Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign the podcast for those who find themselves immersed in adversity and choose to write their story instead of having others write it for them. I'm Drew Duraney and I'm your host. Today's guest is Bradley Carey. Brad Carey is a 22, 22 year old entrepreneur and salesman and he's just getting started.
Enjoy the show. Hey, Brad, Good to see you.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Hey, how we doing, Drew?
[00:00:36] Speaker A: We're doing all right. Doing all right. So this is, this is very unique. I mean, almost every episode I have is unique. I mean, we're. You're going to be. I think it's episode like 146, something like that. But everyone, every single one's been unique. And I always like to thank the person who introduces me to my guest.
And this one's different, so I love this story. I remember needing to fill up gasoline.
And as you know, Brad, there's a strip on Route 17 north in northern New Jersey where there's like 12 gas stations, like almost in a row. Rapid fire and quick checks the first one. And then you have about 12 more.
And you know, I'm always looking for the one that A doesn't charge me more for credit cards, you know, charges the same. And then, you know, I look for the lines and all these different variables people have for getting gasoline. And I remember just pulling in the quick check.
It was the first time I've personally driven into that quick check myself in my car.
And I remember rolling the window down and you made a comment of Clemson University because I had the, the orange paw on my side of my car by the gas tank. And I told you my daughter goes there and you told me your dad went there and we had a quick conversation. It was really cool. And we talk about Buc EE's. Because you had the shirt on.
[00:02:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: And it was funny, Brad, because. And there's a lesson behind this too, because ever since then, and that was about a couple months ago, that's the only place when I'm home that I get my gasoline. It was because of you.
And it was just because of the. You know, in this world the way it is now, if people just act in kindness and compassion, we're going to be okay. You guys. We had it's not a conversation. And it was pretty cool. And I knew nothing else about you other than what you told me. And, and, and that was it. And then I remember you had said you were going to be leaving and, and we'll get into your story about why you were going to be leaving. You know, Work there.
And I remember going back a second time, and I thought you had already left, but I still was going to continue to go back because you made an impression on me and you were there. I'm like, I thought you were leaving. You're like, oh, today's my last day.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: And. And we'll. We'll get into more of this, but it turns out you went to high school with my oldest son. You were a year or two behind him, and you guys played basketball team. Yeah. You played basketball together. I was in the stands watching you guys play. Yeah. And it's a. It's a small world. So.
So I. I just. That's. That's my thank you. I guess my thank you is to the universe for having me pull in the quick check the day you were working.
Brad. Why is Brad here? Folks, you guys all know that I always talk about how when we're young, we're taught that life is linear. If we do certain things in the straight line, things are going to be okay. You do A plus, B plus C and D is going to happen.
Now, it's not a malicious teaching. People aren't trying to set us up for failure. They want it to be that way. And for most part, life is linear until it's not.
There's always these external circumstances that get in a way in between one of these letters and derails our straight path in life and creates more of a circuitous route with that. We either notice or we don't notice adversity. And if we notice it, we have a choice. Do we change something or we not? And if we don't notice it, life stays the same. I truly believe there's three different types of men. You have man number one, who's got a ton of blind spots, doesn't see the adversity, just lives life the way he thinks he's supposed to. Nothing changes. And then there's man number two, who sees the adversity, yet he sees himself as the victim. He's blaming everything.
Life's doing it to him. He can't change anything. It is what it is.
He lives in autopilot, and on his deathbed, he's got a ton of regrets. And then there's man number three. Brad's man number three. All the men and women I have on this show are man number three. And man number three sees the adversity and finally says, you know what? I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. That's not a barrier. That's an opportunity to do Something different to take massive action, become a stronger man on the other side.
So, Brad, for the audience, reach back as far as you need to for that defining moment in life. Whether it was the tap on the shoulder, the whisper in the ear, or like what I needed two by four upside my head to kind of wake you up and transform you from the man you were to the one we're speaking to right now and how that changed your life personally and professionally. You want to share that with us, pal?
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Yeah, of course.
So back in high school, I was always that kid who was like, every. Every class is that one kid who's sitting in the back of the room and he's like, I'm never going to use this in my life. I don't need this math problem. I. I don't need a read of Mice and Men, you know, I. I don't need this stuff and I don't. I don't need this to make money because I always. I always knew I wanted to be some type of business owner, entrepreneur, or just something along those lines of being my own boss and making my own schedule and not even making a. An insane amount of money, just having my freedoms, you know, And.
