're like, All right, dummy, like I am.

00:06:02:22 - 00:06:39:06
Clay Hicks
So my comment was that is the plan. And so at that point that was the plan. Like we were going to solidify that. And so now we have 29 per week. Three years later to the day, 29 per week, completely over, Zoom completely over. And so to earn that kind of trust and to develop the type of trust the relationships we have in this community, it it just it really started with earning people's trust and building credibility in the marketplace over Zoom.

00:06:39:08 - 00:06:55:10
Clay Hicks
And so still people today say, well, you can't you can't build relationships over Zoom, and I'm over here like, okay, well, you can't, but seems like a thousand other people can, you know that. So it's really about earning and.

00:06:55:12 - 00:07:21:12
Jason Croft
And I want to and I'm going to dig into that specific aspect of of of on the house of some of that too. But I want to I'm going to round out this picture of of the dynamic. And so I imagine that the the geographic aspect of these is still relevant because of the people in the group doing business in a local way, right?

00:07:21:14 - 00:07:53:08
Clay Hicks
That's correct. So, yes, so somebody made an introduction to me in Denver. The gentleman has a local network in Denver or the the the the female professional also whatever, wherever they're local. Yeah. So geography 100% plays role. The type of person they are played a role, the type of professional they are played a role and then the in the ability to earn trust in that marketplace played a role that was never there.

00:07:53:10 - 00:08:04:10
Clay Hicks
So the trust, you know, physically and so spending time and I think trust in those geographic areas has really played a big role.

00:08:04:12 - 00:08:27:13
Jason Croft
Yeah, because I think, you know, there's there's plenty of professions and all of that that can, you know, work globally. And you've got folks in each tavern who can serve anybody. So they they hop in and different areas and things like that. But there there really is a there's so many professions and careers and everything that, you know, still rely on that local aspect.

00:08:27:13 - 00:08:50:20
Jason Croft
So that that makes a lot of sense. So let's, let's dig into that that that aspect that you brought up of building trust. And it goes back certainly to intentionality. But how how do you do that in a way that doesn't just, it just happened. We happen to be you know, maybe maybe I can start for a little bit, but not across to the scale.

00:08:50:21 - 00:08:51:18
Jason Croft
Yeah. With this many.

00:08:51:22 - 00:09:29:01
Clay Hicks
So so in 2018, we developed this tenant called Connect Serve and Ask which are the three fundamentals to intentionally earning trust while building like a no and in our members get certified on this connect, serve and ask certification. Okay. And so how you intentionally earn or how you intentionally earn trust is of course the next level down or how you do it is to serve.

00:09:29:03 - 00:10:01:17
Clay Hicks
The magic behind it is to serve them where they are not. Where are you in so intentionally focusing on serving others where they are instead of where I am has made a significant difference in my ability to earn their trust, own credibility, and take it from there without expectation, without an expectation that they're going to earn money. That's there is no expectation.

00:10:01:19 - 00:10:23:03
Jason Croft
But what. Yeah, and that's I mean, that's a true like, like I'm, I'm putting it out there like, like doesn't matter the other person. I can't control that. Right. But define that, that aspect of serving them where they are a little bit more how that manifests itself.

00:10:23:03 - 00:10:53:22
Clay Hicks
So it really comes down to being curious about that other person, what their needs may be, the support they may need as being a professional who they want to meet, who their target clients are. You know, do they need help in business? Those kinds of questions lead you to being able to respond intentionally where you are to be able to serve them.

00:10:54:00 - 00:11:25:19
Clay Hicks
So, for example, okay, Jason, very simply, if I asked you how I could help you, you may say, well, I making this up, of course I want to fill my podcast with high quality people, professionals that want to be on my podcast. And of course, there must be an intentionality behind it. And I asked you the question and you answer, and so then I'm going to take that somewhat purp.

