Angie Colee (00:03):
Welcome to Permission to Kick Ass, the show that gives you a virtual seat at the bar for the real conversations that happen between entrepreneurs. I'm interviewing all kinds of business owners from those just a few years into freelancing to CEOs, Heming nine figure companies. If you've ever worried that everyone else just seems to get it and you're missing something or messing things up, this show is for you. I'm your host, Angie Colee, and let's get to it. Hey, welcome back to Permission to Kick Ass with me today is my new friend Kris Bryant. Say hi. Hi. Oh man, I'm so excited for this one. But tell, first, tell us a little bit about what you do.
Kris Bryant (00:43):
My name is Kris Bryant, and I am the founder of Crush ITT with Kris, where we help creators and entrepreneurs, mostly female entrepreneurs, really skyrocket their following on social media, monetize their personal brand, and really stand out on social media, on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, even LinkedIn. So that pretty much sums it up what we do at Kresha with Kris.
Angie Colee (01:08):
That's awesome. What got you into that?
Kris Bryant (01:11):
You know, that is a great question. I've always had this fascination with, um, how people were able to become more visible. Um, especially as a smaller business owner, I really knew that in order for me to be able to reach a wider audience, um, I needed to learn social media. So I started just playing around with it myself, learning. I started with Instagram and once I mastered that, I kind of ventured onto some of the other platforms, but I wanted a way to promote my online business on a shoestring budget, and I knew social media was kind of the way to go, so that I just opened up that box and I haven't looked back since.
Angie Colee (01:54):
. Well, I, I think that, I mean, o obviously I have a little bit more context then, folks. I think that makes it a lot more interesting knowing what you want to talk about today. Given that your expertise is in social media, you're telling me right before we started recording that you ran into a situation where you lost access to all of your accounts?
Kris Bryant (02:15):
Oh my goodness. Talk about one of the worst experiences in my life. So before, um, so I went full-time into my business and, um, I was just kind of like, I'm done. I'm going into my business full-time. Because at that point, I was growing my social media accounts on the side and they were kind of like blowing up and I was getting brand deals left and right. They were finding me, and I found a way to monetize my social media. So I, I left my job. I left a six figure job to pursue being, um, a full-time content creator and a coach. And, um, shortly after, I would say a few months after I left my job I was having, there was like a weird glitch with my, my account and I couldn't post for like four months. So I had no way of making any money off of my social media, and it was pretty devastating.
Kris Bryant (03:05):
I had Wow, a lot of, cuz it, that was how I made my money. So it was a lot of sleepless nights. It was a lot of waking up out of my sleep. It was weeks of barely being able to eat anything because I was just like, oh my God, what did I just do? And it was so embarrassing to the point where I haven't even really talked about it until just now because I'm thinking to myself, I'm supposed to be the social media person. How am I supposed to even tell people about this and explain what, how can I expect people to trust me to help them? But it really wasn't my fault. It was a weird glitch mm-hmm. and no one was real. Like no one even really helped me resolve the issue. I kind of had to just wait for it to go away.
Kris Bryant (03:45):
But I came back stronger than ever after it happened because I learned a lot of valuable lessons. I learned building a business just solely on social media is like building a house on sand mm-hmm. . And you have to have a lot of systems in place, not even a lot. You just have to have systems in place so that you're growing your email list. It forced me also to get really creative because I'm like, crap, I can't post on my social media and this is how I get paid. I have to find new ways to make money, otherwise I have to go back to a job. And I wasn't trying to do that. So I started finding other ways to sell services. So instead of posting on my social media pages, I said, all right, well I learned about user-generated content or U G C, which you can get paid by brands to create content without having to post it on your social media accounts. So I'm like, all right, boom, I'm doing that. I'm gonna do some U G C. I also have all of this knowledge for growing social media and building a brand. And then I got into coaching as well to kind of make up for what I couldn't do at the time and make up for that money from working with those brands.
Angie Colee (04:58):
Oh man, there's so much to unpack here. Like furiously scribbling, like, I, like legit, they can't see the video, but I got like a half page of notes from all of that. Um, I wanna circle back to some amazing stuff because I heard some head trash. I know that I have fallen prey to, I know people I have coached fallen prey to, but the fact that you kept going is just so inspiring for me. So I want to lay this out there for you. Clearly, those of you listening and for past Angie, who I love very dearly made all these mistakes too. Who might to do this? Why, why, what gives me the right to talk about this? I'm the social media person. Aren't I supposed to have this polished front that shows them that I get everything right? And in fact, like we all have that head trash, right?
Angie Colee (05:38):
How can I mm-hmm. ? I, I used to think before I went out on my own to start business, uh, business coaching that I had to prove that I had built like a multimillion dollar business and sold it and had a successful business. Mm-hmm. exit, particularly before I could help people build a business. And I'm very grateful for my coach, uh, wonderful name by the man of Kevin Rogers who talked me off the ledge, but goes, so have you coached people on how to start businesses? Yeah. Okay. And did they have some success? And I was like, yeah. It's like te walk me through that. Tell me, tell me what your coaching students were able to achieve with their businesses. And I listed off a couple of accomplishments and he goes, so why can't you go out on your own and be a business coach? Mm-hmm. , it sounds to me like you've already been a business coach and like this is just the fear talking. So if anything, for those of you listening, maybe you don't have the experience, maybe you're just starting out, but you do not have to get this perfect. Honestly, I think just being real, which is exactly the way this show exists, increases people's trust and faith in you even more because you've been through the ringer and you came out the other side and you're still Kick Assing. Love it.
