Chapter 1: What are the three core pillars of financial success?
Welcome to a special edition of the Money Mondays where we cover three core topics. How to make money, how to invest money, how to give it away to charity. It is very rare that I don't do this podcast inside of my RV motorhome. It's also very rare that I bring on a guest for a second time.
This guest you're going to see on every single year because he's been the CEO of my company for five, six, seven, eight years now, ever since 2018, 19 range. So Without further ado, I'm going to have Mr. Joey Carson give you a quick two-minute bio so we can get straight to the money.
A two-minute bio?
Good luck.
Wow. Well, maybe I'll try to condense it to under two minutes. A 30-year career in television and film, mostly television. Going back to the late 80s, early 90s on the studio side. Then as an independent producer in the early to mid-teens, and I've had two tech companies, and I've punched in a few times as a turnaround CEO for a few companies, so just keeping it at the high level there.
So as you guys know, these episodes are between 32 and 36 minutes for your listening pleasure because we have a 93% listen-through rate compared to most podcasts that are just too long, too boring, and too much interpersonal talk. We are very straightforward here because I want you guys to be able to listen to this podcast and it's not just for you.
You can share it with your friends, family, and followers, and also with people from your past, present, and future. So it's very important that as you're listening to this, you might think about things that are useful to someone else in your life. All right, Joey Carson. You were just kind of casually going through your 30 year career. Let's talk real.
Talk to us about Buna Murray, the real world road rules, simple life with Paris Hilton. These are major shows that I grew up on and so many hundreds of millions of other people grew up on. Talk to us about that time in your life when you were the CEO of Buna Murray Productions.
It was Probably the funnest time in my career. Second funnest time? Prior to that, I was the head of production and finance at 20th Television at Fox. And I left to go join Breonna Murray.
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Chapter 2: How did Joey Carson transition from TV mogul to CEO?
I had actually worked with them before. They had come to Fox, and we worked with them to do a pilot. And we got along very well, and they were just great. I had heard later that they were looking for somebody like me or somebody to take the company to the next level. And we had a mutual friend and their agent was this legendary Hollywood agent, was their agent.
He was also friendly with me and actually one of my biggest mentors. And so we had a few meetings and they told me that they wanted to grow beyond where they were because at that time they had really just had real world and road rules. And so I left my big, cushy studio job to go over there.
Which was really the, I always tell people I kind of did my entrepreneur career in reverse, because I worked in the corporate side for 10, 15 years. So that was really the first foray into being an entrepreneur, so to speak. And the motivation was, at the time, I had a lot of responsibility at Fox, and I worked on a lot of great projects there. But I wasn't running the entire business, right?
I wasn't in charge of sales or distribution or marketing or those sort of things, even though I was responsible for a lot. And I always had this thought in the back of my mind, I really would like to see if I can run an entire company. And so they trusted me and I went over there. And it was interesting at first because there were...
At that time, there was kind of like just a couple of shows going on. There wasn't like this unified, there was in various degrees of the company. So one of the goals I had was I wanted to turn it into a studio.
And so I tried to, and I think successfully with the help of the people there, brought some kind of the best practices that we had on network broadcast television and films and things like that. And so we, worked together and created kind of like functional processes across the entire company.
The other thing that I wanted to do was I wanted to make sure that when I went in there that I didn't bring in people from the outside. Because when I got there, there was tons of talented people. From creative executives to producers, casting people, editors, camera people, like all of this. And they had actually...
effectively invented the way reality reality television works so I thought you know how can we work together to kind of put this so it can scale like let's think beyond just having a couple of shows what if we have a show on every network let's have a cable show let's have a network primetime show let's have a daytime syndicated show let's do documentaries right all of that sort of thing so um
It took a little while. When you step into a company like that, a lot of people are like, well, who's this guy? What's he going to do? Or am I going to lose my job and that? But the truth is, I went in there with the intention of never, ever wanting to bring in someone from the outside. So I was able to create departments.
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Chapter 3: What strategies can help someone present a money-making idea to their boss?
I could have stayed in that Fox job, and people do. People stay in those jobs for 20 years. But I've always had the personal, I don't know what you want to call it, but I always want to feel like I have unlimited upside potential. It's almost like when you buy a lottery ticket, like the day before, until they actually call the numbers, you start visualizing, okay, I'm gonna do this.
And I like the feeling of knowing that there's unlimited upside. So on the other side of that, anytime I found myself in my career kind of bumping up this against like you just mentioned, like there's no way out, I get really, like a lot of people like the safety, that drives me nuts. Like I like the uncertainty because again, anything can happen.
So, in fact, each time in my career when I made a move, and Buna Murray is a great example, I took actually a backward step. Like when I left my Fox job to go do that, people thought I was insane. They were like, what are you doing? Like you, you know, you work so hard to get, yeah, you're in charge of all this, you're doing this, you're meeting with, you know, famous people all the time.
But that wasn't it for me. It was really more of like a personal challenge. And I really wasn't thinking about the money. Actually, when I first went over there, I was making less money and all the other things around that than I was at Fox. But it was really more like, can I do this? And then again, in the back of my mind, if I'm successful, then it's just going to pay off.
