Episode 70 - How to Get Clients Using Content Creation in 2026 with Thomas Smith
Most entrepreneurs, real estate investors, and business owners don’t fail because of the algorithm. They fail because fear, inconsistency, and waiting to feel ready stop them before momentum ever starts. In this episode, content strategist Thomas Smith breaks down how to grow online, attract clients, and use social media to create real business opportunities. If you’re a real estate investor, entrepreneur, realtor, business owner, or creator trying to grow online, this episode is packed with practical advice. Stephen sits down with content strategist Thomas Smith to discuss how social media is changing the game for real estate investing, entrepreneurship, and personal branding in 2026. They talk about why many real estate agents and investors struggle with content creation, how to overcome the fear of posting, and why your first 100 posts are about building confidence, not perfection. Thomas shares actionable strategies for growing on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, including how to create content that attracts qualified leads, build trust with potential clients, and stand out in crowded industries like real estate, investing, and business. They also dive into how tools like ChatGPT and AI are helping entrepreneurs create faster, improve marketing systems, and save time while scaling their business. Whether you’re trying to generate real estate leads, grow your investing brand, or build an online business, this conversation will give you a new perspective on content creation that actually drives results.
Stephen and Thomas talked about:
00:00 Why most people struggle with content creation
03:42 Fear of posting and judgment from others
06:54 Your first 100 posts build confidence
10:18 How real estate investors can grow online
14:03 Why authenticity wins on social media
19:17 How to create content when you have no ideas
24:10 How AI and ChatGPT help entrepreneurs
30:40 Hashtags vs keywords in 2026
36:12 One viral video can change your business
43:12 How to monetize attention the right way
46:27 Content creation is personal development
TRANSCRIPT
∎ Teaser / Highlighted Clip
[Thomas Smith] (0:00 - 0:31)
The first 90 days or either your first 100 posts, that's pretty much just nothing but exposure therapy. Like you're not even like those first 100 posts. I don't even think the focus is like being good yet.
It's just like getting comfortable with going out there and flopping and like your delivery is going to be all over the place. You don't even have your own pocket, your own personality on camera yet. This is the time for you to actually figure out or have some sort of as to like, how do you even want to portray yourself online?
Like that's step one.
[Stephen Husted] (0:31 - 2:27)
That's you got to put your unique take on things as well. Like you got to be willing to ruffle feathers and have some talking points so that you can stand out amongst what appears if there's investors, you need to stand out else you start to sound like everybody else, which is damn really want to break away from that part. It's such a huge thing.
∎ Podcast Intro:
I'm Steven Husted, and you're listening to The Breakthrough Podcast, a space designed for clarity, curiosity, and the stories that move us. Here, we step away from the noise and into the moments that define us, the early influences, the hidden struggles, and the breakthroughs that reshape our lives. From personal reinvention to building a life through real estate and entrepreneurship.
These conversations remind us that success isn't a straight line. It's a series of honest decisions, brave actions, and small shifts that change everything. This is where those stories live.
Let's begin.
∎ Guest Introduction:
Today's conversation is a little different because we're diving into something every entrepreneur eventually runs into content. My guest today is Thomas Smith, a content strategist and creator who's helped entrepreneurs grow on social media, build audiences, and turn attention into real opportunities.
Thomas didn't just jump into content overnight. He started behind the scenes managing social media for businesses, and eventually built a career helping entrepreneurs show up online in a way that actually connects with people. In this episode, we talk about the fear that stops most people from posting, why your first hundred pieces of content are basically practice, and how creators can stand out in crowded spaces.
We also get into content strategy, audience building, and how AI is changing the way people create online. If you've ever thought about using content to grow your business, but didn't know where to start, this conversation is for you. Let's get into it.
∎ Podcast Proper:
I've been wanting to have you on for a while.
[Thomas Smith] (2:30 - 2:32)
Yes, sir. They just don't know.
[Stephen Husted] (2:33 - 2:41)
They don't know. Nobody knows. So great.
So good. And you know what's crazy? Today, I literally just jumped off another podcast.
[Thomas Smith] (2:42 - 2:42)
Yeah?
[Stephen Husted] (2:42 - 2:52)
Yeah. Just finished. And I'm like, Hey, I got to go.
And so I finished the podcast. He had five minutes. And so I walked down the block, stretched my legs out, came back, went to the bathroom, grabbed water.
I'm like, okay.
[Thomas Smith] (2:52 - 2:57)
So what, like you were a guest or like- No, I had somebody on mine. Oh, damn. Okay.
So you just stay working, huh?
[Stephen Husted] (3:00 - 3:55)
Actually, today's going to be an interesting day for me. I have another meeting, and then I have a dry run of a webinar. So that's going to happen.
So it's going to be a busy day. Doing podcasts, they can take it out of you and they can take it. It just, there's something about them.
I did this analogy recently. When I'm driving to the podcast, it reminds me of when I used to DJ. So I'd be driving up to the city to DJ, and there's a lot of anticipation.
Okay. What's that crowd going to be like? What's that first record going to be?
What's going on here? And you play it all out. And then when you get on, really what you were thinking, nothing plays out that way.
You just get going into it. And that creativity kind of flows out. Very similar.
And usually when I would DJ, afterwards, I just had to like decompress from it. You know what I mean? Because you're giving so much out.
You got to just step back. So when I finished Rachel, man, I just like, oh shit, I better go. I'm going to go walk.
I'm going to stretch out here. I got to get mentally prepared for Thomas.
[Thomas Smith] (3:55 - 4:36)
Dude. And I feel you because yesterday, because like I have coaching sessions for my coaching programs. And like, they can book pretty much at any time that like it's actually available.
And they were back to back. And I was like, oh shit. All right.
Well, because like coaching sessions, it's pretty much like the same thing. Like they do take a lot out of you because you hop on here and then we're just going to go back and forth and ping pong. It's like, no, I have an entire thing like tailor made for this person.
Have to walk them through it, make sure they understand the frameworks, the concepts. And it's like, oh, we got to do that back to back though. Nine times out of 10, it might run a few minutes over.
So like literally there is no decompressing in between. I'm pressing one red button to go right back and then click join again.
[Stephen Husted] (4:37 - 4:43)
It's wild. Do you get mentally drained from teaching and just being online and doing things like this?
[Thomas Smith] (4:43 - 5:37)
Honestly, not really, man. Cause like I truly do love what I do. I mean like, hell you saw it when I was behind the scenes where I really don't care to be in front of the camera.
So I've always been in this, and especially like with the agency background as well, like it's all go, go, go, go, go. So like now that it's just me and I finally get to like actually focus on my own shit and I'm not trying to teeter and totter between seven to 10 different clients. Like this is the easy game for me.
Like I've already been through the hard part. I'm not going to lie. And it was by design too.
Like I wanted to just put myself in the fire at first and I always wanted to work with agencies. I never once even thought like, hey, I want to stick with one particular company and grow with them over a few years. Like I enjoy the fast paced work that I do.
So now it kind of feels slower. Cause like it's only me and I'll have clientele. We have five coaching programs a month versus seven to 10 accounts a day is not the same thing.
[Stephen Husted] (5:37 - 5:46)
Yeah. You've evolved a lot recently over these years from what I've seen. And I've been there for a part of your journey for the last, what, how long have I known you now?
[Thomas Smith] (5:46 - 5:49)
Let's say like five years, bro. You've been here for most of it.