00:11:25:19 - 00:11:55:00
Clay Hicks
I'm going to on purpose think about who may fit that bill. And then instead of waiting on, you know, you're out of pop people to do the podcast with, how about I just help you fill the pipeline with who you want and then you can then decide who you want to be on the podcast, right? Is so filling that pipeline full of who you want to meet.

00:11:55:02 - 00:12:14:10
Clay Hicks
I take that very, very serious. It's part of my purpose in life. And so that also plays a role. And so I feel obligated because you told me when you needed to try to serve now to take action on that one Trust.

00:12:14:12 - 00:12:39:17
Jason Croft
Yeah, yeah. It makes a lot of sense. Yeah, big time. And so it occurs to me too. I want to make sure that we highlight this aspect of the dynamic in each segment as well. Some of the rules and no rules that are that do make it so appealing as well. I'm taking for granted, you know, I know some of these.

00:12:39:17 - 00:13:00:15
Jason Croft
I want to make sure the audience is fully aware of the structure of these. When you sign up to H7, unlike some of the others, the others being, you know, whatever out there, you know, there are networking groups and they all have place in they're different things. I've, you know, been frustrated by some and fine with others and all of that.

00:13:00:15 - 00:13:13:05
Jason Croft
But the constraints that are there with some of those that aren't with H7, I want to make sure we highlight because I think it's strong, you know, so give us that paint a picture, if you will.

00:13:13:05 - 00:14:01:09
Clay Hicks
So whereas some groups. Right, wrong or indifferent, that's their choices, just like there are my choices, nothing wrong with them, but that's how you do it. Some groups rely on their rules and guidelines as their culture maker. How okay they were they they rely on certain aspects of the rules to be their culture maker. So for example, if I belong to a group where I'm expected to and have rules behind bringing referrals for other people, then in order for me to stay in that group, I must do that right or I.

00:14:01:11 - 00:14:17:03
Clay Hicks
There are some manner of well or you're out. Okay. Okay. So we rely on more mindset as our culture is supporting. So we're.

00:14:17:05 - 00:14:22:14
Jason Croft
Going to I'm going to I'm going to stop you for saying just because I can hear the the screaming and thank.

00:14:22:14 - 00:14:25:15
Speaker 3
You.

00:14:25:17 - 00:14:29:18
Clay Hicks
Start my part or so you can go back or.

00:14:29:20 - 00:14:34:03
Jason Croft
Perfect. Yeah. Whenever you're ready.

00:14:34:05 - 00:14:45:16
Clay Hicks
Can you still here? Hey, I'm on a podcast. Can you guys help me? Right. So whereas in H7.

00:14:45:18 - 00:14:50:14
Jason Croft
Like I'm in here, I'm in here trying to be famous, I'll keep it down.

00:14:50:16 - 00:15:27:06
Clay Hicks
So where is so to start over? Whereas in our culture we rely on personal responsibility and mindset in training and techniques to support that culture. So our culture says we're going to lift you up, unite you in clay, take no credit to support the culture of this level of personal responsibility. This, says Jason, If you want to be successful in this community, here's the pathway to do so.

00:15:27:07 - 00:15:37:00
Clay Hicks
Where in other groups are the opposite or a different way does that does that offer clear?

00:15:37:02 - 00:16:02:04
Jason Croft
Yeah, for sure, because it is it's this aspect of so we look at it as the same, the desire for the same end result. But which do you want to be a part of? Like for me, I don't want to be like, I'm an adult, right? I don't want to be treated like the elementary school kid. That's like you show up at this time.

00:16:02:04 - 00:16:26:06
Jason Croft
We just have this time. Well, no, I'd rather be a part of something that it's just I want to do that. I want to have that same intentionality to connect and help people and all of that, but not this weird, strange pressure that if gosh, you know, I didn't meet someone this week, I'm out of the group, you know, kind of aspect it.

00:16:26:08 - 00:16:53:03
Jason Croft
And I again, I understand the rules of it just like I understand rules of a public school system that is maybe broken. The reason they're in there is because you're thinking like, okay, how do we get the masses to act a certain way? But you've proven the model that is, well, you develop the culture first, and the culture well will bring about that outcome, right?

