Answering “What do you do?” when you do multiple things

Are you a full-time side-hustler and sometimes you’re thrown off by that question that typically one of the first 2? Come on, you know the ones. Where are you from? WHAT DO YOU DO?

Have a listen, and we’ll discuss these.

Transcript

0:00

Hey guys, I’m Brooks and I Mandy. So we’re husband and wife, entrepreneurs and we believe that life and business are a giant adventure and we want to live it with you guys. So let’s

0:11

Get to it.

0:24

Hey guys, welcome back. In this episode, we’re gonna talk about this famous question of what do you do, bro?

0:34

What do you do?

0:37

Right up that. So, um, I do some real estate investing. I run an operate local media company that connects the community with events.

0:53

Sometimes I give away free printers,

0:55

If you buy our supplies Okay, um I think that’s the main thing.

1:01

Oh, I produce events and I feel like you’re like looking at me like there’s more something that I can give you right and

1:06

I’m sure okay,

1:07

Let’s Yeah. Okay, so I do podcasts sometimes

1:10

We are recording a podcast.

1:12

Alright, so I just gave you a really awkward answer for like what I do why is that? Um

1:19

That’s we’re gonna talk about

1:19

Let’s talk about that in this episode. So I have always I personally I’ve had challenges with that question and it’s because I’m involved in multiple businesses at one time and so I don’t know if you like what do you think of that? I think you just have to gauge I feel like you have to gauge who’s asking me first of all,

1:38

Yeah, because it could just be like a common pleasantry like I what do you do? Cuz you know, sometimes for most people, it’s a one word answer. Or it’s like a How are you doing?

1:46

What do you mean a one word answer like I’m a mechanic? A doctor?

1:50

Right? Um, okay.

1:51

All right. Yes. Okay. It do those people answer like that, because they don’t want to go further into it. Like someone’s asking you about yourself. I guess. You don’t know if you’re being genuine or not. And let’s clarify this. Are we talking about like a stranger asked you? Hey, what do you do? Like, obviously, this is someone that just met you. You’re at a cocktail party.

2:07

Yeah. And you’re just making your way around the cheese tray. Mm hmm. And hey, how are you? What do you do?

2:15

Yep, that’s like question number two. Yeah, do you? I’m going to go ahead and say this. I don’t like the question. Um, I don’t know if anyone shares my opinion on this. I feel like it’s kind of a personal issue that I have with the question.

2:29

I feel like

2:30

The reason I don’t like the question is because you don’t know me. And you just, I don’t know, like, you’re asking me what I do. And then either, you may not actually care. Or you may want to see if you if you do care,

2:45

Based on what I say, right?

2:47

Do you want to ask me more questions? Do you say? Does that make sense what I’m saying or not at all?

2:52

Yeah, but you can’t gauge that off of like a, you know, the first time meeting someone whether they’re genuine or not, and to speak and converse. Like you can get out of the way and they can get their cheese from the cheese tray. I mean, I don’t know.

3:05

But can I say I do life like I do I do life you can say whatever you want to say. What do you do? Yeah, but I don’t know now being defensive, right. Yeah. So but in all seriousness, I mean, I guess I am kind of being serious, but a lot, right. So in all seriousness, I mean, what? Um, what do you answer? Hey,

3:25

Yeah. Hey,

3:26

What do you do? Um, now I get a one business thing. I am the mobile rundown. I run the mobile rundown. I had to say one thing because before I would give my long list to and it’s kind of just it’s annoying to listen to. And people get lost in what you’re even saying because they don’t even know what like half the stuff is or what it means. Exactly.

3:46

Yeah. Do you so here’s kind of an added flavor to that. So instead, I’m in the middle of rundown is kind of that one word answer. Do you say Island the mobile rundown comma that does something? Do you give it a further picture? Do you do Say out in the middle rundown?

4:01

I think I answer it with a Have you heard of the rundown? It’s sometimes because it’s kind of it’s a it’s a small sales pitch, but like, depending on who it is. I feel like I give that answer. Okay.

4:14

That’s a good point. So,

4:16

For me, it depends on the audience, right? Yeah. Usually

4:18

I’m kind of like the mental rundown is kind of at the top of the list, I guess of like, what I would say, but for me, it’s I just say, hey, yeah, so we run a local media company. That’s the one word answer, right? Or I’ll say, hey, we run a local media company that like that connects the community to do really fun events. Yeah, um, is kind of one of my probably one of my main answers. So if people out there are in have a job, right, they have a full time position, but they have like a side hustle that they’re growing. They’re literally growing a business on the side. What do you think people I mean, I don’t know. Find out right or wrong to this. But like when people ask them, what do you do? I’m curious what they say and like, what do you think they say? Like, should they promote their, their part time business that they’re growing? Or should they, you know, promote the company that they that they mainly work for?