[Stephen Husted] (5:49 - 6:43)
Yeah. So I'll tell you why I brought you on because I know that being an entrepreneur, a real estate investor, there's another side to this when it comes to getting in front of the camera and shooting content. And there's a lot that goes behind the scenes.
There's a lot of insecurities that can happen in the very beginning. And usually the ones who hold back are the ones that really should be shooting content because their message needs to be put out there to touch others. I can say that my journey has been pretty ups and downs and there's a lot of uncomfortableness to it that I've encountered over the last few years.
But you've been there since the very beginning, day one of that. So I wanted to really deep on as if you're an entrepreneur and real estate investor, how do people start doing that? What have you learned over these years?
Cause you've learned so much, a lot of tricks to the trade.
[Thomas Smith] (6:44 - 7:56)
Yeah. I mean, there's a whole bunch of tricks to the trade, but it's like anything else you have to get started. And for the people who haven't gotten started now, it's not too late.
I mean, chances are you were probably having the same thoughts of getting started five years ago when COVID first hit. And then everyone and their mom wanted to be a content creator, right? That's when it became a reality for a lot of people, even the people who don't even make content.
Now they completely understand the reality of, oh, you can make way more money doing this than going to school for four years, getting your degree and then going out there for Google. I mean, the amount of money that I've seen people make just from being on the platform period, not even selling their own products yet or offering their own services, but just taking advantage of attention. And now brands, they want to come out, they want to work with you.
So now you're in a position to where you can monetize some shit you don't even have inventory of. This is a very unique opportunity. Again, you have to get started.
And I know a lot of people probably aren't going to like this. This is now another job for you. That's the type of discipline that you have to dedicate to this.
This is a brand new profession. Anyone who's going to get into this, oh, I want to make some money real quick. It's not going to be a pretty experience.
[Stephen Husted] (7:56 - 8:22)
And there's some outliers. There's some people that do really good in the very beginning, get lucky, make a bunch of money, but there's a lot that will start off and it will be a long haul of growth. And the ones who have the endurance to stay with it and take the ups and downs and keep moving forward and constantly getting better will succeed because there's a lot of people out here.
I think Mr. Beast's story of 10 years of YouTube until he blew up. That's crazy.
[Thomas Smith] (8:22 - 8:33)
On surface level, dude, especially on YouTube. YouTube is definitely the one. Definitely.
I have a friend right now, he started making YouTube videos when we were still in college. That was back in what, 20... Damn, I sound old.
I'm not that old.
[Stephen Husted] (8:34 - 8:34)
I'm 27.
[Thomas Smith] (8:35 - 8:41)
But people in the comments are like, I'm like, hold on, relax. Back in what, 2019?
[Stephen Husted] (8:43 - 8:45)
I'm the old man doing content.
[Thomas Smith] (8:47 - 9:12)
Yeah, see, look, but you're still able to do it. And that's the thing. But yeah, YouTube, I mean, he was making videos back in 2018 and he got his first 1000 subscribers, I think around 2020.
And now he's counting by 500 subscribers. But the thing is he had to start what, X amount of years ago, eight years ago to do that. So that's definitely a long game.
It's lucrative once you get into that long form money. It's completely different.
[Stephen Husted] (9:12 - 9:20)
What do you think holds people back from shooting content, getting into media for their business? What are those barriers that hold people back for the most part?
[Thomas Smith] (9:20 - 10:05)
The first one is just fear of being judged. Whether that's being from people who are close to you. I think it actually comes more in the form of that than anything else.
But of course, the random comments that you can possibly get, because people aren't used to putting themselves out there in the public eye. I say the first 90 days or either your first 100 posts, that's pretty much just nothing but exposure therapy. Like you're not even like those first 100 posts.
I don't even think the focus is like being good yet. It's just like getting comfortable with going out there and flopping and like your delivery is going to be all over the place. You don't even have your own pocket, your own personality on camera yet.
This is the time for you to actually figure out or have some sort of direction as to how do you even want to portray yourself online? That's step one.
[Stephen Husted] (10:05 - 10:30)
That's huge. Sometimes it takes a long time, especially if you're somebody that wants to get into shooting content, but then you're taking in a lot of content because you're getting pushed from these others like, oh gosh, should I be talking like this? Should I not be saying things like this in my business?
And you're trying to find your way. And it's usually the ones that can kind of branch off, niche in really deep and that have something different that is offered out there. That kind of awesome.
They grow.
[Thomas Smith] (10:30 - 11:00)
Yes. A hundred percent. And that's what I really love to talk about in all my programs is counter positioning.
Like you need to have something that sets you apart, but it's foundational to you. And that's the biggest part of it. Because when people try like the manufactured version of that, now you dive into, oh, this person's just on here to rage bait people.
Like he just wants to get people riled up in the content. There's really nothing fundamentally like different about that person. So for me, my counter position is I'm going to start the video cursing you out.
[Stephen Husted] (11:00 - 11:03)
Yeah. It's wild. You do the great ones on TikTok.
[Thomas Smith] (11:04 - 11:37)
I will start the video by going in on your ass. But then after that I'm getting straight into the value. And these are things that don't rely on hacks or trends.
And that's my counter position. So like, look, my counterparts are not starting the video like that. And they probably nine times out of 10 don't have the same background as me because I came up during agencies.
I'm not one of these creators that got lucky. And like, now I'm trying to sell you on some bullshit course. It's like the things that I talk about, it's going to have a lot of nuance in it.
And just with that experience, like that naturally sets me apart from like the 95% in my field.
[Stephen Husted] (11:38 - 12:00)
Yeah. So let's back it up to like, when we first met, I went to an agency through Upwork, got hired them on. And that little process was, okay, we're going to start to create some scripts and some content for you.
And we go to this. And then we got to that point where I'm like, okay, you need to shoot now. You got to get in front of the camera.
Like they're all waiting there. And they were very clear. What was the name of the company that you were working with then?
[Thomas Smith] (12:01 - 12:01)
Assistant Anywhere.
[Stephen Husted] (12:01 - 12:16)
And they said to me that this is where 90% of people fail right now where you're at. Like, I remember having that conversation. Jackie's on the phone, they're on the phone.
And then you got to start. You worked at the agency. What were you doing through them?
What was your job role?
[Thomas Smith] (12:16 - 13:44)
So it was the social media manager, but the structure of it was very unique. And I've never seen a company like run this way since then. They had a shitload of contractors.
And I mean, it was almost like their own individual network. Like it was not your traditional agency. Maybe like it appeared like that from the client perspective, but it was so many people there that like, yes, I was there for the Canva graphics.
And maybe if you needed a video edited here and there, that was pretty much where it stopped. I wasn't doing anything super meaningful. I really wasn't even on calls with you until the lady, she was going to leave you guys or going to leave the company.
And she was like, hey, Thomas is going to be my replacement. So I wasn't even with you guys at first. I was just the dude that was editing your photos in the background and you never even met me.
But then when it was time for her to leave, she's like, oh, I think Thomas is really good at this. He understands the brand and this, that, and the third. I was like, okay, yeah.
Like I kind of liked the vibe of this dude. Like I've never been on a call. So you were like the first client that I had where it was the creative.
So you're the first client that I had, where I was forced to do the creative and the strategy because before then it was just nothing but creative. Like, hey, Thomas, we had this idea. Can you do this?
I was like, yeah, okay, cool. But I'm never in the meetings with the clients. So that was my whole role there.