00:16:53:03 - 00:17:13:00
Jason Croft
Because you know you're going to feel it if you if you're not, you know, carrying your own weight. Number one, you just going to be inspire you to do so from from being in the group. But also you're going to you're going to feel it and you're going to you know, the results will will happen if you don't, you know, show up.

00:17:13:00 - 00:17:33:12
Jason Croft
But you just it's just great culture of just wanting to. And then especially if that if that training is there as well to like here's what we expect here's but this is this is also for you this isn't just to like come in and be a cog to help the group. This is for you to succeed in this group.

00:17:33:14 - 00:18:01:00
Jason Croft
And that's and I think right there is the massive difference of here's this other group, here's what we need from you for us to succeed in it, each serving. And here's what we need from you for you to see you know, and that's and that's huge. And then, you know, little wacky things in other groups of, you know, well, there can be one insurance person.

00:18:01:00 - 00:18:09:16
Jason Croft
There could be one video person, there could be one, you know, eliminating, you know, a lot of that stuff, too, is I think is is.

00:18:09:16 - 00:18:27:01
Clay Hicks
Yeah. All wow. There's actually four of those types of people in the room but they've chosen to do represent one like okay all right I got asked yeah.

00:18:27:03 - 00:18:56:11
Jason Croft
Absolutely And so what what spurred this in the beginning I'm interested in in a little bit of the origin story of getting that started in Cincinnati, Ohio. But also, I guess what what taught you or guided you to this very intentional version of it And whether that was day one kind of started that way or evolved into what I guess what what gave you that?

00:18:56:11 - 00:18:56:16
Jason Croft
Right.

00:18:56:16 - 00:19:20:14
Clay Hicks
So funny story. When I started the group, when I started the group, I didn't have this mindset. It was I started from, you know, so basically why I started and why I still do it. It's human things. So in in 2014, in the summer, I had had the group in the organization for six years and I was about to get married.

00:19:20:16 - 00:19:50:06
Clay Hicks
So the true story is that I had been a single parent for seven years at this time, raising two little girls by myself, full time, full custody, all the things in my life changed. And now I'm going to get married and now have three wonderful bonus children that I'm bringing on. And my wife at the time, you know, my wife that I'm with now still today.

00:19:50:08 - 00:20:19:12
Clay Hicks
And I mean, I was at a crossroads, honestly. Right. To be transparent was at a crossroads, like because of the amount of revenue in the business I built at the time, it was cool for three people. It was cool. And, you know, all these things were great. But you have this new, new bonus family coming in and I feel responsibility to that and I feel a responsibility to cherish and love and be responsible for.

00:20:19:14 - 00:20:38:16
Clay Hicks
And I had a deep conversation with my wife about what to do. And we decided, okay, well, I probably should start meeting with people more intentionally because I was not meeting with people very often back then. I would kind of just wait for them to meet with me. I know you've met those kind of people out there, right?

00:20:38:16 - 00:21:00:03
Clay Hicks
Like, you know, you see these people, but they never ask you to meet or whatever, like the one, the ones and stuff. And so, so I like a 180 and said, All right, I'm going to start meeting what people and let's see how it plays out. And I started meeting with people in August of 2014 extremely intentionally.

00:21:00:05 - 00:21:24:21
Clay Hicks
And this paved the way to change in evolution, to be where we are today. That moment in time. And so now, I mean, I can tell you all the things that come of it, but the main thing is, is right now I'm on a podcast with you and I promise you that's where it came from. That's where all you started our expand trials.

00:21:24:23 - 00:21:27:08
Jason Croft
That one decision choice.

00:21:27:10 - 00:21:57:21
Clay Hicks
And commitment resilience tenacity to like do something and and why I still carry that now it's now it's in the form of my purpose in life that came out of it. All these things came out of connect, serve and ask expanding across the country, the great relationships that I have, my gosh, all of them stem from that. Everything in my life stem from that moment in my life.