Kris Bryant (06:48):
I appreciate that.
Angie Colee (06:49):
Yeah. Well, and I think that underscores, like, the second point that I wanted to make is this stuff happens. It happens to everyone. Does not matter who you are, it does not matter how much money you have. Does not matter what resources you have, happens. Mm-hmm. , it's out of your control and you're going to have to figure out whether you want to move forward or you don't. Like I told, I told my email is the other day this ridiculous story about the time that I fell on my face and accidentally flashed my to the audience when I was singing in a band. And oh no, that was like my worst fear come true. It kept me from auditioning for bands for years because I was afraid of humiliating myself. And remember just having this startling moment of clarity while I'm laying there with my butt hanging out in front of the audience, whether this goes on, is up to me. Yeah. Like, if I stand up and I walk off the stage and I never return the show's over, if I stand up and I make a joke or I say, whoops, like, and, and I get up and I perform again, then we're gonna go forward. But it's up to me to make that choice to move forward. And I think that's exactly what you did in that moment. I it is salute salute you
Kris Bryant (07:53):
. Thank you. And what you said really resonates with, with me too, because when I was trying to grow my business, I mean, for a while I didn't see much suc success because I was afraid to be a leader. I was mm-hmm. afraid. And, and not that I was a follower, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is I didn't feel like an expert. I didn't feel like the results that I've gotten at the time were good enough. And I just thought to myself, who am I to charge people money or no one's going to wanna work with me or take me seriously? And then so I would hide behind my content. I wouldn't, you know, step out and be like, let me coach people, let me show them how to do this. And it wasn't until I realized that you don't have to be an expert to get paid for your skills or for people to take you seriously in actuality, you need to just start and you only need to be a few steps ahead of the people that you're trying to help.
Kris Bryant (08:46):
So, I mean, that's, that's when, when I had that realization, there was a shift in my business mm-hmm. in, in my confidence as well. Like, I can do this like I am doing it and I can teach other people. And I've inspired so many people along the way and it, and it really just motivated me to k to keep going. So I definitely wanna encourage whoever is listening to just trust your gut. Do something that you enjoy and just help people. Yeah. As long as you can help people, you can totally, totally get paid for your skills. Mm-hmm.
Angie Colee (09:20):
, and I've told this story on the show before, but that's basically that same mentor. Kevin is the one that inspired the name of the show too, because I was, I was very much the same when I was first starting out as a freelancer of like, who am I to do this? Um, look at all of these other amazing people over there that are so much better than me. And yeah. Look at all the reasons that, all the excuses and the fears that I have for not putting myself out there cuz I'm afraid of looking ridiculous compared to them. Mm-hmm. . And he said, I, I feel like you are waiting for someone to give you permission to be an expert. And the fact is, you have real world life experience. You don't actually need permission to help people. You can help people exactly. Where you are not learning his single thing more. He goes, and this was like the Kick Asser in case you are waiting for someone to give you permission. I, Kevin Rogers hereby anoint you, Angie Colee expert enough to go help people. But seriously, that's the power of the right idea at the right time. Yes. Because that changed my life. That's the reason for the show here. Someone recognizing your potential and giving you permission to go for it in all your imperfect glory. Cuz you're gonna it up. News flash. Yes. Do It anyway. Figure it out. Trust yourself, figure it out. It's gonna be okay. You ha like, you can't reach success if you don't fail. If it wasn't for everything that went wrong with my social media. Like, like that was such a dark time in my life and I don't wanna experience it again. But it made me so much stronger and then it led to all of these other income streams and avenues that I wouldn't have had if I, if that didn't happen, because I would've gotten complacent and just been like, well, you know, brands are coming to me and I'm really good at pitching and getting opportunities for myself, for my social media. I'll just do this and then maybe when I get around to other stuff I will. But when that situation happened, it forced my hand to really be like, no girl, you have to do something right now. You can't wait. Mm-hmm. . Um, you have to find other ways to really build a sustainable business because we don't own social media, so mm-hmm. , you know, we ha we have to take what we can own and really build upon that and not just be at the Marcy of an algorithm. Yes. Or, you know,
Angie Colee (11:29):
Well, I mean, like, as we're record, we're, so this is gonna air in a couple months from now, we're recording, uh, on March 22nd, 2023. And right now, I mean, depending on when you're listening to this, this will either be resolved or ongoing. Uh, the big news is TikTok. Yeah. And there are a lot of people who have made entire careers built platforms, massive followings on TikTok creators like Keith Lee. I love watching his food reviews and all of the skits and things like that. Uh, they've made a legit living. And now there are government, you know, pro propositions about banning this app because of security concerns, which I totally understand, but like, look at how quickly the zeitgeist and the public opinion can turn the Yeah. The algorithm can change the terms and conditions can change unfavorably, and suddenly you're left in the lurch. Um, and that yours was a glitch. Yours wasn't even a systemic change. Like,
Kris Bryant (12:26):
No,
Angie Colee (12:27):
Nothing that you did prompted that thing, but I love that, that you mentioned that that forced you to get creative, that forced you to not become complacent. Which I think is real easy to do when you set up some systems that work really well, just like write it. Right. Yeah. I've been working real hard, but it was interesting cuz I spoke to someone earlier today when we were recording about how innovation comes at the edge of discomforts and challenges. And I loved that .