Like it wasn't anything super deep, but they were really nice. And I was very impressed by like how they kept everything together by having a network and not like a traditional team.
[Stephen Husted] (13:44 - 13:45)
Are they still in business?
[Thomas Smith] (13:46 - 14:13)
I believe so. Yeah. I think the whole agency like model for the most part, like it's kind of getting dated.
I think it's a dated structure. Like more people are starting to create their own in-house teams because like they're finally able to see how important social is right now. But I just don't see it being a smart investment.
Like at this point in time, like you're going to an agency, what traditional figures are looking like, what 12 posts for $4,000 and you might get a few stories per month. That's insane.
[Stephen Husted] (14:13 - 14:35)
I know that at some point I pulled you from that group, but I think I started to understand that I had to build my own team and everything. Then I was like, okay, videos are costing this. Now I got to get that price down.
I was running that business, like this media business, I'm the CEO of it. So I had to do all these different things and put all these people in place. And then I just remember that I pulled you from them.
Like, I need you. I'm bringing you over.
[Thomas Smith] (14:36 - 14:39)
Yeah. At that time, I was like, all right, let's do it. I'm barely doing anything here.
[Stephen Husted] (14:39 - 15:43)
Yeah. You had some interesting moments with you during that very beginning that you would tell me different things. And I had to figure out how to get grounded.
And I remember posting a couple inspirational posts, but I really didn't know what the term was. And I'd get a bunch of comments and they'd make me uncomfortable. I didn't want to be an inspirational coach.
Yeah. I get comments and DMs and like, hey, that really helped me on this. And I'm like, I don't know how to take it on.
And then it's like, shit, I got to go deeper. I got to work on myself internally. There's all kinds of shit that are starting to come out now.
Content brought that out in a lot of different weird ways, good and bad. And it's interesting too, that when you get into doing content, it anchors in a bunch of different scenarios in your life, business-wise, that I was never aware because I didn't plan this journey out. I could tell you that right now.
I don't know if you remember, but in that very beginning, it was being a realtor, right? Some real estate investing was coming out, but there was no podcast. All these things started unfolding, which happens with this.
Would you agree?
[Thomas Smith] (15:43 - 15:48)
Which, by the way, I was a part of naming the podcast for the people watching.
[Stephen Husted] (15:48 - 15:49)
Yes. Shit.
[Thomas Smith] (15:52 - 16:06)
Yeah. We grew together, man. And we always said that too, because we acknowledge like, we're both very early in this shit.
Because of course, I've been making content for two years at that point. But in terms of being, again, ahead of the strategy portion of it, that was different.
[Stephen Husted] (16:06 - 16:06)
Yes.
[Thomas Smith] (16:07 - 17:24)
So that opened up a completely different avenue for me as well. But yeah, going back to your point about how basically social and content creation is nothing but personal development in disguise. And this is what I always tell my clients as well.
I'm like, you're going to learn a lot of shit about yourself, because there's a whole bunch of different things, especially in that initial period, like I was saying, the first 90 days, you're going to start to notice shit that you never really paid that much attention to at first. Everything from how you look to how you project your voice to, oh, I didn't know my mannerisms were like that. Oh, I didn't know that I used that word so much when I talk.
There's a whole bunch of things. Straight up, you're like, damn, I really sound like that? All those things are going to come to the surface at first, but then even once you get past that, now you're getting into, oh, I really want to build this shit from the ground up.
There's an actual reason why I'm making the content. So now you're getting into the more trials and tribulations of an entrepreneur and not just a creator now. We're past the exposure therapy phase, and now we're entering, oh, damn, how am I going to react when I'm low on cash and I got people to pay?
How am I going to react when rent is due next week and I need to hurry up and sign this client or whatever, and I need to make sure that I'm driving them through my organic system where I have a funnel and, oh, man, we need to change the lead magnet. All these things are going to build you.
[Stephen Husted] (17:25 - 17:25)
Absolutely.
[Thomas Smith] (17:26 - 17:38)
And if you're not strong enough, this is why I tell people it's not always a good thing if you're blowing up quickly, because you have to get through this shit. It's almost like being in the gym, right? You're not just going to walk in the gym one day, and then all of a sudden, you're squatting 315 for reps.
[Stephen Husted] (17:38 - 17:39)
Yeah, put time in.
[Thomas Smith] (17:39 - 18:02)
You had to go through a shit ton of sore days to even get to that point. Bro, you're going to be sore. So this is going to hurt at times, but I think it's 100% necessary to just take that all in as you're going through it.
You cannot have that mental finish line. There cannot be a mental finish line at all. It is whatever I'm going through, I'm growing through.
It has to be that.
[Stephen Husted] (18:02 - 18:52)
Going through, I'm growing through. That's good. That's really good.
And that's the truth, because do you find that people come for various reasons why they want to start shooting content? I'm sure a lot of them come to you and say, just I want to make a bunch of money, period. That's the biggest thing.
I just want to shoot content and make money. I don't really care about anything like that. Everybody has a different thing.
This last agency that we used that's been helping me with just various different things, that was one of the questions. And I told them, how much money do you want to make? I'm like, I don't really care about that part right now.
I go, I just want to build a cohort that can serve a community that they take away and go, that was fucking worth every penny. And this dude changed my life. And now I'm off for the races.
I got to nail that. Fuck the money part of it. The money will come.
But there's others that think much differently and have different ways of approaching things when it comes to content.
[Thomas Smith] (18:52 - 19:24)
And if you want to get into this shit just for the money, there's nothing wrong with that. Let me just say that. There's nothing wrong with it.
I'm just going to say that this might be much more painful experience for you than it is for someone like me who actually enjoys what I do. I enjoy being an educator. I was a writing tutor for two years.
This is why I love breaking down concepts and shit for people to understand. But for me, it's something that I just walked into and I love doing it. But for other people, yes, there's a shit ton of people on here who are selling TikTok shop products for a lot of money just by doing the live social shopping.
And they don't give a shit about the products that they're selling.
[Stephen Husted] (19:25 - 19:25)
None.
[Thomas Smith] (19:25 - 19:30)
That's a real thing. And they're just natural salesmen or saleswomen. It can go either way.
[Stephen Husted] (19:30 - 19:32)
I guess it depends on where you're going with it, right?
[Thomas Smith] (19:32 - 20:35)
Yeah, no, for sure. There's a whole bunch of different factors into it as well. What's your niche?
If you're someone who just gets on there and you want to be a comedian and you want to make people laugh, then you're probably not going to be able to monetize something at the same extent as someone who has a coaching program. Now you might need to rely on brand deals and shit like that, but that can happen and there's nothing wrong with it. There's a million different ways to monetize the content today.
But where I do end up getting confused though, and I see this a lot, there's a lot of people who want to make the art, the very artistic, the very creative. It's not really primed for retention or anything like that. They want to release that because that's their passion, whether they're into music or drawing or whatever.
But then they'll still complain about, oh, I'm not getting any views. So now I'm like, all right, we got to pick one right now. Do you want to just showcase what you have going on?
Which again, that's my personal account, right? Because my account on IG, you already know, my account on Instagram versus the content on TikTok, completely different. Completely.
And I tell my clients this, I'm like, you wouldn't even think that it's the same person making it.
[Stephen Husted] (20:35 - 21:02)
Well, good example. Your Instagram is more artistic. It's moody.
It's photos. It's gym stuff. It's creative.