By doing the work, the results will come later. So for me, when I've talked to people before, I talk to a lot of young people or mentor other CEOs and things like that. To me, it's always like one of the fundamental questions is, are you growing? Are you growing as a person? Are you growing with your skill set? Are you stagnating? Because I'll give you an example.
Like in Buena Murray, we were doing all these shows. We kept doing more and more. But I... way back early on, always had an interest in digital media, and this is way before the social media world we know today. And so I actually created a separate division in there specifically to just do digital programming that would go on the phone. And that was in 2004.
That was three years before the iPhone. And then also putting shows on the internet, as we used to say, right? Before YouTube, before any of that sort of thing. And you're just kind of pushing the boundaries. And so I would make these little bets, these little tests, and they paid off, like in a big way. And it just ended up that... It's not like I'm some genius that came up with this.
It's just I saw an opportunity there. It made sense to me. And there's actually been articles written about that, how I did that in other magazines. But that was really more like going in a new direction. Because it's really easy to get. To me, complacency is the biggest enemy of everything.
So someone out there has this vision.
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Chapter 4: Why is mentorship crucial for career growth?
They're like, you know what? I know how my boss and my company could make more money by doing this, like what you did by bringing it to the mobile phone or bringing in sponsorship deals for the real world or different things that we're doing. But they're scared to go talk to their boss. They don't want to get fired. How can they bring up this idea that they have that's there to help?
They're there to make more money for the company and for the CEO. How can they walk into that boss's office and say, here's the idea without hurting their ego?
Yeah, that's another great question. Well, I think a lot of it true, that feeling will depend on what kind of leader the company is, right? So if you have somebody that's more of a micromanager, wants to control everything, that conversation might be a little bit harder to have. I always try to have an environment where, like, we're a team, right? So I want to hear the other ideas.
I want to be challenged on, like, I'm not the smartest guy around, so... But if you're sitting there and you have an idea or you see an opportunity that you think everybody up here is missing, I think it's, and I actually did that many times. In fact, I did that at Buena Murray when I was talking about the phone. I said, I think we should try to do this.
And to their credit, they said, okay, yeah, let's do that. So I think if you're going to make a move like that with your boss, have it really well thought out. Have all the data, do all your market research, this sort of thing, to support your idea. Because you always want to go in with a solution. You don't want to go in with a problem or complaining about this.
You want to go in and say, and in this case, it's more than a solution. It's like, here's an area of opportunity that I think we're missing. Or for us, our business is here, all we have to do is step over here a little bit, and like I did that at Buda Murray where we were doing all this unscripted stuff, And I said, well, we're basically documentary people, right?
So why aren't we making documentary films? We're basically documentarians. Let's do that. So that was just one step over to do that. So I think that helps in a scenario. But I think just being arm of the facts and being enthusiastic about it.
And also, I think if you have a few other people that are on your team, like maybe it's a small group of people or you and somebody else, so you're not just going in by yourself. I think that helps as well.
So they got this idea, they walked in, the boss says yes. But they've never had a mentor before, and I heard you mention that you were mentoring people. Why is it important for someone to either have a mentor or be a mentor, why is that part important to learn things before they go talk to the boss, before they really hone in on that thing that they want to do?
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Chapter 5: What factors should you consider when deciding to invest?
Now, interestingly enough, I'm one of the old guys that talks to a lot of younger people. But what I've come to understand is that this one issue right here is probably, to me, it's the greatest determinant of someone's success. And it is, are you coachable? If you're not coachable, nothing can be done. And we all know people like that, that they have to be the smartest person in the room.
Or if they listen to something, it's, yeah, yeah, okay. And they think that they know more than everybody else. I think a lot of that comes from insecurity. And I think it's just insecurity, quite frankly. So to me, that's the number one question. Are you coachable? Because a lot of people say that. You and I see that a lot.
How many times has a business owner come into us that we're talking to or whatever, and they have a phenomenally successful business, $100, $200 million business. And they'll say to me, like, oh, I'd love to have a guy like you come in. Like, that would be great because I want to bring in an operator, right? And then I'm really going to scale the business.
And the first thing I say to those guys is it's not about me or a guy like me. It's about you because it's one thing to say it. And it's another thing to do it. And they all say it. They all say, I really want to do this. I really want to grow the company. I'm really ready to delegate. Which, by the way, is a skill that has to be learned and executed. But none of them ever do it.
In my experience, that's the number one problem I see with business owners is this iron grip they keep on companies. And again, they're doing great. They're making $200 million a year. But A company making $200 billion, they could be a billion-dollar company or a $2 billion company. And they're the number one thing that's standing in the way because they're not coachable, right?
So to me, it's a limiting factor.
So around eight years ago, You know, you're working with a household name in the TV space. You're working with some companies. Why decide to accept the role to be the CEO of Elevator Studio, an agency doing mostly influencer marketing? Why step into that role?