And because. And even though I was saying that stuff, I was still, you know, slacking in class. I was smoking pot, and I wasn't really getting. I was. I was kind of just overweight and just not really taking care of myself or anything like that.
And then Covid happened and I was isolated by myself and I. That I really had time to, like, think about who I am instead of being in, like, in the hallways every day and involved in the process.
And I kind of just. Something just clicked in me and I was like, I'm. I'm tired of living like this.
So started going to the gym, losing weight. And then it really hit me when I graduated high school and all my friends went to college, and I'm still here.
And I'm. And I'm going. I'm going off to trade school. And I didn't start trade school until September, so everybody left and I didn't start school yet. And I was just like, damn, man. Like, I. I gotta. I gotta do something about this. And then me and my buddies at trade school started going to the gym all the time, started eating healthier, and then eventually I. I got a job doing plumbing. I was. I was working my ass off doing that, Taking from the bosses, you know.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: Of course. Yep. Yeah.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: And it's just like doing. Just.
Just waking up every day and having the Work and not making that much money. And then I decided to quit that because I didn't want to end up like my bosses.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: And then I started my own Airbnb business.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: Good for you. Yeah, tell us about that. How, how is a. Had you consider Airbnb and how did it go? And, and if you're still in it, tell us about that. If not, tell us about that too.
[00:07:48] Speaker B: Yeah, so I, I actually, the reason I got into it was because it's something where I always wanted to be in real estate. But the thing about real estate is un. Once you have a ton of capital, or if you do like section 8, or if you do just regular old rental properties, you don't make that much actual cash flow. And it's more for the guys who are older, they had their careers, they had, they have money to spend and they can buy, they can get multiple mortgages and start like producing assets. Cash flowing assets.
[00:08:22] Speaker A: Right.
[00:08:23] Speaker B: Because nowadays, like, it. Depending on the rental, depending on the area, but like a lot of these landlords, they're only making like 300 bucks a month on top.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: So I was like, I want to do something that I can get into now, now at a young, At a young age with not that much money and. Well, with some money, but not like an insane amount of money, of course. And yeah, I could get into that and like run a business off of it. So. I liked Airbnb. I like the model. I liked how I could use the online software. It was simple. Or at least I thought it was simple.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: And then I, I got to. I actually, I did something called rental arbitrage where I didn't have to buy the properties.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: And then I, I signed leases with two people. Two. Well, one company and one homeowner down in, down in Florida.
[00:09:14] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:14] Speaker B: The. The home was in Tampa. It was right on the, the canal, one of the canals. It's beautiful. Gorgeous four bedroom place. I had like the stucco siding, one. One floor. It was beautiful backyard. Yeah, that place was great. And then I had, I had an apartment in an apartment complex in Orlando right outside of Disney World.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: Oh, okay. All right.
[00:09:37] Speaker B: Yeah. And then I was doing great.
I learned everything I needed to know. I, I got in online programs. I was, I adopted the student mentality that I didn't have in high school.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: Right. Yeah.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
And I, Yeah, I was doing well for about. I, I even. It took me a while to get my first place. It took me about five months of persuading people on the phone, cold calling, trying to trust this 20 year old with no degree.
[00:10:07] Speaker A: Right.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: College experience to let me run business with them in their, in their place.
[00:10:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:14] Speaker B: But eventually I got it and yeah, I was doing well for about nine months.
And then I'm sure some people watching this. Are you remember back In September of 2024, huge hurricane came through.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: And unfortunately, I didn't have the right insurance.
[00:10:35] Speaker A: Oh, no.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: That's how we learn, unfortunately.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: Yeah. And then. Well, even I've. Now I've learned too, that even with the right insurance, they can still find a way to not pay you out.
[00:10:48] Speaker A: Oh, really? Okay.
[00:10:49] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, it's. Insurance is a tough game. You got to read the fine print. You got to know what you're doing because a lot of people don't know what they're signing up for. Yeah.
[00:10:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: And it's, it's very, it's very scary, like growing up now and like realizing like, oh, all these different insurances, like, if I don't get the right car insurance, if I don't click the right box on when I'm filling out the form.
[00:11:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:09] Speaker B: And I get in that specific type of car accident, I'm not getting paid out.
[00:11:13] Speaker A: Yep, absolutely.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: And then now if you, if you had a loan on that car, now you're paying off a car you don't have.
