How to Build a Business in an Industry You Don't Know

Cory [00:00:00] there are doers and then there are talkers, right? , And most folks just don't do, they talk. An idea's just an idea.

Cory You might have the most amazing idea in the world, but probably 1,000 other people have it. And, the differentiator between the entrepreneurs that are successful and those that, aren't are they get it done.

LuRae Welcome to And Then I Did This. Prepare to be inspired as we celebrate the unique journeys of individuals who've had the courage to break free and live life on their own terms. Their lives prove that you truly can be free to live your best and most authentic life.

Cory Let's get to it

LuRae Welcome to the show.

LuRae Today I have a special guest. C- Corey Blumenfeld is a five-time founder with two exits, having started businesses in industries he knew nothing about. Today, he's the founder of Bluemoso, where he's on a mission to help one million business owners spend less time buried in day-to-day tasks [00:01:00] to focus on what matters to them.

LuRae He's learned that success rarely comes from having all the answers. Corey, welcome to the show.

Cory Thanks for having me, Lori. I'm excited to be here and chat with you and your audience. I know from the, the pre-show conversation we were having, it's gonna be a fun one, so, we'll see where it goes.

LuRae Yeah. so exciting.

LuRae So , share about your background, how you even got on the path of where you are right now. Like, what led you to the path and the lifestyle that you have now?

Cory Yeah, I mean, if we're looking at entrepreneurship, I feel like I was born an entrepreneur. Didn't really know that at first, because, you know, a lot of parents don't go to their, their children and say, "Hey, you know what?

Cory You should take a big risk on yourself. Stability, throw that out the window. y- you go build something." and, you know, that didn't happen in my, in my household. But, I feel like I was born an entrepreneur. In terms of how I got there, it's a long story. I'm happy to chat about it, but,had always [00:02:00] been building stuff, my, my entire life.

Cory I'd always been selling stuff my entire life. I didn't know, you know, whether it was lemonade with my sister in front of the house, hockey cards o- in front of the house, doing bracelets and selling those in front of the house. . Going door to door selling, driveway, you know, raking leaves, shoveling snow, 'cause I'm from Canada originally, a lot of snow there.

Cory yeah. It just, it was something that I felt I needed to do because in my household, you know, money was tight and, you know, I wanted to buy candy as a kid, so I, I, I did that stuff. And so, you know, I thought I was gonna be a doctor my whole life. I was in school to be a doctor, and, didn't go to med school though, but I was in school in my head to be a doctor.

Cory And then in my last year, things were, you know, struggling. Last year I took a course, entrepreneurship for science students, and it was like, "Wow, this is what I'm meant to be doing." You know, people around me were, "Why are you going... It seems like you hate it." 'Cause I was stressing out that, that last year. there was a lot going on at home, and I was like, [00:03:00] "I don't know if I want more school.

Cory I can't be in school for this long." So yeah, at that point I realized, "Okay, I, I need to be an entrepreneur. I've done all this stuff that was entrepreneurial. . The only one I can bet on is myself." But what I did know is- B- you know, entrepreneurship building.

Cory Healthcare at that time was my passion, but being able to build and, and make an impact, through entrepreneurship just lit me up. It gave me purpose. It was kinda like my why. I answered my why versus Oh, wow. I'm gonna be a doctor. I'm gonna be on call for people. I'm not sa- I respect doctors. I r- no, nurses and all that, and we need more, but it just, I don't think it l- was for me.

Cory and then, yeah, you know, so I guess that was the first big like, go away society. I don't care what you think. and now I live in Mexico by the beach. so I grew up in Toronto and, you know, I w- went from thinking you need to build in an office to I [00:04:00] can build s- wanting to build and travel and, just living a really completely different lifestyle.

Cory And so, you know, now I'm building my current business, which is helping other business owners and, you know, this is my fifth business. Well, it's actually my sixth, but my sixth business, helping other business owners, take back their time and delegate from everything that I learned from my previous businesses.

Cory So it's a long story. I hope that we summarized it all.

LuRae Yeah. No, that's, I mean, It's interesting because I've always had an entrepreneurial bent also. I mean, I think, you know, I had my f- my first ba- babysitting when I was 13, had my first checkbook and, you know, was doing and p- buying my own things when I was, you know, still in school, like, you know, in like high school.

LuRae And, and then went the entrepreneurial route even within corporate. I was like a segment manager for business startups that were a success in Entrepreneur Magazine and gave $100,000 away to 10 deserving startups. So I was getting paid to learn how businesses [00:05:00] start, and then I'd always have something on the side.

LuRae I was n- I was always looking at that, "Okay, how can I step out and do something else?" So I relate so much to what you're saying, and when you feel that and you realize, yeah, I can do something on my own, and what you're saying is betting on yourself. Right now for people who are either feeling trapped in corporate roles where they don't, either they don't realize they're just one email or one text message or one Zoom call or one HR meeting away from not having a job, to, being miserable and sticking it out until they f- figure out something else, and that is like no way to live a life.

LuRae I mean, it's no way to live.