Because of you. But honestly, when you and I first met, and everybody thought we already knew each other, but we didn't. And... I think the first time we met, we had lunch or something. It's been so long, I can't remember. But we talked, and I had a lot of, it was that sort of meeting. You were asking me a lot of questions, like, what's your story here?
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Chapter 6: How can philanthropy be approached effectively?
And I was asking you a lot of questions about the business, what's going on here. But so beyond your just personality and the way you operated and your intellect, I saw, you reminded me a lot of in my past when I'd work with a great director. or a producer that had a good command of things.
And it was very analogous to the Buna Murray situation in that you were doing something that you were the first guy to do when nobody else has done, which was the influencer marketing. You saw that and you're like, huh, I'll get some brands, we'll pay here, we'll get these influencers.
Influencers didn't exist back then. 2011.
Exactly. So you saw that opportunity and you created that whole thing. And back when we first got together, that was still kind of, you know, on the upswing. And so I thought, and then I saw, and this is the credit to you in the sense that, and you were also doing the speaking thing, but not at the scale you're doing it now, right? If you remember back then, it was very limited.
Yeah.
And so in my mind, I thought, well, number one, this will be fun because you and I get along great. Number two, if my skill set is out here and yours is out here, there's a big overlap in the middle, which I think is really good. So you don't have to explain things to me and I don't have to explain things to you. But at the same time, it's like,
The best use of you is not back at the office, right? The best use and highest use of you is being out there doing what you do, right? And I was and still am at the point, I don't need to be out there doing it. That's not the best use of my time. I could do it, I used to do it a lot. But that's not the best thing for me. And I always remember a great piece of advice I got from Dr. Phil once.
And again, this is where a mentor comes in, right? And it was back earlier in my career when I was doing all these things or whatever. And he said to me, he said, you know, you're doing too many things, like you shouldn't be doing that. And then the quote was, only do what only you can do. and delegate the rest. And then he gave the example. He said, for example, I'm Dr. Phil.
I'm the only one that can walk on the stage and tape the show because I'm Dr. Phil, right? He goes, so I focus on that and everything around that. And then I have a great, you know, the producers and writers and all those things. And I thought that was just a great visual analogy of that. And it really shifted the way that I approached business and things.
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Chapter 7: What is Joey Carson's perspective on wealth transfer to family?
There's all these different visions of Elevator Studio and all these subsidiary companies. How are you managing and orchestrating all the moving parts?
That's a good question. Well, you have to remember, I'm used to doing things like that. So back in the day when we were doing television, whether it was at Fox or Vita Murray, I always had like 10 television shows going on simultaneously.
Simultaneously?
Simultaneously. Like all over the world, right? So there'd be two shows going in Canada, and then another one in Mexico, and then something in Miami, whatever it was.
Travel, production, permits, budgeting.
Right. So in each, like you've got to think of a television show or a film as like that's a company. Sure. That's like 250 people.
Oh, my gosh.
And the budgets can be anywhere from $10 million to $50 million or even higher.
For a few months.
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Chapter 8: How can you navigate today's outrage culture?
We only announce it about three or four days in advance because they're free and there'll be too many people.
And then elevator studio is our main agency We've spent tens and tens of millions of dollars with influencers for brands products and mobile apps We literally invented influencer marketing back in 2011 doing campaign deals with celebrities rappers models and everyone in between and we're still doing that to this day Paying influencers for brands products and mobile apps.
That's our ecosystem in our world So you can check out some of those websites Joey, you start to make money. Someone out there is listening. All right, they're making money. They go from 80 grand, 120 grand. They start making a quarter million dollars. They're really saving up. They bought an investment property. But now they're getting bombarded.
People are pitching them, invest in my clothing brand, invest in my music company, invest in my production company, invest in my pillow company, invest in my this, my that. How can someone decide if they're going to invest into real estate, stock market, cash line business, their buddy's new idea? How do they decide and weed those things out?
Well, I probably have a somewhat different approach to that. I liked how you talked about the increase in your salary over time. I remember thinking early in my career, if I could just make 50 grand, I'm set. And then I'm making 50 grand, and I'm like, this is it? So I'm like, okay, 100. If I can make 100, then I'm going to be fine. Then I get to 100, I'm like... What? It's just a Wednesday.
So then I said, okay, 250. Like, for sure. And I get to that number, and I'm like, what is going on? So... But in terms of my own personal investing style, I remember the first half of my career, I was a corporate guy. So it was all like 401k stuff. And then I had separate like brokerages accounts that I did.
I didn't start investing into real estate, which was like outside of just regular stock portfolio. The other things that I have are like real estate. That came much later when I had more disposable income.
So to me, the earlier you are in your career, I think just building a regular, even if it's something as basic as a mutual fund or something like that, maybe play around with, you know, we didn't have... the crypto back there, Bitcoin back then.
I remember when I was in college, I was a finance major, because at that time I thought I was going to, and Wall Street, the movie was really big, so I thought I was going to go to New York. And everybody did, because of the Charlie Sheen. And Berkshire Hathaway stock was $500.
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