Kris Bryant (12:52):
Yes, yes, yes, yes. You, you really have to, as an entrepreneur, in order to really grow, you have to get uncomfortable. What a lot of people don't know about me in, I, I talk about it here and there as I'm, I'm, I'm doing a lot of podcast interviews this month, but, and I'm talking a little bit more about me, but in my content, I don't really talk about the fact that I am an introvert. So doing stuff like this, like how you and I like social stuff, I feel like I'm very, uh, uncomfortable at times. But you know what? I'm like, you know, I have a message that can probably help a lot of people that I want to share. I w I have to get uncomfortable mm-hmm. . And the more that I put myself in these kind of situations, the more that I start doing them, it's like, oh, it's not as hard as I thought. And it just makes you stronger. It makes you a better entrepreneur, you grow from it, and I'm all for it. You know, just mm-hmm. and, and you can be an introvert and still be really successful, you know?
Angie Colee (13:48):
Absolutely. I, you can build a business that suits you and your personality, that plays to your strengths. Mm-hmm. and, you know, it's not gonna eliminate your weaknesses, but you can hire for weaknesses. You can build a business around you to where you get to play in your zone of genius. I haven't always loved that phrase zone of genius, but I think it's kind of accurate here because there are certain things that you're good at. Mm-hmm. , why wouldn't you focus your effort on that? Um, and I love that idea of getting dis uh, getting comfortable with discomfort because newsflash, uh, this whole journey is pretty freaking uncomfortable even when you find exactly that thing that you're good at .
Kris Bryant (14:25):
Yes. There's so many twists and turns and, and entrepreneurship that you have to really love what you do. You have to fight for it, you know? Mm-hmm. , and that's why, um, I don't know, maybe it's like 1% of people become entrepreneurs and you know, like not everyone's cut out for it because, you know, sometimes people try to dress it up and make it seem like, oh, you know, you just wake up and then you have this $1 million business. Like, no, they don't talk about the, you know, 60 to 80 hour weeks sometimes mm-hmm. working six or seven days a week. Some days I'm working six or seven days a week. And, you know, honestly, sometimes I don't even mind it because I'd rather build my own dreams than build someone else's. And when Mel is working in corporate, I did sales jobs for so many years because I was chasing money because that's what people in my family told me I should do.
Kris Bryant (15:16):
If you wanna make good money, get a sales job. And for years I did sales and I freaking hated it. I woke up dreading the day I was depressed, and I was wasting my life each in, in the last job that I was at every year that I stayed, I would make less money than the year before. And I'm like, this makes, what aren't you supposed to be making more money? They kept changing the comp plan so that I would make le I, I hope no one from my previous job ever hears this, but , I would make less money than the year before. And I'm just like, I gotta, I gotta do something, you know, I, I have to make a change and, and build my own dream because it's like I'm putting all this time and effort into building someone else's dream. Mm-hmm.
Kris Bryant (15:56):
. And, you know, I can't take the time off when I want to take the time off. I ha I'm capped on what I can make and I'm not even selling products and services that I'm really passionate about or really believe in. So I knew that the only option for me was to become an entrepreneur. So you really have to fight for it and yes. Believe in it. And even if, you know, other people are, are naysayers, you really have to believe in yourself. And, um, I'm, I'm a big believer in just showing, improving, don't talk about what you're going to do, just do it mm-hmm. and let your actions mm-hmm. speak for itself. Because there might be people around you that'll look at you and be like, oh, that's, that's not a good business idea. And then just completely throw you off track.
Angie Colee (16:38):
Yeah. Um, it's funny, I was writing down a bastardized version of a Bruno's Mars lyric there. It's a, it's a related tangent, I promise. It's like, don't talk about it, just show me
Kris Bryant (16:48):
. Right. I love it. Yeah. It's so true. It is so true. Because there will be people that'll make you rethink whatever it is that you're, you have set in your mind that you want to go do. So now I just take action and let my results speak for itself. And I also try not to compare myself to other people. You had mentioned something earlier about like going on social media and seeing stuff and mm-hmm. , I, I try not to do that. Um, although I'm all for social media, I'm very strategic about how I use it. I use it as a tool. I use it to, you know, see what's trending and get inspiration and get ideas. But past a certain time, I don't go on social media when it hits like 9:00 PM or so. I'm done. I'm not on there. I don't wanna like, you know, be my brain to like that, to be the last thing I see before I go to bed.
Kris Bryant (17:41):
But also, um, comparison is just like the, the thief of joy. You know, you might look at someone else and say, they're so much more successful, they're making so much more money. And then you start doubting what you've accomplished, you know? Mm-hmm. . So I, I, uh, I just try to focus on what I'm trying to do and I always encourage my clients to do the same. Just focus on the, the end goal, you know? Mm-hmm. , don't worry about what other people are doing because people really post their highlights too. Yes. They're not talking about their struggles. People lie about how much money they're making. You don't know what is real. So don't, don't believe it. Just focus on what you can do and what's in your control.
Angie Colee (18:21):
That's part, I mean, that's the total inspiration behind this show. I talked about realizing one day that the, the polished person on stage was the same person at the bar talking about how they just lost their biggest client and got hit with a lawsuit. So like, they're not mutually exclusive. The person that looks like they've got it all together and they're super successful on stage can still be dealing with problems. And I love that you brought that up in the, the lens of comparison. It's kind of corny to say it. Right. But I'm not competing against anybody else. I'm only competing against who I was Y yesterday. Right. And if we're gonna take this comparison tactic, I think what you have to do is remember to swing the pendulum the other way. Yes. Look at all of those amazing people in front of you that are that, and change the language here a little bit that you're aspiring to move in their direction. Exactly. You are inspired by what they're doing. You wanna learn how to do that so that you can increase yourself and also turn around and look behind you, my friends at all of the people who are envious of you Yes. And all of the progress that you've made. And they can't wait to be where you are. I
Kris Bryant (19:23):
Mean, exactly.