5:14

Maybe they just say whatever they’re the most excited about. Or maybe it’s depending on who we are and where the, if we’re in the middle of a, you know, cocktail party for maybe just a one word answer, like, Hey, I’m a doctor, hey, you know, raise cats. I don’t, I don’t know. But maybe it’s just kind of whatever. They’re whatever they’re most passionate about, like, depending on the situation.

5:39

So what you’re saying is, depending on their situation, depending on who they’re talking to, maybe as what right that they come up with, I can buy that, um, and for me, so it’s kind of funny, like, literally my wallet right now. I have the most have the most business cards for myself that I’ve ever had in my life. It’s a little obnoxious. So it’s actually kind of funny if this. I mean, I’ve This podcast but this video maybe I’ll turn this into video I’ll find a way to post this on the screen but literally have one for pull on my wallet. That’s right over here.

6:10

So I have one for cartridge world

6:14

so let me just look right here I think it was four if I’m correct so at two for the mobile rundown, okay to four cartridge world, okay, someone needs a free printer get some tenders at a great price to for forefront real estate, which is our company that used to be a licensed brokerage is now a non-license real estate company. And then ooh, three, four, I Excel real estate, which is a cool independent local real estate brokerage in in Alabama and that I now hold my broker’s license that so I have four business cards. Now. I adjusted my header and I’ve actually done it on my Facebook page that I have as well destroy emptiness So I’ve adjusted it where it says don’t just think outside the box destroy the box which is personal branding of mine

7:07

Right?

7:08

This is like a tagline that I believe in us it kind of relates to that life and business being a giant adventure so I’ve adjusted it to save that bat logo is almost the large I think it’s five other logos of brands that I’m associated with so it’s a I XL real estate cartridge world the mobile rundown Gulf Coast biz con which is an entity and then I think King Cake off which is an entity that we’re related

7:36

Associated with affiliated with a lot

7:38

Of things it’s a lot of things but I feel like it better relates to me I feel honestly decently comfortable with that process. And so I’m thinking of even making new business cards I just another set of business cards that have that exact branding on it. So just with my just my personal information that exact same thing, my image that don’t know, destroy The box and then the brands that I’m associated with, and then some just general contact info for me to hand those out.

8:04

Brilliant. So now

8:06

I can cover all ground. So no matter who I’m talking to, right, I can connect with them on the basis that I need to cover them with. Um,

8:15

Yeah, yeah,

8:15

You know, I don’t. There may be reasons not to do this, but it’s a fresh idea. And I’m intending to do it. I think it’ll I think it makes sense. I think it’s a good thing. But you, you had a friend when you met, they gave you said you had a really cool response you were talking about? So I thought, I thought we should talk about that. Because for the person that doesn’t want to say, and you know what, I’m gonna I’m gonna go into this too. There’s a book. I can’t think of the book right now. It’s the guy that created the Survivor Series. Like created the show. He also is the one that produced Shark Tank. Mark Burnett. People may not know his name. He’s a Producer right so he’s not a star. He’s a producer. I the book is called dare to succeed I’ve read this book probably five times I don’t even know if you know it Then I read that book. Yeah, um, it is not a New York Times bestseller it is like I don’t think it’s any of those things. I don’t know how ever even originally heard about it. But somehow I got a hold of it. I read it I related to it. One of the things he talks about guy was a British paratrooper came to the United States first job was a nanny in like California beach. Traffic of which city it was, but anyways, that was this job one right job two started hustling selling t shirts on the boardwalk this place making crazy money job three, he parlayed that into a credit card processing business making like crazy money. We’re talking you know, at that point, hundreds of thousands multimillion dollar business. But here’s the comma conjunction but he would sit at dinner parties. When people said, hey, what do you do? Hmm, he would start telling them about that business. Yeah, he said he could see as people’s eyes begin to glaze over. And they weren’t interested. Yeah. And he hated it. Like I can relate to Mark Burnett. Like, I can relate to it. That’s why I talk about destroying the box. That’s why I talk about life and business being a giant adventure, because I don’t want to I know I’m getting kind of serious here for a moment, but I don’t want to go to my like, I don’t want to die. I don’t want to go to my grave like not having tried things that I wanted to try not having attended, you know, certain, you know, business ventures or life adventures or whatever. And so I’m kind of whoever’s listening right now. I kind of just beg you if you if you don’t like telling people what you do, or you don’t feel good about it or you don’t appreciate it, like figure out how to change it. Yeah, you know, start a side business and tell people that right and this is going to be a segue into the thing You heard but like, that part of the book, and there’s tons parts of that book that stuck out to me, but I literally just came to my mind. And so what did he do after that? He figured out how to pitch. He’s like, I’m gonna, I’m gonna start a TV show. So he I don’t remember the race. If I say it, I’m gonna be wrong, but one of them was like, when the Land Cruiser races or land river, I remember this on Discovery. It was on Discovery. It’s not on anymore. But it was like a race with vehicles where they raced. Okay, then there was another show that he created. And he would like now he’s pitching people so at dinner tables, and they’re like, what do you do? He’s like, let me tell you and he literally would get the opportunity to like elevator pitch everyone and so he would tweak it perfect it so when he went into the boardrooms of Discovery Channel, or who hosts Shark Tank now, I’m at ABC News. When he was pitching these guys CBS so when he was pitching them he was like literally perfecting his craft at dinner tables and he got to see when people’s eyes lit up yeah when they were excited about what he was doing and I think that probably is part of kind of part of what drove him or what you know was a part of that so he went on to produce the show survivor after the that land which I think tons of people probably know survivor, I think is the show that put Mark Burnett on the on the map.