That is a given. Where TikTok, it's like you're completely unhinged with a great message and let's fucking do this. Do you know that I wasn't following you on TikTok and then found you?
And it was hilarious because then I started watching your videos and they were just feeding it to me and I'm like, oh man, these are great. He's got a crazy audience.
[Thomas Smith] (21:02 - 21:23)
You're like, wait, hold on. He makes content now? That's what people were thinking.
And it's so weird too, especially locally. People are like, bro, I've seen you on TikTok. Oh really?
All your old friends and shit like that. People that I haven't talked to in years. I'm like, yeah, yeah.
They're like, yeah, I see you doing your big one. And it's just so weird because again, I didn't want to even get in front of the camera. I didn't care.
I wanted to be the mastermind.
[Stephen Husted] (21:24 - 21:43)
So what do you think, there's a lot of pressure now for everybody to shoot content, to be out online, especially if they have a business. What are those steps that they need to do to just get started? I know that you don't need fancy cameras and all this crazy stuff.
An iPhone would do the job, but what do they really need to do and what do they really need to focus on in the beginning?
[Thomas Smith] (21:43 - 22:15)
The very first thing is you need to know how your audience acts on social, like the back of your hand. That is by far the most important thing because now if you're going to make content that actually solves a problem in any particular way, let me use this for example, a barbecue company. I used to work with this barbecue company at the last agency that I worked with.
And you would think, oh, they just sell barbecue appliances. They're not really solving a problem. You want to go there and get something like a spatula, whatever.
All right, cool. You go there. But I'm like, no, let's dive deeper.
What if we give tutorials on how to clean your grill?
[Stephen Husted] (22:15 - 22:16)
Oh, that's great.
[Thomas Smith] (22:16 - 23:25)
You know what I'm saying? It's not just, hey, let's slap a clean graphic on here and say, hey, we have this sale going on. It's like, no, let's really dive into what do people have troubles with, especially if you're a business person and you're not just getting on here for shits and giggles and likes and all that.
That's where the content should start. What problems am I trying to solve? So now I can position myself as a solution.
If your content doesn't do that, then it's completely irrelevant because it used to be that you could just get on social. Hell, even when we first started working together, it was good enough to just get on there and just spam informational posts. AI is here.
If I want to know some shit about your business or whatever, then I could easily just type it up and I can get it in a more unbiased fashion. Information is now a commodity if it's the only thing that's driving your content. So now it's like, okay, I really need to go very deep into what does my audience actually need right now.
And people are like, oh, how do I figure that out? Now you could go on the creator insights, little feature on TikTok. That's okay.
It's all right. It's still too broad for me. I'd like to actually get in the trenches with this shit.
So I'm talking about going into forums.
[Stephen Husted] (23:25 - 23:25)
Reddit.
[Thomas Smith] (23:26 - 23:55)
Yeah, exactly. Man, Reddit. You can go into like a Facebook group, Quora.
If you do want to stay on the platform, let's say you're on TikTok or whatever, go to the big players in your niche and then look in their comment section, whichever one has the most reactions. That's not just like a joke, obviously. Then now you can start to take note of certain things that are happening in your niche and you're being able to see this in real time.
So that's where you need to start at first, because if you don't do that and everything is just information, it's completely invalid now.
[Stephen Husted] (23:56 - 24:15)
Yeah. You got to put your unique take on things as well. You got to be willing to ruffle feathers and have some talking points so that you can stand out amongst what appears.
If there's investors, you need to stand out else you start to sound like everybody else. Damn, you really want to break away from that part. It's such a huge thing.
[Thomas Smith] (24:15 - 24:32)
And don't make the content for the people in your niche. Make the content for the people who actually need your help. And I see that a lot with realtors and shit like that too.
When they try breaking things down and they're using all these acronyms and shit like that, I'm like, bro, no one understands what you're talking about besides the other experts.
[Stephen Husted] (24:32 - 24:57)
You told me that in the very beginning. I remember that. And I remember you were just saying, you need to put out content like you're talking to a fifth grader.
You have to dumb it down, which is really hard too, especially you do it that way. Sometimes afraid that others are going to judge you because it seems so basic or the way you're framing it. And not the truth.
You want to frame it easy so they can digest, give them a solution and put your take on it.
[Thomas Smith] (24:57 - 25:00)
Yes. And that's how you position yourself.
[Stephen Husted] (25:00 - 25:01)
Takes time to do.
[Thomas Smith] (25:01 - 25:31)
Real facts. Yeah. Just to understand, what angle do you want to be known for?
Did I want to be known as the dude that's coming off as slightly more aggressive? When in reality, dude, I'm chill as fuck. I'm gonna still curse my homies out if I'm trying to get my point across, but like, bro, I'm chill.
You know what I'm saying? So I can go either way. These things are intentional.
But now you kind of have to read the room as a creator. Like, oh, what's actually grabbing people's attention? What's actually positioning me in a different light than someone else who probably knows the exact same shit as me, if not more.
[Stephen Husted] (25:31 - 28:02)
Do you feel so, God, it's been such a damn long road that if I look back, feedback to the point where we were always trying to systemize scripting and would run into these issues where you would script, but then I would read it and I'm like, oh shit, that doesn't sound like me. Like, I don't talk this way. It's always been that way.
You know, I'm at GBT at this point. I've had to train it. What I've learned now is if I could voice memo into Claude or chat percent to get my voice across, and then the 20% is the glue that puts it all together, then it sounds like me.
And I think in the beginning, you don't have direction. You don't really know where to start. There's so many moving parts to all this.
Depending on the level that you're going, heck, there's some people that make this seem so easy and they don't do that much. They just grab their phone. They record a damn video.
They slap on some captions through Instagram and they go about their day. They make one video a day. It's part of their routine and it totally works.
And sometimes I'm really envious of them because I've heard their stories. They're like, oh, I just make a video a day. And there's a lot of different moving parts to it.
But with AI now, because back when I first met you, there was no AI. We didn't have it. It's crazy.
But now you can create a content calendar, topics, grips, in a minute, you're done. But with it taking hiring to the hiring part of copywriters and graphic designers and all those things, you still need to know how to navigate the tools of AI. But you know that we're still in that mode with AI right now.
I talk to a lot of people, they're afraid to use it. I think I take it for granted, but again, I'm completely behind the eight ball on all of it. I'll talk to friends and go, dude, why didn't you put that in chat?
Oh, dude, I need to take you to coffee so you can help me just learn how to use it. I'm like, open the goddamn app. There's a search bar.
Remember, if you think about it, Google was the same way when Google came out. People were just like, why put in that search thing? No, no, no, I'll stick to the phone book or stick to this.
And it took time. And then once they figured out, oh gosh, I just looked up those restaurants and this and, oh, I could get my shoes there. Okay, cool.
Then that habit was created. And the same thing we're at with chat GPT. What's scary about AI right now?
They'll go points in the day, like I'll go hyper-focus for an hour and I'll create so much shit and be done. And I go, oh God, did I work that much? Like, no, no, wait a minute.
I did work. I moved the needle three months in one hour.
[Thomas Smith] (28:02 - 29:03)
And it sounds insane. I get it. I really do because I'm a creator first.
Like mind you back in 2018, I was making short films off of like just me and the homies. Like I have so much content that I've never posted. I'm talking about like full length short films.
Loved it. I'm a creator first. All right.
And I have to say that. So people are, oh, you're so pro AI, AI slob. Yeah, whatever.