Angie Colee (19:25):
I love it. Um, I love it too. I wanted to circle back to something that you talk like when we were talking about don't talk me, just don't talk about it, just do it. Mm-hmm.
Kris Bryant (19:33):
,
Angie Colee (19:34):
One reason why I love that approach, and I think it's so important, and I wanted to unpack it a little bit more, is it's a tentative approach. Have you ever thought about it like that? Like just talking about it and seeing what kind of interest you can generate strikes me and it, and this is no judgment, no shade, all love to anybody listening. If this is you, it's a half-assed way to see if there's any interest. And it's a very demoralizing way to get something lodged, because if people don't respond the way that you hope, you're more inclined to give up. Yeah.
Kris Bryant (20:06):
Yep. Yep. So now I just do. Yeah,
Angie Colee (20:10):
Exactly. And I love that. You know, I just wanted to circle back on that because don't let anyone stop you. Not even, you
Kris Bryant (20:17):
Just
Angie Colee (20:17):
Decide to do the thing and find a way to make it work. That's what I say. Yeah.
Kris Bryant (20:21):
Mindset plays a huge, huge part. I mean, what you just said really makes me think about mindset and how sometimes we can be our own worst enemies if mm-hmm. , you know, we're not hanging around the right people or, or investing our time in the right things. And that's why I am a, like, huge firm believer in coaching and working with, you know, the best or the people that you do. Like, if you do aspire to be like that person, like I've coached with, you know, multimillionaires people, that I wanna be in the room with those people mm-hmm. so that I can learn and implement some of those strategies so that I can grow my business. You know, it's, and also it helps with that mindset because, um, entrepreneurship can sometimes feel like a lonely journey because only a small percentage of people, only a small percentage of women are entrepreneurs, um, that I have access to. But when you are getting coached or if you're a part of a group with people who have the same mindset as you, it's very motivating. It's very encouraging, inspiring. And you learn and get ideas, or you can bounce ideas off of each other. Mm-hmm. . And it really helps with your mindset rather than when you go alone and you try to figure out everything yourself, you can get a little discouraged along the way and be like, I don't even know what the hell I'm doing. .
Angie Colee (21:39):
Yeah. I was like, one of my past guests, she kept, she had like almost a mantra about it. She called it Good Bread for the Head. And I was like, you, you kinda like that old adage about the wolf and which whichever one you feed is the one that grows the strongest. Right. You can decide to feed yourself good stuff, folks. Not bad stuff. You can curate your feed, so to speak, even with your social circle and the people around you. Um, I once had somebody, I was dating him at the time, but I would share all these dreams and visions about going freelance and starting my own consultancy and stuff like that. And he'd basically say, are, are you smoking something? Like, that's not possible. I don't believe that. And with time and distance I've come to see that, like, that was somebody to just not share. He doesn't get the privilege of hearing that dream. Yeah. It's not that, uh, you know, I, I use that as negative motivation and of course we're not together anymore. But, but yeah. , I instead, I, he doesn't get the privilege of hearing my dreams cuz he, he's gonna on him. Yeah. And he doesn't get to on my dreams. So I'm gonna take my dreams to some, to other people who are gonna support them and encourage me. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. .
Kris Bryant (22:47):
Yep. I've definitely dealt with that before and I don't have any tolerance for it anymore. I've dealt with people who have tried to make me feel shame for wanting to start a YouTube channel because they were insecure about, you know, what that could lead to in my business or, you know, putting myself out there on social media and it's like there's millions of people out there that I could possibly help. I'm not going to dim my light because you're insecure and you feel like I shouldn't be mm-hmm. out there on the forefront for people to see me that I can help and inspire and make a difference in their life. I just, are you
Angie Colee (23:21):
Worried about me? Boo boo worry about
Kris Bryant (23:23):
You. Yeah. Focus people like that. Think small . Thanks Karen. Think small.
Angie Colee (23:28):
Why are you spending all your effort trying to control what the hell I do with my life? Focus on yours. Oh my God. Don't let other people's opinions stop you. Seriously. Uh, and I love that you could be helping millions of people don't dream small folks. Like it sounds woowoo it sounds mystical, but you can have anything that you believe is possible. Keyword. Mm-hmm. believe. Mm-hmm. . So if you're sitting there thinking, well, yeah, there, it's true that Kris can impact millions of people. Angie can impact millions of people, but here are all the reasons why I can't, you don't believe it's possible. So you're never actually going to take steps to make it real.
Kris Bryant (24:06):
No. Sometimes people look for reasons not to do something instead of reasons to do something and they talk themselves out of success. I feel like. Yeah. I, I I am not afraid to ask for what it is that I want. And one thing that I, I really help my clients do is, you know, with pitching themselves and getting opportunities, and there is a way to literally pitch yourself where it doesn't feel icky. You're not, you know, like if you are just talking about the, the benefit of working together or what it is that you're offering and also customizing your approach, you can get so much accomplished in just really what I've been able to accomplish and help other people accomplish. There's so much that is possible if you just put yourself out there and if you do the work and take the steps, you know, to, to get in front of people. Yeah.