00:21:57:23 - 00:22:14:07
Jason Croft
That's phenomenal. Yeah, it's one of those I imagine it's one of those things you look back on and it's almost it's almost scary to think if you hadn't done it because you're it's so integral to your life, right? Yeah.

00:22:14:09 - 00:22:38:06
Clay Hicks
So like when the pandemic hit and I had to figure things out, I mean, I got real intentional again and doubled down on that intentionality in July of 2021. Had to double down on that, like, my gosh, if I don't do something, I'm gonna go out of business. I'll okay, this is all I know. I don't have a college degree.

00:22:38:06 - 00:23:02:17
Clay Hicks
I don't have this, I don't have that. All these things I don't have. But the one thing I did have two things I had is my faith and desire to change the future for my myself, my family, my wonderful relationships in my life, and got even more intentional in July of 21. And that that's where we are today.

00:23:02:18 - 00:23:05:05
Clay Hicks
It's getting more and more.

00:23:05:07 - 00:23:39:01
Jason Croft
So it's amazing. I love that. And I really wanted to to wrap this around this idea because it really is intentional networking and I think anybody's listening this far. They understand that. They know what that means, that context. Everyone brings their own baggage, good or bad, to the word networking. Yeah. You know, for me, it's a phenomenal word because I've built my life around connecting and that's oxygen and juice.

00:23:39:01 - 00:24:02:17
Jason Croft
And so I have a very positive connotation to it. Some people are just like, that, that thing. I go, do what I need to do this or that horrible thing because the people were bad under there. And you know, they've got paper cuts where business cards are thrown out, you know, like without even a conversation that we've all experienced, you know, the gamut, I think, in there.

00:24:02:17 - 00:24:28:09
Jason Croft
But that's that's what's so, so fascinating. So there's several components here. There's intentional networking as just you, your individual. But like, here's what I want to do and I want to do this better. I want to meet with people. You know, when you double down and you're just like, I know there's something to this connecting, just meeting with people, you know, it's something's got to come of that.

00:24:28:09 - 00:24:52:15
Jason Croft
There's that aspect. But then there's, there's a little bit broader. Okay, I'm going to I'm going to run a group this way and make sure that that's shared, you know, and everyone in the room, every week or every whenever they know that and they feel that and it's going to be a room full of people. But it's a it's a very different animal.

00:24:52:17 - 00:25:21:00
Jason Croft
Animal when you now there's a group I'm not in that's you know going to be this as well and we get to that aspect of scaling. How does how do you start with that in terms of. Well all right, let's see you know, is it is it is it getting even more intentional with, okay, I know how I operate, but let me get it on paper so I can convey that to someone else.

00:25:21:00 - 00:25:25:16
Jason Croft
Is that part of like that stuff also?

00:25:25:18 - 00:25:54:15
Clay Hicks
Yes, But of course, like any other thing I've done in my life, anything that was successful, I had help. Right. And so so you can actually even ask turned into our values. Okay. And expanded our values and their seven values guide, which happens to be the same seven pillars that stands for H7. What each of a means, each hub for seven pillars.

00:25:54:15 - 00:26:30:11
Clay Hicks
Well, those seven pillars are the same values. And so everything comes from that. Okay, So when you look at those values, everything is around. How do we create the end result? How do we create the end result of that scaling? And so all so the vision and then bring it back and start working through the values until we have cleaned up every part of the program, all the programing, all the things around those seven values.

00:26:30:12 - 00:27:10:06
Clay Hicks
So we picked a nexus Center point of all the things that we do, which is ask to everything comes from that one simple ask, so simplified it down to that moment of time. So when somebody asks for something, they give us an industry and then all the dominoes begin to fall from their inside of the culture. So the end result is taking the individual last member that joined and what they ask for and then pulling it all the way back and then we can scale off of that.

00:27:10:06 - 00:27:18:07
Clay Hicks
Ask is the best way for me to describe it in the words. And I think I can say that's what.