When you're in business, it's a completely different game. Your competition is not going to not use AI because, oh, we just want to play fair. This is when you need to start thinking as a strategist, as a business person, as an entrepreneur, you need to learn how to leverage this shit.
You're going to get outflanked, mind you. I'm one person. There's no one else on my team.
I do all my web design. I do all my email campaigns. I've done literally every single graphic.
I've made the ebook, everything. I've still yet to hire a single person to do anything with my content or my business. It's only because I have AI.
Absolutely. It's literally only because of that.
[Stephen Husted] (29:03 - 29:45)
And do you feel like you're some AI expert on all of this? But when you brought up like strategists, once you've put in enough information into chat or Claude or whatever platform you use, it starts to know you. It knows the way you talk, what you look into, what you're getting there.
And so it's getting even better at doing things. So when you're saying, Hey, I really need to think as a strategist, I'm looking to do this. I'm stuck in this part of my business.
I need a little bit more direction. Let's help me do a blueprint to that. It's done.
And it's going to go 10 steps further with you. It is doing things now that are going to push. There's going to be people's businesses that just fly off the handle from it.
And the ones that are going to get stuck like right now, have you started building GPTs?
[Thomas Smith] (29:45 - 29:48)
Oh, I offer a custom one for sale called Tom GPT.
[Stephen Husted] (29:48 - 31:03)
I was just talking about this on the last podcast. She was a real estate investor and she was talking about how she wants to get new investors to understand how to run numbers and analyze deals. And I told her, I go, you know what?
I was forced into analyzing this deal because I needed to do more things than just analyze the property. I needed feasibility and all this stuff. I plugged it all into chat and I went through and I looked at it.
It was so tight. And I was like, fuck these numbers. Good.
This makes sense. You know what I mean? So I had to go call people and bounce off.
But now fast forward to today, we're building GPTs for every little aspect of the business so that you just go, okay, I'm going to do this today. Okay. I'm They were amazing.
They were absolutely amazing. He spent time being a builder and perfecting those, but those same tools through chat would have taken years with other people. And I think that big aspect of shooting content, we're in this age now where we have so much information.
We have AI. We could do so much now. People are in a much better spot.
Our phones have better cameras and dude, you don't need a professional camera anymore, man. Just get the iPhone 17 pro and you're dialed.
[Thomas Smith] (31:04 - 31:23)
That's all I shoot off of. And people are always asking, oh, what camera are you using? I'm like, I'm actually using the front camera as well.
Now, granted my lighting matters more than anything else. And I think that's what people should be paying attention to. They like actually want to make things look crisp, but the equipment that you need now is nowhere near what you needed hell five years ago to stand out.
[Stephen Husted] (31:23 - 31:24)
I agree.
[Thomas Smith] (31:24 - 31:37)
Which is insane. So going back to your point with the AI and stuff like that, and you didn't even explicitly say it, but you know how to use your own discernment from whatever is spitting out. You're not just going, okay, cool.
Copy and paste. We're good.
[Stephen Husted] (31:38 - 32:12)
I did in the beginning, dude, I'll be honest. I did some funny videos about shit. I remember there was doing like copy for listings, right?
Like, Hey, write up this listing. It's in San Jose. It's a three bedroom, two bath house.
It's on this street. It's like, as you walk into the beautiful living room with the light field, I was like, what the hell is this? It was funny.
And then every listing on the MLS, I was making fun of them because they were so hilarious. But once you can get into voicing, getting 80% of it out there and then your tool just turns into a monster for you.
[Thomas Smith] (32:13 - 32:44)
And the way that you use it is actually the exact way that I use it. I love to talk through it. It's kind of like wild.
We are going more towards voice for a lot of things. And like, even for me, when I'm doing prompts, like I prefer to talk into it for a minute and a half and then just let it go all in on whatever I just said. Okay, cool.
I'll take some things I did, take some things I didn't like, and then we'll just tweak it up again. And then rinse and repeat whatever is spitting right back out at you. And this is why I'm always telling people AI is only going to be good.
Well, prompt based AI is only going to be as good as the person behind it.
[Stephen Husted] (32:44 - 32:49)
Yeah. And I don't even know if I'm good at prompting. I let it rip.
That's all I do. I just talk.
[Thomas Smith] (32:49 - 33:28)
But not even just the prompting. But if you're doing a voice prompt, and obviously, like, you know, your shit, like you're just talking into it. I'm talking about, all right, you let that break it down, whatever it gives right back out at you.
Now you have the level expertise to know, all right, what's good. And then what might be a little outdated. So for example, if I were to ask for a social media strategy for a chat GPT, and then it's gonna say, Oh, yeah, make sure you dial in on your hashtag strategy.
And I'm like, all right, we know hashtags are not as popular right now as effective right now. But like, I have the expertise to actually look at that and go, Oh, no, it would actually be better for us to write keywords in our captions, and not just focus on the hashtags.
[Stephen Husted] (33:29 - 33:29)
Yeah.
[Thomas Smith] (33:29 - 33:54)
So yes, you should use AI. But just please know that everything that spits out at you right now, like it's trained off of a whole bunch of other shit that could be dated with information. So like, kind of going back to it's only going to be as good as the person who's behind it.
Because those little nuances are going to be the things that actually push your business forward or your content forward. Because I've had AI tell me to do certain things in my content. I'm like, yo, that's just not me.
[Stephen Husted] (33:54 - 33:55)
Oh, definitely.
[Thomas Smith] (33:56 - 34:02)
I'm not doing that shit. And it'll make a very compelling case. That's like why I should do it.
And I'm like, yeah, that's not me.
[Stephen Husted] (34:03 - 35:00)
So I'm following these two guys right now that are just putting out amazing content. I'll share with them later. But one of them in the chat had mentioned that he uses this app called ARTEC, A-R-T-E-C, ARTEC.
So you can test all your hooks in there. You could upload your scripts first and foremost, and then it will rate it and give you like just information on the hook, the body, your CTA, your outro, whatever, all this different reframing. And then you can upload your video.
Say you finished the video and it will rate it right then and there and give you some advice that might hurt your feelings. But it's been interesting to, and it's all AI based, and then it will help draft up different kinds of hooks that you can test that maybe don't make sense. Sometimes these hooks, they don't resonate correctly.
Like I try to do them. I'm like, what the hell? What is this?
This makes no sense. I'm not great at doing hooks. I'm trying to get better.
You know how it is with content. You're always trying to get better. That is it.
[Thomas Smith] (35:01 - 35:04)
And that's the thing. And how long have you been making content?
[Stephen Husted] (35:04 - 35:07)
So November of 2022, going into 2023.
[Thomas Smith] (35:08 - 35:45)
See, and you're still thinking, oh damn, I need to get better with my hooks. They're not even consistent for three weeks. And they're like, Thomas, I have no traction.
Dude, you just fucking started. What are we talking about? Are you serious?
Everyone is thinking of different things in different ways. Like right now I'm on this run where I'm not even using like an official mic, like this podcast mic in my content. And I'm going back to the clip on, I'm making it feel more like FaceTime.
It's always a test. Like even if it doesn't come off as like something huge, like some big transition within the content, but even using like lighting techniques and like the pacing in my videos, little things like that, you're always supposed to tweak and test.
[Stephen Husted] (35:46 - 36:04)
Do you think that's for everybody? I think they fall in the category of like you, I'm a creator first and foremost. I don't know, sometimes that could be a bad thing when it comes to monetizing things and money.