Angie Colee (24:56):
And you train your brain not to look for reasons that you can't, or look for signs that you're failing that good bread for the head. If you, if, if at least you're trying to break an old pattern right. Where you habitually look at the bad, which a lot of us grew up with, at least practice swinging the pendulum the other way. And look, okay, here are all the reasons I should quit. What are the reasons I should stay? Okay, cool. Let's balance that out. Let's make sure that we're painting a realistic portion of ourselves. We're never going to be the best, but we're never gonna be the worst. We're never as good as we think we are. But we're, you know, we're also a lot farther than we give ourselves credit for. So like, balance, balance is key.
Kris Bryant (25:33):
Balance is key. And to just keep going because the, the better that you get. You know, like people ask me all the time, like, how are you able to get upwards of a million views a month on social media? How do you do this? It's like, I had to start, yeah. My first video sucked, like , there was so much like saturation in the, the lighting was terrible. I looked crazy sometimes. And I, I had to learn, you know mm-hmm. and, and you get better over time, like hundreds and hundreds of videos later. Like, I'm a lot better than when I started. So it's like, yeah, it wasn't an overnight thing. You know, there was times where in the beginning I was putting out videos and no one was watching, but I just keep going and I encourage my clients always to just keep going.
Kris Bryant (26:13):
And you never know what can take off because you're literally, you can be one video away from just changing your life. Mm-hmm. . And, and that happened to me as well, like on TikTok with a video where I had it sitting in my drafts for like th two, three months. And I didn't wanna post it because I thought my hair and my face looked crazy. The lighting was bad. I sounded crazy, I just didn't even wanna post it. But I ran out of content. So I said, all right, I'm, I wanna stay consistent. Let me just post this video. Probably no one will watch it. And I went to bed and I woke up the next day, it had like 300,000 views and like my oh inbox was full with brands reaching out to collaborate, you know, and, and just like that, you know, your, your life can change. So it's like, just keep putting yourself out there because you never know what will really resonate with your audience.
Angie Colee (27:02):
Mm-hmm. . And I think, you know, that's exactly why I love this show too. And we were talking before we started recording about you didn't even know that you wanted, if you wanted to share this because you're that social media expert, which is when I was like, salivating and going, yes, please share this, this is exactly the story that I love. But I love that you shared that story because I think that a significant part of putting yourself out there that we don't talk about enough in entrepreneurship circles is being willing to look dumb, being willing to look less than perfect, and just putting it out there and letting it be what it will be while also acknowledging, here's an improvement I could make. Cool. I'm gonna celebrate the fact that I put it out there, and then I'm gonna look at it and say, here's one thing I'm gonna change next time, or a couple things I'm gonna change next time. And just give yourself permission to iterate and to try again and to do better. Because over time you're gonna be miles ahead of where you started. Oh,
Kris Bryant (27:52):
Of course. What you can accomplish, especially with just putting out pieces of content. I mean, within less than a year, I think I was able to get like over 80,000 or so followers on just one platform. And that's not even including some of my other ones, but I had to show up. You know, it's, it's hard work, but, um, I love it. I love helping people. I love inspiring people. And you know, a lot of my stuff is, you know, it's not like the silly dancing stuff. It's providing value, it's educating, it's teaching people, you know, how to grow your personal brand from scratch. And if you love something, it will really show and just keep putting it out there because you never know who can see you on social media. Mm-hmm. , like, it's, it can, social media really has changed my life and I have no regrets with, even with what happened with my accounts, it made me stronger. It was devastating at the time. And I remember I would, I called my mom one time, like crying. She's like, crystal, are you really crying right now about what's going on? And I'm like, I don't know what to do. And she's likelihood.
Kris Bryant (28:54):
Yeah. Like, it was really hard. And she was like, Kris, you'll be fine. You'll be fine. You will figure this out. Like, just think, think Kris, like, think. And I said, all right. And I, you know, and I'm, you know, I was able to accomplish so much after that because I'm like, all right, that won't happen to me again. Yes. It won't .
Angie Colee (29:15):
Well, I'm so glad that you said that because that's, that's why I'm such a big fan of, I'm just gonna say it, of up. Yeah. Because there is life after up guys. This is not like falling on your face and then waiting for the end because clearly you're done , there's, there's nothing else to live for. This is the ultimate embarrassment, uh, messing up like that allows you to say, okay, here's a flaw in my process. Here's a way that I don't wanna do things anymore. Yeah. How can I build something that prevents this from ever happening to me again? Mm-hmm. . And again, that process of iteration is how you build something solid, which is incredible. Yeah.
Kris Bryant (29:57):
Yep. And for me too, I just was like, you know what? It even brought me back to when I was working in corporate where I was always relying on one stream of income, and I'm like, this sucks. Like, yeah. If they cut my pay, if they do whatever, I'm at the mercy of this company. And then the same thing with my social media accounts. I was really just banking on one thing. And then when that whole whole situation went down, I was like, all right. So I went from one stream of income to now I have like maybe four to five or six streams of income. Yes. Because I was just like, never again. So it's like, whoop brand deals, there's affiliate marketing, there's coaching, there's speaking, there's this, there's that. Mm-hmm. , never mm-hmm. again. And that's why it's so important to have multiple streams of income.