[00:11:20] Speaker A: Yep, that's true.
[00:11:21] Speaker B: And it's, it's, it's just bad news.
But anyways, I didn't have the right insurance.
Luckily. My landlord was a great guy. He got in there in the Tampa place. He got in there and he started like fan in the whole place out getting everything fixed, the AC and we salvaged a good amount of the furniture, but we lost. We did have to, like. I helped him out with removing some of the stuff. I helped him out with some of the handyman costs.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:11:48] Speaker B: And we were already, like, I had to take out business loans for the business. Like I said before, I had to take out some type of money for it.
[00:11:56] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:11:57] Speaker B: And I still had a good. I, I still had a good block of debt that I had to get rid of.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: And I remember I was flying down there. I flew down there.
I'm sitting in the place.
I think it was like September, September 30th of last year. And it's like, it's like a Wednesday or something. I don't know.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:16] Speaker B: But I called my buddy and I'm watching the news and I was like, I call my buddy Sean and I was like, hey, there's another one coming in. I'm like, you got to be kidding me, dude. And I just, I was just on the couch just like, everything's disheveled. Like, the, the beds are like on top of each other, stacked. There was the, the pool table. I had the thousand three hundred pool table. I had that like flipped into a, a foosball table. Or not a foosball table, a air hockey table. That thing was molded out. There was a bunch of fungus growing in it.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: Oh my God.
[00:12:49] Speaker B: And I'm just sitting there laying on the couch just like, oh my gosh. Like, what did I do? What did I do? What did I, how did I get myself into this situation? And I was just like, looking at my bank account. I've got like $1,000 cash and I've got all these business credit cards with debt on. Almost like, how am I going to get out of this position?
[00:13:11] Speaker A: Right.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: So over time, we, we left that place didn't run well. We, we started running back in January when everything was fixed. Luckily, somehow.
[00:13:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: And we made a little bit of money back. And then the Orlando place kind of kept me going. And then I had a side job, as I still do at a world class valet, just parking cars.
[00:13:35] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: And that made good money on the side and that, that got me through all of it. But when I was down there, I just remember being like, oh, this, it's over. Like, this was it. This was the nail in the coffin. This is the universe telling me I shouldn't be doing this. I should have went to college. I should have, I should have listened to my math teacher.
I was just like, oh, my gosh, listen to mom.
But I'll always, no matter what happens, I'll always have that need to pursue something bigger than myself.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: And have my freedoms and be able to do the things that I want to and then hopefully one day support a family and spend time with them.
[00:14:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:19] Speaker B: And not be worrying about money all the time. But yeah, in that, in that moment, I, I was like, oh, man, that was, it was just, it was bad. But we got up. We, I, I, we put everything back together and then restarted back up in January in that place.
But I decided to get out of my lease.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:44] Speaker B: I wanted to.
I, I realized that there's a better way of doing things.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: Right. Right.
[00:14:49] Speaker B: Going to bed every night worrying about if I'm going to pay off my, my credit card payments or pay my rent on the places.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: I mean, you've, you said a lot here and so on. Unpack some of this I love. In the beginning, you Know, you initially talked about wanting to be your own boss, and then you ended up going to technical school, which is very important. And my other son is an auto mechanic, actually. He. He graduates tomorrow from Universal Technical Institute.
[00:15:16] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: He's doing the auto stuff, and that stuff's important.
We all need plumbers, and we all need. And. And it is for certain people, and it's not for certain people. I love what you said about, you know, work doing for your boss, because, yeah, unless we have a boss who gets it, it's not fun working for somebody else. And believe me, I've been there.
And. And I. I can just tell the. You've got that mindset of an entrepreneur, and you started young enough to realize that you're gonna fail many times, many more times than you actually succeed. And that's okay, because when we fail, if we see it for the. For what it is, we become stronger. And you've certainly become stronger because of your experiences in the real estate and plumbing.
And I truly believe, Brad, that there are so many bright lights at the end of this tunnel. And. And with that, there. There's. You told me that very soon. I mean, tell me about. I mean, you're wearing a hat now, so the people on the audio won't be able to see it, but the. For the video, they. You know, we can see it. Explain to us the hat you're wearing and what that signifies and where you're. Where you're going to be going.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: Yeah, so I actually, when I shut down the business back in February, my.
My sister and my sister's boyfriend, they're both officers in the U.S. army. Okay. And they've been trying to get me to join the military since I was 17, but I was never too into it.