I'll get in the weeds on a Instagram stories on the track, the song, what music's going with that damn, you know what I mean?
[Thomas Smith] (36:06 - 36:17)
Every time dude. It is not nearly as important as it is like to us as to everyone else, but like best believe I will spend 15 minutes trying to figure out the perfect track.
[Stephen Husted] (36:17 - 36:57)
Damn. I knew you were in my category, so I was okay. I forgot my train of thought on that.
What was I talking about, about people with it? There's so many different levels of content and I think that's what scares some people is they see other people that are really big and they're like, Oh my gosh, that's going to take a lot of time. Maybe they're working within their business.
Personally, I think that anybody in their business can start and it doesn't matter the level. Honestly, I follow this old man who's had a pretty interesting life and he just pulls out the videos moving around. He's got bad audio, but his messaging is great and I watch it.
I listen and I, I like his advice. I think there's buckets of content and there's always somebody out there that wants to hear you.
[Thomas Smith] (36:58 - 39:19)
Or everyone. And I, at first hand, just because when I was working with the agencies, I mean, we had a team agency that, um, assistant anywhere. I worked with a, it was a firefighting company and they would just get more people to like sign up for their, um, like their like CPR.
And like this video, it was just this one dude, he was a and he's just flipping burglar. He's making burgers and I'm telling them, I'm like, Hey, just go in and like document, like what happens in a firehouse? Like we can't just get on here and just, you know, talk about how we're offering classes and they're like, all right, cool.
We'll, we'll try it out. We next day, quarter of a million views and these rare cases where like, of course, like not a single video after that had the same perception, but I mean, they were very consistent. So we're talking like quarter of a million, maybe the next one's like next one's at 75 K.
And I'm like, Oh damn, there's a lane for this. And in the comments are going crazy. Like, Oh yeah, I love firefighter.
And I'm like, dude, something as little as that, like an audience. And you wouldn't think about that being the first niche to gain traction that quickly. So I always point to that particular situation, but it's for everyone.
Like literally anyone can do this. The amount of niche shit on Tik TOK, especially since it's like an interest platform first now. And like everyone else is going towards that as well.
Like catering to people's interest guys, you can start the count today with zero followers. And if it's to pop off with whoever's interested in your shit, like maybe you own a cleaning service or something like that. And you just document like what you do every single day.
You might not be aware as to why the video did that well, but it's actually possible today to just post something. And then your life changes. It's like 1.2 million views on there. It was like my first viral video on Tik TOK. I did it in a rush because someone booked a call with me in 25. This is before like, I actually knew how to like work my Calendly and block out like, Oh, you can't like 30 minutes prior to the meeting or whatever.
So this is before that I'm still a rookie. You feel me? And I'm like, damn, like, I really want to get this video off.
I'm just rushing through it. And I'm like, whatever. It was all right, but I could do better.
I posted the next day I wake up. It's like at 25 K I'm like, Oh, okay. It's pretty decent.
And it just keeps going up and up and up and up and up. And I'm like, am I really going to hit a million views off this one video where I didn't feel like this was my good shit. That's just the power of it.
Imagine how much you would need to pay to get these impressions today.
[Stephen Husted] (39:19 - 39:24)
It's crazy. And so when you looked at that video, why do you think it went viral?
[Thomas Smith] (39:24 - 40:10)
They was talking about how hashtags aren't like, they're not good. Like they're not even useful anymore. Yeah.
It's controversial. Like anyone who's going to tell you about growing on social, they're going to fuck around and tell you to start there. Make sure you have the perfect hashtags and things like that.
Anytime I talk about a hashtag now, like I'm pretty much guaranteed nearly 100,000 views. Like I'm so serious. That's like the one topic where like I can pull out of thin air, boom, 100,000.
But again, just going back to know your audience, this is something that everyone struggles with. If beginners are the biggest part of any niche, they're the biggest demographic out of any niche, it's just people who are trying to get into it and they think that something is true and they swear by it. And you're the one person saying, Hey, it's not true.
And I have proof then it's always going to be compelling. It'll always drive retention.
[Stephen Husted] (40:10 - 41:12)
It's so true. And it's funny when you talk about intraspace on like TikTok, one minute I'm watching a lady garden. And the next minute I'm watching this guy talking about fishing and I'm like, how the heck did I end up here?
You know what I mean? Like what is going on? But you know what, a lot of it, what it comes down to, and I think this is something for people that want to start to shoot is the ones who I feel like are just really authentic and themselves and they just don't know much.
They're talking about what they're talking about. They're putting out as if they were talking to a friend. It really resonates.
I always come back to this one story and this was back during COVID. I was selling this house and the loan officer was in Oregon. And every Friday he would send me a video and the lighting was terrible.
The audio was terrible. He was dry as can be. And he just really was.
He'd get on and go, Hey, just wanted to let you know how the financing is going. Appraisal was ordered. The appraiser is going to reach out this week.
Every week he had a new update. It's 2026. I'm still talking about him.
Fuck. Like think about that. That's crazy.
[Thomas Smith] (41:13 - 41:18)
Yes. And you never know how many people are you going to affect that same way when you're the creator?
[Stephen Husted] (41:18 - 41:58)
Yes. I'll say this for me all the way through this. A lot of people will sit back, not like a video, not comment on a video, not do anything on a video, not show you any love.
But then all of a sudden you run into them and they have this like moment with you. Will you help me with this or getting my business going and are just pushing through this? I'm like, damn dude, you've never commented.
You've never DM'd me, you know, nothing. So you don't know what you're doing until you start doing it. And you never know who you're going to touch.
No matter how big of audience you have, you could have 200 people, three, 5,000, 10,000. It doesn't really matter. I mean, think about it.
200 views. That's a nice group of people if you had them in a room.
[Thomas Smith] (41:58 - 41:59)
No, seriously.
[Stephen Husted] (41:59 - 42:11)
People get all caught up on shit and they're like, well, if you got 500 views there and you got a thousand over there and you got four there. So you're getting thousands and thousands of people watching your content through all these platforms.
[Thomas Smith] (42:11 - 42:50)
I wish there was a 200 to 300 view jail when I first started making content on IG. I wish this was back when you would get literally 12, you'd get like 12 views for anyone who is new to making content. And you're like bitching and complaining about two to 300 views.
Go and look up how many views you would get with zero followers on IG back in 2018, 2017 is a completely different I would have killed for two to 300 views and then putting three of those videos out per day. Oh, man. It's just the fact that people, they want it just way too quick.
And like this whole spike of content creators since 2020, I think that's the reason why.
[Stephen Husted] (42:50 - 43:45)
Yeah. And there's so much more. And God, there's, dude, I got these, I call them Dubai bros that pop into my DMs, man.
They're crazy. They drive me crazy. They'll DM me and dude, I love the grind.
They'll be liking posts and stories. And then you go to their page, they got 50 posts and it's all photos of them. Like next to it coming out of a jet, luxury car, a boat.
And they got these, you know, tacky ass designer clothes on. And then you go to their, they got 200,000 followers with 50 posts and it's all manufactured. Then you go to their comment section and it's like the craziest bot scenario you ever seen.
There is a lot of, and I think that leads right back to the person who's in the backyard gardening and just talking about their vegetables. There's something to be said about that, the connection that everybody is looking for. And you know what?