12:29

So little sidestep there to say it’s

12:31

Great

12:32

That you can get creative

12:35

To answer people when they ask you what you do. Typically, they’re talking about your job right? But you know, I want to respond like Well, like I do, I do lots of things like I like to hang out with my family. I like to you know, I like to relax. I like to commune with friends. I like to learn new things. That’s not what people are asking. They’re asking, hey, what’s your job man? Right basically what they’re asking right but you heard a cool response. From someone, and I just want you to share it. So like, what was the response that you got when you ask someone what they did?

13:05

I got the response of I do all the things I’m passionate about. That’s a really cool response. I was like, huh. And it led me to ask more questions about that. But I think that it was a, it was a good way of describing that there are multiple things that she had going on, and multiple things that she was interested in multiple businesses that she had going on. I just thought it was I just thought it was cool. I thought it was a great way to put it.

13:29

Really funny. So we’re actually we have one of our businesses is with this individual. And I don’t think I’ve I don’t think I heard you talk about that. But this is funny because we met. We met this person A few years ago, literally a couple years ago. And you’re just now you’re kind of mentioned this meaning it stuck on your mind. Yeah. So what you’re telling me is, Hey, this is one of the coolest, I don’t I probably would be hard to find multiple examples that just pop out in your mind, right what people said, This is what I do. And that’s it. Cool. That’s a cool answer. I don’t know if that’s her same answer. Now, if you were to ask her, it may not be the same, but that doesn’t matter. I mean, the point is, is that she that was like, that was like a, almost like a mission statement. Right? You know, I’m often asked like, hey, do you show us this is what you do? Because I think it’s a pretty powerful, powerful statement. But like you said, it leads to Oh, wow, like, what kind of things are you passionate about? Right, which is cool. And then you can go into the flavor of whatever you want to discuss, right? That you’re working on whatever business or whatever aspect of the business that you’re currently excited about.

14:37

Right? So, um,

14:39

It just opens the door to a deeper conversation, but it doesn’t list out the 14 things. She didn’t tell me the 14 things she wasn’t, you know, dealt with. Exactly said all the things that she’s passionate about

14:49

View and overviews kind of like a mission statement. So I think it’s incredible. So we would task you guys with thinking through that one. If you don’t like your response when people say what do you do spin time? And adjust that. I would say like spin to literally spend time on it, think through it, brainstorm through it. If you don’t like it, because you’re just not happy with the position or the job or the business that you’re in, working work on that to like, figure out how to change that figure out how to mold that figure out how to adapt that. And third, we just give you guy’s permission to provide an answer that’s different than other people. Like there’s nothing wrong with that you can provide an answer like I do all the things I’m passionate about,

15:37

And that can just lead to further conversation. Absolutely.

15:41

Cool. Thanks for sticking with us. We appreciate it and we look forward to connecting with you guys next time.