But what came along. My. The plate was the Air National Guard, and the Air National Guard is. It's not. It's. It's the Air Force, but it's. It's different in a sense of. It's more like a reserve type of thing.
[00:17:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: Where you can take deployments when you. When you like, or if, like, you. You don't want to, you don't have to. I mean, if they don't have enough people, obviously, it's the army. They're. Oh, the military. They're telling you to go. You got to go.
[00:17:16] Speaker A: Right, right, right.
[00:17:16] Speaker B: But, yeah, I was like, you know, that could be really good for me. I go to boot camp, I pay off my debts.
I.
I'm giving myself a leg up in a lot of. A lot of positions. In my life.
[00:17:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:28] Speaker B: And.
Yeah, so I. I joined back in April, and it's probably one of the best decisions, I think. I. I haven't even really started yet, and I still think it's one of the best decisions I've ever made.
[00:17:41] Speaker A: That's awesome. Now. Now, boot camp, I know, is coming up. Do you know when it is and where it's going to be?
[00:17:46] Speaker B: So that's the funny thing. They still. The.
The Air Force is really backed up on their boot camp because obviously the active duty, the people who sign up active duty, they go first.
[00:17:57] Speaker A: Right.
[00:17:57] Speaker B: Because active duty is more important than the guard.
[00:18:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: So there were some people who I'll show up to drill weekends with drills, like the one weekend a month that you're required to go to.
[00:18:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:10] Speaker B: And they have this thing called.
It's like the student flight. So everyone who hasn't gotten the boot camp, all like, they, they like, they do you do pt like, you run. You'll have people come in and talk to you about different aspects of the Air Force. What's it like, what's it like going to boot camp? What's it like being in the Air Force?
Finances and stuff like that. The benefits, they. It's. It's kind of like that kind of vibe. And then there's some people who've been there for almost. Almost a year waiting for their boot camp dates. Yeah.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: Wow. All right.
[00:18:45] Speaker B: And then one of my buddies who does finance, he joined the. The Air Force to do finance. He's been there for 14 months, and he just got his for July, so.
[00:18:54] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:18:54] Speaker B: Who knows the one. I joined the job. I joined. I. I do fuels. I joined for fuels. So I'm going to be fueling up the fighter jets.
[00:19:01] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: That one's more in need. So hopefully I'll go sooner. Maybe not. We'll see. Who knows.
[00:19:09] Speaker A: All right, well, you know what? It's. Trust the process. You did. You did the first step, the beginning, the first. The first step, the hardest. Right. So now you're. You're. You're in. You're involved boot camps coming, and what I. What I've known right now, I don't know a lot about. But you're still. Can have civilian life, so you'll be able to still balance like your entrepreneur life and the armed forces. So I know you and I spoke because I asked you, because I want to help you as much as I can, and I'm hoping this. This podcast recording can help you want to get into sales as soon as you can. So can you tell us a little about what your goals are with sales industries, types of sales, what skills you believe people would, you know, benefit from having you working with them?
[00:20:01] Speaker B: Yeah. So the reason I'm trying to pursue a career in sales now is because after the whole thing with the business happened.
[00:20:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: I. I was like, I have to. There's a different way of going about being in business.
[00:20:16] Speaker A: Right.
[00:20:16] Speaker B: And I look at, I look at my dad, I look at people who have started businesses as they're older and they've developed skills over time, they have a substantial amount of savings, and then they. Yeah. So it would make sense for me to actually go into business later in my life.
And I can still work under someone while still having that entrepreneur skill set that I've been molded to my entire life.
And sales is perfect for that because I can get in without a degree. And I'm, I've talked to, I've made thousands of. I wouldn't say that. I'd say over a thousand phone calls, cold calls to landlords, management companies, all these people to try and start my business.
And I've just always been good at. I've always been a social person. Like you said at the gas station.
[00:21:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:09] Speaker B: I would just do that all the time. You know, just love it. Yeah. Just. Just talk to people, see how they're doing, see where they're, See where they're from, and just be a social person. And it's just always something that I've been good at, something that I can grow in an industry and can make a lot of money doing it.