I'm not commenting on her vegetable garden, but I'm watching it and I'm telling you about it right now.
[Thomas Smith] (43:45 - 44:04)
Right. Yeah. You never know, dude.
I've been done like consultations for celebrities and I had actually one of my clients just ended his coaching program yesterday. He's like a fashion creator. I think you saw this on my story.
After the first week he gets a DM from the running back of the New York jets, Brees Hall.
[Stephen Husted] (44:04 - 44:04)
I saw that.
[Thomas Smith] (44:05 - 44:17)
Insane. And he's like, Oh yeah, dude, I've been wanting to like update my wardrobe to more menswear. And he was like, bro, I don't know what to say.
We hurried up. We had like an emergency meeting. I walked him through it and everything like that.
And like, now he's going to work with them.
[Stephen Husted] (44:17 - 44:18)
Dude, that's so great.
[Thomas Smith] (44:18 - 44:50)
And it's like, dude, and that's insane. I said, you never know who is going to be watching your shit. Now the possibility of you like running into your demographic or someone who's like of high status is actually very high now.
Like they might not like any of your content, but it's actually very high. And it wasn't until I ended up like going all in on being a creator, like for me to truly understand that concept, because I'm getting in contact with people where I'm like, how did you even hear about me? Most of the people who watch my content aren't even from America.
[Stephen Husted] (44:50 - 44:51)
Oh, really? They're in the UK?
[Thomas Smith] (44:51 - 44:52)
They're from the UK.
[Stephen Husted] (44:53 - 44:53)
Interesting.
[Thomas Smith] (44:54 - 45:38)
That's my biggest audience right now. It's been like that for the past four months. I just found this out like maybe like a few days ago.
Why do you think that is? My only guess would be when you use the auto captions, especially if you're doing it straight from TikTok, they kind of revert back to the older English. So like instead of spelling favorite with an O-R, it'd be like an O-U-R.
So I think the little nuance like that, it might push it to the demographic that actually talks like that. That's my only guess. Other than that, I have no idea.
I have no content. That is like my only educated guess. But again, you never know who you're talking to.
Like I just got off of a call yesterday with a guy in Japan and I had to extend my office hours by an hour to like actually fit him in. I'm like, dude, this is insane.
[Stephen Husted] (45:38 - 45:41)
What are you doing for your clients? Because I don't think I even know now.
[Thomas Smith] (45:41 - 45:56)
It's just a program. So it's really meant to do two things. Like obviously the first one is just to improve the content.
So like you actually get in front of the people who you need to. So it's not just, Hey, we're trying to get as many views. It's like, no, we need to get in front of the qualified buyers.
It's very important.
[Stephen Husted] (45:56 - 46:02)
If you're in business, Get in front of the right people, the people that need your help and that are in your tribe.
[Thomas Smith] (46:02 - 47:38)
Yes. And you will have a compound effect and you will start to notice that your niche is much larger than what you think. So that's not saying like, Hey, we're going to limit you down to 2000 views capped out.
No dude, look at my results. The shit gets crazy. But the second part of it is actually learning how to monetize it.
So for the people who have an offer, then that's a little easier for them because now all we need to do is actually focus on like, how do we implement it into the content without it being spammy? Right. But most people, they don't have an offer.
So that's where I'm actually going through with them. Like, Hey, you can offer a consultation call. That's pretty easy, very low effort.
If you want to schedule what or book for another month, Hey, I can literally walk you through how to build your own website. That's getting more into like lead magnets and things of that nature. I've had someone do that as well, but yeah, like it's not meant to be a program where it's like, Hey, I'm going to teach you all the little hacks to be like, no, I'm going to rip your shit down to the studs.
You're going to understand your business. We're going to build a very strong foundation and it's going to carry you through whatever algorithm is out. Because when people were blaming the algorithm for Tik TOK, like, Oh, Oracle has it now.
And my views are so low. My very first video from the ownership switching, I got 30,000 views from it. It's probably like at 40,000 right now.
So I'm like, Hey, I'm just here because I understand the fundamentals. So that's what we'll be doing in the program. And yeah, like I've had people who basically do what I do, join the program and make way more money, but they're just like, yeah, yeah.
That's perfect. They make way more money than me. And they're just like, yo, I just can't break through.
And yeah. So that's pretty much what I'm doing right now. That's the focus.
[Stephen Husted] (47:38 - 47:57)
It's not that you haven't broke through, you will, but that is part of coaching mentorship to get that energy for you to go to the next level too. Cause we're always going to different levels. That is the push.
That is what you want. And you know, this too, when you help people and you coach people, that's a feeling that money can't buy dude. Like seriously.
[Thomas Smith] (47:57 - 48:07)
Facts. Do you know how good it makes me feel to still see you creating on some real shit? Like I still go back.
I reference your account to allow the people who book calls with me.
[Stephen Husted] (48:08 - 48:08)
Yeah.
[Thomas Smith] (48:09 - 48:30)
Actually, like I did that very recently. It was like a dude, he's like an RV sales. And I'm like, Oh yeah.
Like RV sales and like realtors. Like they actually share a lot of commonalities. He's like, Oh really?
I'm like, yeah. You never thought about it like that. I said, I actually know firsthand, but like, see you still doing it.
I'm like, damn bro. Like that, that makes me feel great. Because again, you're my first one.
[Stephen Husted] (48:30 - 48:53)
I can't even believe that we're talking about this on a podcast. And you told me that I had no clue, but it's so cool to hear. And you know what?
This journey is not done. It's always evolving. Like I said, I'm not the greatest at hooks.
I just, I think media, it's weird to say this, but it really helps you just be a better person all across the board on all everything. I don't know why I think that, but it does.
[Thomas Smith] (48:53 - 48:54)
I think it's therapy.
[Stephen Husted] (48:55 - 49:36)
It is. And I'll tell you one more thing. I'll tell you this, and this is for the audience too, especially for ones who want to get started.
Usually that one video that you don't want to put out for whatever reason is the, usually the one that is going to move the needle. People are going to take that one in more. They're going to react to it more.
It's always the video that you think that, no, I don't want to put this out is the one that always does much better every time because it's the realist. It's the deepest ones. It's the ones that you're kind of sharing something that you could potentially get some negative comments or you're just being vulnerable.
And that's sometimes a really hard thing to do, especially if you're putting it out to 10,000 people.
[Thomas Smith] (49:37 - 49:47)
No, a hundred percent. But that's the thing though. It's like you say, it's real.
And like the amount of content that people consume every single day, do you think their bullshit meter is not accurate?
[Stephen Husted] (49:47 - 49:49)
It is now. Definitely.
[Thomas Smith] (49:49 - 51:19)
It's extremely accurate. I mean, it's the only reason why I'm a successful creator right now. It's the only reason not because, Oh, I understand strategy and Oh, my background and agencies and shit like that.
Yeah. Whatever. There's a million of me out there, but they're not going to say this shit the same way that I'm going to say it.
And that's what makes me different. So like that is DNA, right? Cause I've always been outspoken no matter when I was a kid or whatever.
Like I used to be the one kid that would go back and forth with a coach. Like, are you not going to disrespect me or whatever like that? There's a track record of that, but I'm not an asshole or anything like that.
It's just like, all right, this is my demeanor, but I think people should take note. Not just of me, right? Cause I don't want to put myself on a pedestal.
Look at your favorite creators. You don't gravitate to them because they're the only person that you can get this information from. It's how they're delivering it.