00:27:18:09 - 00:27:33:23
Jason Croft
Because it is. It is that that's interesting too. Is that being the that that synergy or that nexus point because ask is good edit point for Jason.

00:27:34:01 - 00:27:34:14
Speaker 3
For.

00:27:34:16 - 00:27:52:21
Jason Croft
Goodness because that that superpower that ask asking is involved in every other aspect of what's going on there. Whether you're asking for help you're asking what that person needs, you're asking how you can serve. You know, I get that.

00:27:52:21 - 00:28:01:11
Clay Hicks
You are so whatever you're asking for is what you're going to get. Ask you shall receive, ask you shall receive, and so ask.

00:28:01:11 - 00:28:08:03
Speaker 3
Well, ask. Well.

00:28:08:05 - 00:28:40:09
Jason Croft
I love it and that. But that's what you teach too. And what's so fantastic because so many of us, you know, we, we just we end up in a in a group like this or something. And we've, you know, been in business, we kind of done some things and we we if we haven't learned that intentionality and the the results of actions the results of showing up consistently, results of asking, well, we just like a lot of other human skills, right?

00:28:40:09 - 00:28:43:03
Jason Croft
Like, yeah, I know how to talk to people.

00:28:43:05 - 00:28:48:00
Clay Hicks
Do you see it a lot? Because I've heard generally a lot of.

00:28:48:02 - 00:28:50:07
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:28:50:09 - 00:29:14:23
Jason Croft
You're just like, you know. Yeah. And it's, it's like you can say words, but is the other person getting it right? You can say that you listen to people, but do they feel like they've been heard? Like these are skills and I love that definition and that teaching that goes on when it comes to asking because that I mean, we use it.

00:29:14:23 - 00:29:20:11
Jason Croft
We can use that in every aspect of our lives, you know, well beyond just business and a network.

00:29:20:11 - 00:29:55:23
Clay Hicks
Well, think about most humans. They have many different struggles. But there is this one struggle that most of our most of us are faced with, which is asking for help. Now, when you let that sink in, like asking for help, when was the last time I asked for help? And so when you when you think about that, even as an entrepreneur, somebody who works 40 hour work job, it does matter.

00:29:55:23 - 00:30:22:20
Clay Hicks
Asking for help is crucial to your success, right? Even the guy or the guy working at the job 40, 50 hours a week, you know, they have to improve themselves, They have to grow. And one of the very first steps they need to grow is asking for that help to be able to grow because we are very limited as human beings and what we can do alone.

00:30:22:22 - 00:30:47:20
Clay Hicks
So we have to ask for that help. Like when you go back to 2014, when I began this new journey, it was because I was asking to grow. I was asking for help. So the next logical step is to go out and meet people. Not only did a great job asking back them, but I did ask to meet with people in.

00:30:47:20 - 00:31:01:05
Clay Hicks
I got that. And then, you know, so asking for help, that's all we got to do is ask for help. And that's a sticking point for all of us. Oftentimes.

00:31:01:07 - 00:31:34:20
Jason Croft
It's so interesting because it really is like I think at a very like high level way, you just kind of hear that in passing. It's like, I can I can ask for help, but if you really stop and let that in as an adult, as a like, what is it that comes with so much weight in judgment, self judgment mostly of what does that mean if I have to ask for help?

00:31:34:22 - 00:32:04:10
Jason Croft
I mean, what comes to mind immediately is I screwed something up to be where I am right now, that I need help in this. Like, that's the that's the train of thought that happens. And so then you have to peel back each one of those. And to really take it as the empowering thing it is that you you're in a place where you're that self aware of like, okay, here's where, here's where I'm awesome, here's where I need help.

00:32:04:12 - 00:32:17:05
Jason Croft
I'm going to get better at this or I'm going to hand this off and we're all going to be better because of it and who you can if you can make that kind of shift, your life can get started.

00:32:17:06 - 00:32:45:15
Clay Hicks
Yes, it's about serving, right? So serving others, that's that's difficult, too. It is difficult, too, because we have our own thing going on. Right. And so to serve other people, to intentionally try to say, how can I help you? What can I do to support you? You starting to see a theme then connecting Average person can connect, but can they connect?