Kris Bryant (30:41):
And you, and, and that's what's so cool about being a creator, because I do consider myself a creator as well. Like, you start with one stream of income and as your audience begins to grow, as your presence begins to grow, all these other opportunities start to come. And it's so incredible, um, because I have a, I can't even show you my vision board, but on my vision board, there's this big gold square graphic that says I have multiple streams of income. And I made that when I was working in corporate because I was like, I'm going to start my business. I'm going to have multiple streams of income mm-hmm. . And, um, it's just, it's definitely the way to go to have like some side hustles going on or something. Yes. So that like, if one thing just falls to, you're just like, all right, well I have three other things working for me so I can at least, you know, pay for my bills or what have money coming in. It's so important.
Angie Colee (31:34):
Exactly. And you can start where you are. Right. Um, mm-hmm. , the, again, that was like another great guest conversation where, uh, somebody challenged him to think about if he had to make the $2 million, he knew that he would have to retire like, and be financially set for life. Right. Um, financially independent, retire early, that whole fire movement mm-hmm. . So if you had to make $2 million in the next 24 hours, what would you do? And that got the gears turning for him in a much different way from, oh my God, is that even possible? Yeah. So he, he came to the conclusion that he couldn't do it in 24 hours, but maybe if he spread it out and tried for doing it over this amount of time. And I think like we all get in trouble a little bit wanting to, uh, bypass all the messy bits in the middle.
Angie Colee (32:19):
Yeah. The muddle in the middle. Uh, and we just wanna go from, I had the idea today to, I am a shining star of success at the end, but it's really just going to be one process, one step in the process at a time. And I was actually glad that you brought up the multiple revenue streams because that's, you know, if, if that's where you are, one revenue stream, you're just getting started, okay, cool. Start putting some money in savings. Keep putting yourself out there and look for those opportunities to add another revenue stream. Because that's why employees get in trouble, guys. They've got one egg in one basket.
Kris Bryant (32:54):
Yep. And it sucks. It's so mm-hmm. stressful and I mean, the, the world is not making it easy. Right. Society's not inflation. Yeah. Everything going up. And I, I'm, I live in Massachusetts, so it's expensive as hell out here to, you know, most people have to have roommates or a spouse to, to be able to make ends meet and live comfortably. So, um, just one stream of income doesn't work for me. Yeah. And I, I won't make that work for me ever again. And then, you know, things can happen, things can change, you know, like it's stuff's constantly evolving, whether it's social media, technology, you know, so a stream of income that I have now, I might not have two years from now. Or maybe I will, I might be able to grow it more. I don't know, but mm-hmm. , I know that I wanna have multiple streams of income always so that whatever happens, if I have to get rid of one for whatever reason, I will be okay.
Angie Colee (33:49):
Absolutely. I think that's amazing. And you know, what a thought that came up to me just now, let's throw you a curve ball. Tell, tell me, it's none of my business if, if that's a perfectly acceptable answer. But you, you talked about the video that went viral in an abrupt left turn, uh, and how people were approaching you with brand deals. I imagine there are a lot of people that are curious, like I am, about how you figured out which ones were even legit and which ones you wanted to take, or you, do you wanna go into that a little bit?
Kris Bryant (34:17):
I can talk about that. So I, I get daily inbounds from brands. I've, I've gotten a bunch today and, um, I would say out of the, the inbound stuff that I get, 50% of them I ignore or don't do deal with it all because, um, I, I'm very good at email marketing and I can tell if someone just copied and pasted some and just sent it to me. Yeah. And didn't even, oh, your content's great. Uh, and then it's like the, my name, the font is like much smaller than like all the other words cuz they just copied and pasted it. Um, stuff like that I ignore. But I look up the company, um, I look up, I look at the email that it's coming from to make sure that it's not like a gmail.com, that it's an actual domain. I look people up on LinkedIn to make sure that they actually look work at the company.
Kris Bryant (35:05):
Um mm-hmm. and I look up the company, um, a lot of the times it's, I would say it's 50 50, like 50% of the time I've heard of the brands. Like I've worked with like Panda Express, plani mm-hmm. , um, tools that I actually use. But sometimes, uh, brands might come in that I've never heard of before. So I look 'em up, I check out their social media to see that they have an active presence, that they have employees listed on their LinkedIn. Um, and also one thing that I talk to, I help my clients with is actually pitching to brands. Cuz that's where you can start making even more money instead of, I'm a proactive kind of gal. Like, I don't like sitting around and waiting for opportunities and people to come to me. They do. But it's like, all right, I'm getting this amount of people coming.
Kris Bryant (35:51):
What will happen if I actually pitch? So I make lists of companies that I want to work with and I will pitch to them and, um, a good amount of the time they, I get a yes because my pitches are really good. So love that is another way to eliminate like the scammers is to just be like, all right, well what are the companies that I wanna work with? And you can figure that out by thinking about the kind of tools and products that you use a lot. Um mm-hmm. , like they, I, I like, like digital products instead of like beauty. And I don't do like the beauty and the fashion. I do more like tools, like online tools. So I just think of the tools that I like and I reach out to them so that way, ah, I know they're legit, they're reputable companies. So that's another approach as well. Like, use discernment with the people that are reaching out to you, but also go after the people that you wanna work with.
Angie Colee (36:40):
I love that. I feel like that's an, uh, an underutilized avenue of potential business is something I like to call amplification. Right. Just lifting up other people and showing them that. So I've worked in digital marketing and like online course creation and stuff like that forever. And I used to run the marketing team for a pretty ba he's basically like the Tony Robbins of the online internet marketing world. And people used to come to me all the time and talk about, well, well how do I get a meeting with him? How do I get a meeting with him? And I would tell them, you use his formula. Show us you gotta use the system. Go get a result and write into us and tell us about the result. He reads
Kris Bryant (37:20):
Every
Angie Colee (37:20):
Single one of those. And he might even reach out to you and say, Hey, would you be willing to do an interview with me? I really love your story and it doesn't matter how big or how small your result is. Like he stills all of it. Mm-hmm. . Um, and I think that's just an underutilized way to get the attention of people that you wanna work with. Show them that you're a fan, show them you use their products. Mm-hmm. , show them that you put their stuff into play mm-hmm. . And it's not just about what can you pay me to promote your brand? I'm already a fan of your brand. I would love to work together. Can we talk about what that would look like?
