What’s Going On, Hard Knocks community 💰 

Todays newsletter is all about networking. We will be walking you through some of the lessons we have learned since starting the School of Hard Knocks that has allowed us to create a billion-dollar network. This will be incredibly helpful for anyone looking to grow their network extensively or completely build one from scratch. Reply to this email if you want more lessons from the School of Hard Knocks directly!

Today’s Schedule

• How to Build a Billion-Dollar Network: The Lessons & Strategies we used to Build a Billion-Dollar Network

• From the Hard Knocks Library: Dotcom Secrets by Russell Brunson

• In Case You Missed It: We sat down with the former CEO of 7-Eleven and Blockbuster.

Let's hop right in!🔥

How to Build a Billion-Dollar Network

Have you ever been caught in a position where you have a problem? Have you ever felt stuck in your business and needed someone help guide you?

If you have ever felt that way, you are not alone. The truth is, trying to be great at anything can be a lonely journey. Which is why surrounding yourself with a network of like-minded individuals who are on a similar journey is so important. They not only can they relate to you, but they can help guide you through obstacles that they have already overcame.

That is the power of a Billion-Dollar network.

This is one of the main reasons we started the School of Hard Knocks back in 2021. Growing up, we were fortunate enough to have some amazing mentors guide us on a path to success but our peers did not, and it was at this moment that we knew that there was an opportunity to provide mentorship at scale. By using social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, we could connect the general population with successful professionals and entrepreneurs.

We had one problem though..

How are we going to connect the masses to successful entrepreneurs and business professionals if we only know a handful ourselves?

We had to get our hands dirty, hit the streets and go and find them..

This is how the School of Hard Knocks team built a billion-dollar network in under 3 years:

Getting our Hands Dirty and Shaking Hands - If you are building a network from zero (which most of us are), then you have to get out of your comfort zone. You have to be comfortable approaching people who have never seen or met you before. If you look at our content, you will often notice us walking up to a stranger and introducing ourselves despite never having met them before. Many times, these interactions don’t always work in our favor. Some people reject us, but some don’t - and that is what matters. Don’t focus on the results, focus on the action. The key to getting more conversations from an awkward encounter to a potential business relationship is simply to have more conversations. Over time, you will notice you will get better at getting people to connect with you in a short period of time.

It also helps to have an elevator pitch at the ready that includes these three things:

• Establishes Credibility - Successful people like dealing with experts. They are not here for amateur hour. Even if you are starting from zero, find a way to establish some sort of credibility that validates the next two points.

• Intentional - Majority of successful people are not here to play games, and they are very protective of their time - get to the point.

• Provides them with Quick Value - How will connecting with you benefit them? If you can show this in your opener, they are more likely to give you a second of your time to listen to what you have to say.

Used Social Media - In the early days of Hard Knocks, we didn’t have a lot of social proof or many followers. We didn't cold outreach to other business professionals or leaders often, but as we scaled, we learned a lot about what is the right and the wrong way to go about reaching out to people:

• The Art of The Cold DM - The absolute worst thing you can do when reaching out to another account on social media, especially if it’s someone you want to get connected to is send them a message like “Question For you” or “hey bro”. If you are going to send someone a message, similar to approaching someone in real life, send a message with intention behind it. “Hey X, love what you are doing over at -insert company-! Would love to interview you sometime for our channel, we have over 5 million followers on social media and do 100+m views a month.” If you want to pitch someone for your content agency for example, instead of asking them “can I send you a video?” take one of their clips from social media, edit it and then dm them the edited video. “Hey X, I have been following you for a while and really enjoy the content you put out but I had some ideas on how to improve it. I went ahead and edited a video for you, let me know what you think -insert google drive link-”

• Setting Up Your Profile For Success - If someone see’s your message, and they are interested in learning more, they are most likely going to check out your profile. Here are some things we have noticed that work best:

  • Make your profile public. This allows others to see who you are and what you are all about.

  • Have a profile picture that features you.

  • Fill out your profile bio with information about yourself such as where you are from, what you do, and who you help.

Doing these things will increase your chances of getting a response from others and build more relationships.

Building and Maintaining Relationships - Once you have gone through the effort of establishing a connection with someone, a lot of the people you meet will transition into more of a "maintenance" phase. The reason we say this is, for every 10-15 people you meet, you will probably really connect and become close with 2-3 and the rest will be acquaintances. This does not mean that you should let those other relationships die out, but you really will only have time to grow further with a few key people.

Here are some of the things we do at Hard Knocks to maintain healthy relationships with the people we meet.

• Keep in Touch with them on Social Media - This allows you to see what they are up to, send messages when they have special events or post something funny on their story.

• Quarterly Meetups & Grabbing a Meal - Try to meet up with your key relationships once a quarter or a few times a year. If you are in the same city suggest grabbing a meal.

• Not Being Afraid to Reach Out: If you notice you haven’t talked to someone in a while, consider sending a text, voice note or call to them and just see how they are doing. Better yet, if you call them giving them some value from your industry without asking for anything in return, it will make the call much more meaningful.

One of the long term goals of The School of Hard Knocks has always been to connect the people in our audience to the people that we interview. This past week on June 4th, we launched the School of Hard Knocks Community, “School of Mentors”, which will make this goal a reality.

Here’s some of the things that are included:

• Weekly LIVE Mentorship From 7, 8, 9, & 10 Figure Entrepreneurs: Every week we will have a LIVE call with a new mentor where you can ask your questions.

• Access to the "Netflix-for-Entrepreneurs": An exclusive content library with Never-Before-Seen Interviews and Mini Courses, as will as our full uncut interview library!

• Access to "The 9-Figure Network": Join the private Skool community with all of the members and ask questions 24/7 to further your life, career & business.

• PLUS... The First 1,000 Members Get Access To "The Founders Club": This includes a LIFETIME DISCOUNT, a private monthly call with US, first access to ask questions to our mentors, voting on who you want us to interview next, and more perks!

If you would like to become a member of the School of Hard Knocks Community - School of Mentors - Click this link: www.jointheschoolofmentors.com 

Words of Wisdom

From the Hard Knocks Library

In Case You Missed It

On our first call for the School of Mentors we sat down with the former CEO of 7-Eleven and Blockbuster, James Keyes to talk about what led him to be the CEO of two multi-billion dollar companies and the greatest lessons he learned along the way. If you want to access the call recording or get your questions answered by 7, 8, 9+ figure entrepreneurs, be sure to check out the community at www.jointheschoolofmentors.com 

We also posted a podcast with James Keyes in December where we talked about his time running two multi-billion dollar companies. This episode is full of gems on what it takes to be a successful leader and gives you a behind the scenes view on what caused the collapse of Blockbuster.

Let Us Hear From You

What were your thoughts on todays newsletter? Please reply back with your thoughts or things you would like us to include in future newsletters!