00:32:45:15 - 00:33:12:08
Clay Hicks
Well, they open to even connecting with other people. You notice the difference is this personal responsibility of ourselves, of breaking out of what our normal life or normal what we deem as normal, going around living life, doing the thing that we're doing it all by our selves. Do we have to do it by ourselves? Well, we can connect with other people.

00:33:12:08 - 00:33:19:16
Clay Hicks
We can try to serve them, and we absolutely can ask for help for ourselves. It's balanced. Yeah.

00:33:19:18 - 00:33:54:03
Jason Croft
This is yeah. And there's so interrelated, especially with doing each one correctly, effectively. Because if you if you if you're serving just to avoid the asking because you don't think you're worthy of actually asking for help, then so let me give Well that's that's not the right that's not the right serving right. And the other way around too, if you're serving just so you can just enough so you can make that, I ask.

00:33:54:05 - 00:34:00:18
Jason Croft
That's not right either, you know, So they're all interconnected. So I use these avatars.

00:34:00:20 - 00:34:27:13
Clay Hicks
So there is the pitch slapper, right? I mean, they're they don't, you know, pitch slappers come in a couple forms, one of which is they just don't know what they're doing. You know, they just don't know what they're doing. But they've been taught this and it's the wrong it's wrong. There's the self-sacrifice or the self-sacrifice or the altruistic person, which is the one you just described, you know, or partially described.

00:34:27:13 - 00:35:04:23
Clay Hicks
So I'm going to help other people because that makes me feel better about myself, my self, myself. Then you got the people that just don't know what they're doing, you know, and then you have the champion. The champion is a winner and they don't win alone. They always win with others. And that brings this kind of this whole life living to fruition where we're doing all the things to be successful because we good people around us to make that work.

00:35:05:00 - 00:35:09:11
Clay Hicks
That's what the champion does.

00:35:09:13 - 00:35:12:19
Jason Croft
Yeah, I love that in a strong.

00:35:12:21 - 00:35:18:08
Clay Hicks
You know, goodness, those are fickle stuff. Yeah, that's just.

00:35:18:10 - 00:35:46:00
Jason Croft
yeah, but that's, that's the, that's the meat and that's those are the things that honestly they manifest themselves into what you've built. And in that feedback that I talked about at the beginning of the show, that's why that comes in. I've talked to people who have been in other groups and even when they're not bashing like I was.  They say they were in this other group for seven years, it worked for me, blah, blah, blah.

00:35:46:02 - 00:36:10:19
Jason Croft
They still don't express what people in H7 Express to me, which, it's degrees, it's that, you know, the others are, I got some business from in fact I did I learned this that there's there's everything that you just described and what everyone I hope is felt coming from you. Like that's what people give to me when they talk about H7.

00:36:10:19 - 00:36:25:18
Jason Croft
And so what are your how are you how are you maintaining that across as we're talking about scaling this, this intention that you have and what's next? What's that? What are those next steps that are that are hard?

00:36:25:20 - 00:36:46:20
Clay Hicks
Honestly, Jason, it's to me it's a repeatable process of good living. And so like, for example, there might be other entrepreneurs and say, well, so I'm going to scale across the country. I need all this money, I need all this marketing in order to do the thing. And there's nothing wrong with that. So I'm not talking about that.

00:36:46:22 - 00:37:15:11
Clay Hicks
However, my purpose in life, how do I maintain it? Well, I have my purpose in life clear. I need to take care of myself mentally, spiritually, physically, and and I have to maintain that and I have to maintain my relationships, which is like very, very important to me in order to scale. There's timing. There's word of mouth marketing.

00:37:15:11 - 00:37:40:05
Clay Hicks
Somebody finds out about it. I mean, I we just are expanding to Phenix, and within a couple of weeks somebody says, Hey, I want you to meet this person in San Antonio. They might be interested in the same thing. I mean, how do you do that? It's me being the same and having the reputation and keeping maintaining that reputation in order to do that.