Kris Bryant (37:49):
100%. And I, I, I feel like a lot of creators feel as though, because, you know, if a company hasn't reached out to them already that, oh, why would I bother reaching out? It's like they don't know who you are yet. They don't know that you exist. We don't have 30 million followers on Instagram where everyone knows who you are. It's because they don't know who you are yet. Mm-hmm. . So let me introduce you to who I am and show you what I can do. And usually people are like, oh, this is pretty impressive. All right. I like this, this media kit that you have and, and all that. Let's, let's do it. You know? Yeah. The money they need content, content is huge right now. So many companies need content. Mm-hmm. , why are you sitting back and waiting to, to be discovered? And you don't need to have a lot of followers, you don't need to have any followers. Mm-hmm. , I've already talked about my social media debacle. I didn't even have a social media account to post on. And I'm like, I'm still gonna get the bag. I'm going to Yes. Reach out to people, eliminate my social media all together, leave it out of it, and I will just give you the content directly to the source. Mm-hmm. ,
Angie Colee (38:50):
There's so many ways I'm not gonna let get
Kris Bryant (38:51):
It stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's so many ways to make money with content these days.
Angie Colee (38:57):
Yeah. Oh, I love that you said that too, because I feel like the, the discomfort that we're all facing now as a society, especially as AI enters the scene and we're all trying to figure out what the next evolution looks like, is that the old norm is dying. That you are mm-hmm. , you work for one place per your entire life. You get your pension, you retire, like loyalty company, factory, whatever. I'm not making fun of you, I promise. It's just a paradigm that no longer suits where we have shifted to as a society. So now we've got this digital currency basically, like literally you do not have to have a physical dollar to buy something. Mm-hmm. , it's just ones and zeros floating over your head. . Right. Just transcending cyberspace. I see that as a tremendous opportunity because what money is made up. Yeah. So you can make up as much as you need, man, , I
Kris Bryant (39:47):
Know. Yep. You can make up as much as you need. You can make as much money as you need, but you have to just put in the work, learn the skills, put in the time. I mean, it, it can be time consuming, but you know what, anything worth having, you know, you gotta work hard for it. And, and that's what separates the successful people from the not so successful people. You just have to put yourself out there, learn from the best. Don't be afraid to invest in yourself. I'm a huge believer in, in investing in yourself. That's how I've been able to acquire a lot of the skills that I have from learning from the best. And it helps you. Uh, I don't, I I don't wanna say it's kind of like a shortcut cuz it, it still takes time to be really successful, but I'd rather get all of the helpful information from someone who's already battle tested everything that I need to do. Yeah. So I can eliminate all of the potential or as many of the potential pitfalls as possible and get to where I need to be faster. Mm-hmm.
Angie Colee (40:44):
. Yeah. It's funny like, uh, random soapbox moment, here we go. Here we go. If you are the kind of person that sits on social media and sees somebody work their tail off and put an offer out there and talk about something that they've worked really hard at and they're super proud of, and your reaction is scam, I doubt you're ever going to see success, then I don't give a about your opinion because you haven't even bothered to do five seconds worth of research on what I do. Yes. I'm so like, this is fresh on my mind because I know that people get down a lot when other people form a flash impression. But by the same token, if you're not even gonna give what I have to say a chance and you're just gonna proclaim it a scam ahead of time, and you're not even gonna come into this with the mindset of maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but I'm gonna make something from this work from me, then you don't have what it takes to be a success, my friend. You can get
Kris Bryant (41:35):
It. No, you don't.
Angie Colee (41:36):
But if you stay there and you choose to just be like, why are people trying to take advantage of me looking for that wrongness? You're not going to be that successful person you hope to be. So it starts in between your ears.
Kris Bryant (41:48):
It does. People like that. No, and I just wanna touch on one other thing with that. People like that are so miserable and mm-hmm. , uh, it used to bother me a lot when people would cut. And I don't, I won't say that I get a lot of hate because I really don't. And, um, there's way more positivity and sometimes I would forget about the positivity and focus on that one negative and be like, oh man, I'm not gonna make a video like that again. Screw them. Do you, can you imagine how miserable someone has to be to take the time to consume a piece of your content, watch it, and then take the time to write out a paragraph or whatever it is. Like, and, and it takes so much courage to make content. Mm-hmm. , it takes so much con um, courage to put yourself out there.
Kris Bryant (42:33):
And it, it's, it can be frustrating when stuff like that happens, but it's like, you know what? You're watching my. You're watching me. You just took time out of your day. I don't even know who you are, nor do I care. But you just took time out of your day to write that. Um, yes. And I had something like that happen yesterday, or was it yesterday? It might have been yesterday, where like, I, I had a video and it was like on building a personal brand and something that I put in the comments section was like, oh, who's interested in building a personal brand? And someone in the comments was like, oh, I'm interested. And then five minutes after that, um, someone commented, I'm not interested. And it's like, why even comment? Like why are you commenting? Why do you care? But I I I usually just block people that do that now because it's like I am out here making moves, so mm-hmm. , if you wanna waste your time commenting because your life is so miserable, then have at it. But I, yes. I'm not spending my time doing that. My time is money. I'm busy. .