Delivery and your topics, which stem from the individual pain points really deep. Those two things right there are going to completely outflank companies that are spending 10, 15, 20, $30,000 a month on content. Cause ads are fucking expensive now.
Anyone who's actually in marketing, you guys know what I'm talking about. Ads are very expensive now. They are nowhere what they used to be.
If you don't get good at this game, like in the next couple of years, oh, it's game over. Cause even Google has something that's almost cannibalizing the sponsored ads on their website, which is Google Gemini, the AI mode. I haven't clicked on a sponsor post in months.
Imagine how expensive those things are getting.
[Stephen Husted] (51:20 - 52:33)
I am not there either, but those are the two things that I'm focusing on. Just going deeper in topics and just trying to get better at delivery. That app that I was telling you about, I just uploaded this one and it rates you like it says, what are the words?
It has influencer as one. I think I hit 84% on one video and it called me an influencer and said that this one is this, but the recent one I put in there, it gave me a 65. It called me a wannabe.
I like cool. All right. And it said, Hey, yeah, the hook wasn't a good hook.
And it wasn't meant to have a hook. I just left the gym. I was in my car.
I press record and record things all the time just to pull little pieces. You never know what's going to be good. And sometimes you're like, ah, just post it.
Some of them, I'm not sitting there trying to like figure out a hook. And this is what I'm trying to do here. Even though there's something to be said to have those structures when you're newer, to have that laid out so that it makes it easier for you to pull from your buckets of the content you want to shoot.
And you can have all that saved with your content calendar. All those things matter. I didn't have those in the beginning.
We didn't have chat. So it was different. And you know what?
I think another big part of this, don't take yourself so serious. Be yourself.
[Thomas Smith] (52:33 - 52:35)
Thanks. A hundred percent.
[Stephen Husted] (52:35 - 52:55)
You might feel intense when you're in your phone on Facebook, on Instagram, TikTok, and it, the world feels really intense. And there's so many topics and our emotions and dopamine are just flying off the handle. But the minute you close the damn app and go to the gym, go on a hike or do something else, man, none of that shit fucking matters.
It fucking doesn't matter.
[Thomas Smith] (52:55 - 53:02)
Now you talk. Yeah. Cause you already know, cause you've always been like that.
But you know, me recently, like I've been running a lot.
[Stephen Husted] (53:02 - 53:03)
Yeah, man.
[Thomas Smith] (53:03 - 53:34)
Like I go out for like a three mile run. I'm like, oh man, after a mile and a half, like, it's just nothing in your head. It's just completely clear.
It's crazy. And then you come back in from that. And then, then you start creating.
It's much better than just like, all right, before I create, let me doom scroll for like 30 minutes. Even if I can't go outside for a run. Cause like, you know, fucking Chicago is snow.
Like I'll sit down and do nothing for 20 minutes. No TV, no music, no type of stimulation right before I get into my recording session. And it's a completely different experience.
[Stephen Husted] (53:35 - 54:15)
It is therapeutic that we find these avenues. Like I can't believe you gave me goosebumps when you said you were running. I was like, fuck yeah, he's running.
I feel like a broken record. I mean, we were just talking about running and creating on the podcast earlier, and I don't want to sound like a broken record, no pun intended, but these are the things we have to do when we're dealing with technology. These days, you have to find other outlets to get off because else you could go down some crazy rabbit holes and make yourself feel bad and feel like the world is crashing in front of you.
It's always been this way, but content amplifies us. We're humans. You're humans.
And so glad you're running. And I know you got your DJ set up too.
[Thomas Smith] (54:15 - 54:44)
Oh yeah. You already know. I was in here the other night.
Cause like now I'm really trying to like force myself to practice, you know? Cause that's just something about me though. Like if I just want to get better at something, I'm just going to put myself in a position to just make it a little bit easier for me to like get into it for that day.
So before I went out to the gym, I hooked it up. So like when I came back, there was no option. So then I was like, okay, cool.
Jump right into it. But yeah, no, I've been wanting to learn how to do that since I was a kid. I was like 11 years old.
[Stephen Husted] (54:44 - 54:44)
That's great.
[Thomas Smith] (54:46 - 54:49)
When Bangarang by Skrillex came out and then that shit changed my life.
[Stephen Husted] (54:50 - 54:51)
Fred again too.
[Thomas Smith] (54:52 - 54:53)
Oh yeah, dude. Fred's legit.
[Stephen Husted] (54:53 - 55:31)
I love that you're into that too. It's like, yeah, that's cool. And it's good that you shared that way.
And that's another thing too. We could leave it at this because I think this is a good ending. You could be an entrepreneur.
You could be running a business, but show your passions. Show what you do. If you're into music, talk about it.
If you're into cooking, talk about it. If you go to the gym, whatever it is, you might think that it's some people can hold you back and say it's cringe. It's not cringe.
Show what you do because those are connector points to others. I connect more with sometimes what people do as far as their hobbies are concerned compared to what they do as a business owner.
[Thomas Smith] (55:31 - 55:34)
Prime example, me and you. We always go back and forth with gyms.
[Stephen Husted] (55:34 - 55:44)
Yeah, we share music. That's a common thing. And so I think that being authentic, don't take yourself too serious, explore your other passions and put it out there in the world.
Those are the keys.
[Thomas Smith] (55:44 - 55:45)
A hundred percent. I couldn't agree more.
[Stephen Husted] (55:45 - 55:51)
This was a long time in the making. I felt full circle to me in a lot of ways.
[Thomas Smith] (55:51 - 55:55)
To me too, dude. Hell yeah. This is definitely a full circle moment.
[Stephen Husted] (55:55 - 56:02)
I appreciate you being there still for me after all these years and watching you grow and you get to see what I'm doing. It's cool.
[Thomas Smith] (56:02 - 56:09)
Yes, sir, dude. It's just as inspirational, damn near even more inspirational from my end looking at you. I'm like, man, this dude didn't stop.
[Stephen Husted] (56:09 - 56:15)
Yeah. And I think that says a lot. Don't stop.
You don't fail until you stop. If you don't stop, you don't fail.
[Thomas Smith] (56:15 - 56:24)
You're the only one. Just keep- A hundred percent. They're like, oh, a hundred percent, 90% of businesses fail within the first year.
I'm like, who the fuck said that my journey was going to take one year?
[Stephen Husted] (56:24 - 56:44)
It's going to take a while, so. For sure. Thomas, well, thanks a lot for joining today.
I really appreciate it. It was a good, nice little change to break up typically who I have on my podcast. It's usually entrepreneurs and investors, but I felt like the content part, a lot of investors want to start investing.
So I felt like this was a good talking point for today's episode.
[Thomas Smith] (56:44 - 56:48)
Yes, sir, man. I appreciate you for having me on. Definitely a full circle moment for sure.
[Stephen Husted] (56:48 - 56:50)
All right, Thomas. Have a great day. Talk to you soon.
[Thomas Smith] (56:50 - 56:52)
All right, man. You too. Yes, sir.
∎ Podcast Outro:
[Stephen Husted] (56:52 - 57:21)
Thank you for tuning into our show where we hope you found inspiration and gained valuable insights. If you enjoyed this conversation and want to stay updated on our latest episodes, be sure to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others who might benefit from it. We appreciate your support and look forward to bringing you more candid conversations and breakthrough moments in the future.
Until next time, take care and keep exploring new ideas and strategies.