00:37:40:06 - 00:37:59:16
Clay Hicks
And of course, the result of that is great relationships and to scale intentionally, essentially, if I could sum it up, is to maintain yourself and your principles and your values, and the rest will kind of care of itself over.

00:37:59:18 - 00:38:24:23
Jason Croft
Yeah, and certainly that and communicate those things to be again it's it's the asking it's the connect you know, can we back into that and make sure that those are the things you are maintaining. Right. Like you're people are aware of why each segment is what it is and they want I want to be a part of that, not just as members, but I want to open one here.

00:38:24:23 - 00:38:57:09
Jason Croft
Here. Yeah. You know, and that's and that's interesting, too, because it's, you know, if if folks try to take this lesson to other industries, to other, you know, completely different endeavors, it's it's probably not the things that they go to immediately or they certainly that we hear about very much, which we hear the tactical right in terms of, you know, well, we need, like you said at the beginning, we need this kind of budget, we need this.

00:38:57:09 - 00:39:12:07
Jason Croft
This is and again, all of those those are things to do. But yeah, me make you go faster and all that. But if you don't have this core everything you just described, that the other things don't work, they're hollow.

00:39:12:09 - 00:39:35:08
Clay Hicks
Okay. I mean, imagine like scaling cross-country and then how many times have we seen is bigger entities fall apart because the reputation of the CEO was he was doing something or she was doing something they should not have been doing and ruin their reputation. And and so connect server and asked Sure is my reputation. It is what I do.

00:39:35:08 - 00:40:03:15
Clay Hicks
It is who I am and it has got to be disciplined at it, you know, So. So yeah, maybe I won't grow by 20,000 members a year and, and like that's not part of that's, that must just not be part of what's supposed to happen. I'm okay with that. Discipline is very, very important to that sticking to it being on solid ground.

00:40:03:17 - 00:40:08:03
Clay Hicks
I mean that matters more than we all know, I think.

00:40:08:05 - 00:40:10:07
Jason Croft
yeah. Big time. Yeah.

00:40:10:09 - 00:40:11:00
Clay Hicks
Yeah.

00:40:11:02 - 00:40:24:06
Jason Croft
Yeah, definitely. I love this. Who's out there who needs H7 in their life? Who's out there and needs to reach out to, to Clay or any of these other ways to, to, to connect.

00:40:24:08 - 00:40:40:23
Clay Hicks
With love, to connect. If they want to do a 1 to 1, they want to see everything. That's cool. You know, whatever they whatever we can do to support them in their growth. So I can connect server and ask them, or we can as a community, that's great.

00:40:41:00 - 00:40:55:20
Jason Croft
Any I mean, I know it's just across the board in terms of profession and industry and all of that. I mean, I'm hard pressed to think of someone who shouldn't, you know, like it wouldn't work for.

00:40:55:21 - 00:41:30:00
Clay Hicks
But so who I typically ask for are fractionalized or outsource C-level and consultants. I mean, those are pretty simple, relatively speaking to ask for. And most people know a consultant and most people are I mean, watching this is going to know a fractional or an outsourcing and it's a ripple effect off of that. Of course, we love working with any B2B professional or B2C professional if they want to do something in-person.

00:41:30:02 - 00:41:34:03
Clay Hicks
So yeah.

00:41:34:05 - 00:41:46:12
Jason Croft
Gotcha. Fantastic. Clay, thanks so much for being on, man. This is this is awesome. I love what you've built and put together and it's great to hear your description of it like it at its core.

00:41:46:14 - 00:41:57:06
Clay Hicks
It's powerful. I don't know if I've ever been able to share it like that before, so I really appreciate the opportunity and and will spend time with you and I really appreciate that. So thank you.

00:41:57:08 - 00:42:06:01
Jason Croft
Awesome for you, too, man. All right. And we'll see you all next time. Help me. It's good.