Angie Colee (43:25):
Oh yeah. I felt the first time I ran ads to the podcast to try and grow the listenership, I had a whole bunch of people like Shabam get out of my feet and I was like, are you sitting alone in your house yelling, spam at the TV when a commercial comes up? Change the channel. Just
Kris Bryant (43:41):
Scroll, keep scrolling. Like people, I, I laugh sometimes because I just think you have to be really miserable in your own life to take. I, I just, I don't care to do that. Like yeah. If I like something I might engage and, and even still, I still might not even engage cuz it's like I just don't consume content in that way because I'm a, I I create. So it's like, you're, you're watching me. I don't do that stuff, but if I like something I'll support it and, and comment sometimes, but if I don't, I just keep scrolling. Like, yeah, why am I gonna sit there and waste my time writing a whole novel about why your video sucked? Like it takes a lot of courage. I'm not gonna knock someone down and be like, oh, that sucked because of this. Why
Angie Colee (44:19):
Move on? And you know what, if you're feeling really spicy around it hit that little bit that says, show me less of this so that they just don't even, you have the power again to de determine what kind of messaging shows up in front of you. People
Kris Bryant (44:33):
Like that just want attention. Yeah. They just want attention. They wanna leverage my traffic to get attention to their stuff and Oh, I see it happen to people all the time and you just, you can't let it get to you. And worst case scenario, just block them and, and move on. Who cares? Like, don't even waste your time engaging with them.
Angie Colee (44:49):
That's actually my rule for it. Like when I ran those ads again, I had people that would interact and I, I had some dude on one of the first ads comments about like, well if you wanna deal with a podcast that's actually making a real difference. And I was like, whoa. Hey, thanks for commenting. Appreciate the algorithm juice. Uh, I take issue with this and like, I was super nice in my response and he wrote back something snarky and I was like, not in my house. Hell yeah. I gave you, I gave you one chance to like prove to me that maybe you said this in a way that you didn't intend. Maybe there's a way that we could get along here, but when you prove that you're basically just trying to promote your show on the back of my ad while being a dick. Yeah. No.
Kris Bryant (45:30):
Doesn't reflect well on that person at all. Yeah. Go take
Angie Colee (45:33):
Your crap somewhere else. This what ,
Kris Bryant (45:35):
Didn't nobody have to go on
Angie Colee (45:36):
This rat.
Kris Bryant (45:38):
I know, I know, I know. But No, it's so funny that you brought that up when I, I, I mean, because I get so much traffic too. It's like you're bound to my, my coach one day when I did bring it up because I had another video that went viral, like this was a, a while back, but I was like, I'm getting all these mean comments. Like I'm getting good comments, but I'm getting a lot of mean comments. And he was like, dude, like if you look at how many views you're getting, how much traffic you're getting, he was like, this video alone, he was like, got 50,000 views. He was like, imagine being in a room with 50,000 people. He's like, you're bound to have at least one crazy person in there. You know? And just, and I was like, you know what? That is so well put. And I, I agree. Like it's just the more you put yourself out there, you're bound to have stuff like that happen. But don't you dare refuse to put out content because you're afraid of what people think. If you're getting hate, you know, it, it happens, it comes with the territory and you're probably doing something right. If people care enough to mm-hmm. to put a comment to take time out of their day to do that.
Angie Colee (46:38):
I love that. Like that's probably the perfect note to end on too. That you're doing something right. Mm-hmm. if you're getting attention, positive or negative. Yeah. Keep that up. Keep people like me and Kris in your corner because we're gonna be going like, yeah, that was a badass video. I love that way to go putting that out, celebrating you, haha. Uh, and then just keep doing it because they're gonna be sad and miserable on their couch not having done with their lives. Mm-hmm. , um, until they change while we're
Kris Bryant (47:06):
Making moves. .
Angie Colee (47:07):
Yep. It's never too late. By the way, if you are the sad sack living on the couch, I was too, once upon a time, you can change your life if you decide it's possible. So that's, that's where We'll yeah.
Kris Bryant (47:17):
I love it.
Angie Colee (47:19):
So this has been fantastic. We went all over the place on that one, but I loved every minute of this conversation. Tell us more about how we can learn about Kris.
Kris Bryant (47:27):
You can find me on Instagram at crush it with Kris. Right now I am coaching, um, entrepreneurs who want to build their personal brand, monetize it, attract their ideal clients, and also getting press and exposure for your business to help also build that personal brand. So you can love it. Send me a message on Instagram at Crush It with Kris. And Kris is spelt with a k K R I s. Um, yeah, and I would be glad to answer any questions that anyone has.
Angie Colee (48:00):
Fantastic, thank you so much. I think we're gonna have to do a follow up at some point because I can sense the future rants. I love it, especially as social media grows and evolves and we figure out what's going on with TikTok, we're definitely gonna have to catch up. So thank you so much for being on the show. Appreciate you.
Kris Bryant (48:16):
Thank you for having me.
Angie Colee (48:19):
That's all for now. If you wanna keep that Kick Ass energy high, please take a minute to share this episode with someone that might need a high octane dose. If you could do it, don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the permission to Kick Ass podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and wherever you stream your podcast. I'm your host, Angie Colee, and I'm here rooting for you. Thanks for listening and let's go Kick Ass some.