[00:21:25] Speaker A: Yeah. No, it's very true. And, you know, there are different definitions of sales. Many people, you know, believe it's something different from what it is. But sales really is about building relationships. Building relationships that, that, that solidify trust and integrity and whatnot. And, and the thing is, we always are selling something. You know, when you want to tell somebody how great a restaurant is, you're selling the restaurant.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:21:52] Speaker A: You know, we're selling ourselves. So you're going to do awesome in the, In. In the field of sales brand Brad. And so audience out there, we're going to be doing a push to have somebody, you know, understand how, how, how wonderful skills Brad has both as a person and, and professionally.
And the fact that he's gonna, he's willing to, you know, in, you know, be. Be working in the military and doing something, service and community service while he's building his career is a testament to his work ethic. And, And I want to thank his Mother and father for, for instilling that in him and.
Yeah, no, absolutely, absolutely. So I, I'm sure the audience has captured the essence of Brad Carry during the short moment here. I know I have best way to reach and reach out to, to, to Brad. Everybody is going to be his email address. Uh, Brad B r a d carry c a r y02gmail.com and I'll put that in the uh, I'll both put both his handle for LinkedIn and his email address in the show notes and uh, I definitely suggest even at least email him and get a call with him.
You, you'll get, you'll get somebody who's going to be dedicated to the work that, that you have and, and you can be part of that mentorship. We all need a mentor and, and Brad deserves, you know to, to take off his career in whatever way he wants to. So do us a favor and help him out.
[00:23:22] Speaker B: Appreciate that means a lot to me.
[00:23:24] Speaker A: Absolutely. Absolutely Brad. So I got two final questions for you and I love the love ending this way. So, so Brad, give me an opportunity. You're sitting in your happy place and you're sitting with seven to ten year old Brad.
Seven to ten year old Brad. You want to give him advice about life.
What are you going to tell him?
[00:23:46] Speaker B: I would say to 7 to 10 year old me, what would I say to 7 to 10 year old Me?
I would tell him to take calculated risks. Don't take stupid risks. Take calculated risks. Always take calculated risks. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Don't get embarrassed because at the end of the day, in social settings or just in life in general, people, people tend to forget pretty quickly because people have their own problems going on.
Don't get embarrassed. Be yourself and just always try and try and stay optimistic. Don't be too, and don't be too hot. Don't be too cold with things. You stay right in the middle.
[00:24:32] Speaker A: Love that. Love that. All right, this one is about business, this question. And now you're young in business, which is a good thing because you're already a lot further than a lot of us. You're now sitting with young Brad, the young entrepreneur, young businessman. You want to give him advice about business?
What are you going to tell him?
[00:24:50] Speaker B: Dot your eyes and cross your T's. Dot your eyes and cross your T's. Get insurance.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: Make sure before you sign anything, not, not even with insurance contracts, before you make a deal with someone, before you get a new business partner, strike something up.
Always go through like the process of figuring out who you're working with.
[00:25:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:16] Speaker B: What you're doing, where you're conducting business, what you're selling, what's going to be your advertising. Like, figure all of that out before. Don't take forever with it, but make sure, Ask around. Ask people who are smarter than you and make sure that what business you have is like, you have the highest probability of it working, because, yeah, it can. Things can go wrong like that. And if you're ready for it, you're ready for it. If you're not, you're not.
[00:25:45] Speaker A: Now, Brad, that's awesome advice. I mean, crossing your T's and dotting your eyes also goes along with who you allow in your. In your space, the people you, you're with and not just the contracts you sign, but the people you. You hang around with. So great advice, my friend. So, Brad, I want to thank you for coming on, for our encounter at the gas station, for being the type of human being you are.
You know, I. It seems like yesterday when I was in high school, doing crazy things, it was. Wasn't that long ago, but you've. You've realized who you are and where you want to go, and you're going to get to where you want to go and. And you are going to get help along the way from the right people. And I'm hoping that this can be a little part of getting you to you where you want to go. So thanks again for being who you are and for coming on, Brad.
[00:26:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I appreciate that, Drew. Thank you so much for having me on the podcast. It's an honor.
[00:26:44] Speaker A: It's my pleasure. My pleasure. Hey, everybody out there. Please take care of yourselves.
Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and give us a review to help others find it.
I'd like you to answer this question.
Are you living the life you want to live or are you living the life others want you to live? I'd like you to think about that for a second, because I strongly suggest you live the life you want to live. If you want to learn more about what I stand for and my services and how I'm able to help many men get out of their own way, please go to my website at www.profitcompassion.com.
feel free to also email me at drewrophetcompassion.com I'd love to have a conversation with you.
Take care of yourself and choose to write your own story instead of letting others write it for you.