Cory I don't see myself living that life. I know there's some individuals that like that type of stability, and I think, you know, I talk a lot about this, day-to day, whether it's on my podcast or my newsletter, about taking back your time, right?

Cory It's okay to live that lifestyle. I'm not gonna judge for that, but I think it's

[00:06:00] important to figure out where are you taking back your time. Okay, so if it's not in work, right? W- where we spend the majority of our... I think, I forget the stat, but like the majority of our, our lives- You know, when we have a career or spent on that career, it's unfortunate, but it is the way it is.

Cory 'cause you're spending, I don't know, nine hours a day, eight hours a day, on that. And then the question is: Where do you take back your time? How do you take it back? So if you're working hard, what aspect are you making decisions and choosing where your time is being spent? So that's my definition of taking back your time, right?

Cory I work hard today so I can choose where my time's being spent. You know, the other thing is with work, I get to choose where my time is being spent. I'm choosing to work on, on this. you know, when people say, "Wow, you work crazy hours," it's like, I, I chose to do that." And the, I, I, like I have power in doing that, which is awesome.

Cory S- but yeah, whether you're working for yourself, you're building something, or you're working for someone else, like or, you know, you're not w- working [00:07:00] for someone else, it's how are you taking back that time? How are you s- making decisions that really are in your best interest?

LuRae Absolutely.

LuRae and I, a- along with what you were saying earlier, yeah, I'm not saying, you know, people shouldn't work a corporate job because... But I think it's smart to have something on the side that's-

Cory I, I wouldn't. That scares me. It's

LuRae my

Cory nightmare.

LuRae Yeah, having something on the side, at least another form of income, is just the smart thing to do, to have, have a side business or a side income stream or something else.

LuRae And I think to your point of one of the things in like Entrepreneurialism 101 is do what you love and outsource everything else, which is where exactly where you come in, right?

Cory Yeah. You know, I think I saw Alex Harmozi talking about this yesterday, you know, where, where he delegates everything, and it's kinda like how I live my lifestyle, right?

Cory The way I look at it is the more time I get back to focus on [00:08:00] myself, my business, my team, the more value I can create, right? So things like walking my dog, doing my laundry, cleaning, up around my house, cooking- I, I like to do all those things, but I know that it's something that, I can outsource to someone and get time back to focus on some other things that will allow me to do more, in the future.

Cory So that's how I look at it. And yeah, I think, you know, multiple re- re- with the current economy, multiple revenue streams are very important, or having a revenue stream that you're in more control of. I think that's super important, right? you know, if you're working a corporate job, you're probably, you know, investing into a retirement fund.

Cory In my mind, that's another revenue stream. But revenue streams are very important, and having that optionality is, gets you places in life.

LuRae Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Talk a little bit about, because your background says that y- I mean, and you say you started businesses you knew nothing about. [00:09:00] Talk about that and what it takes to actually create something when it's not something you've done before and be successful with it.

Cory Yeah. You know- I look back at that, that f- this f- my first business, which I don't even consider a business, but it was a business. that's what my, my professor in an entrepreneurial course told me. we repaired driveways. And, before we, I was working on that, I had no clue to repair driveways.

Cory I got an odd job where I was helping some individuals with their business. they repaired driveways. I would do door-to-door for them. I would help them clean the driveways, all of that stuff. And I think, you know, the first month in, I was asking myself like, "Couldn't I just be doing this?" I can make 100% of the profit.

Cory And so watched a couple YouTube videos and found a friend that had a car, and w- we had this amazing sales pitch. university students pay for our education, right? It just, it made [00:10:00] sense. help us out. and yeah, we did that. You know, my next business was a mobile app. We launched that with hospitals.

Cory I had no clue how to run a business at that point, right? 'Cause I wanted to be a doctor, and no clue how bui- about building technology, product, all of these things, but we built it. We scaled it across Canada and, and we wound up exiting it. and, and the, the reality is it just, we got started, and, for me, it was learning on the go.

Cory It was being comfortable, doing that, and I learned so much. I call that my MBA. The next business, you know, after my first one, I still wanted to be in healthcare. and we built, you know, a software that we, we launched across the US that helped financial advisors and w- wealth managers assess their clients' health insurance and provide them with better health options.

Cory And so they could get a better picture into what healthcare could cost. I wasn't an expert in Medicare. I wasn't an expert in the Affordable Care Act. I learned how to do it because that information was readily available 'cause I knew where [00:11:00] to go and search. You know, with the current business, non-expert.

Cory prior to this, I wasn't an expert in outsourcing. I wasn't an, an expert in working with virtual assistants and virtual talent. You know, I had done a lot of HR work for my previous business because, you know, we're managing teams but you, you know, in all instances there was a clear problem and market need.

Cory And, an entrepreneur is someone that can- says, "Hey, there, there's a clear problem here. Someone needs to solve it. If you're not solving it, I'm gonna go and figure out how to solve it, because all the information I need is out there to solve it."

LuRae Yeah. I think if, if, I mean, people have to be industrious and, and indepen- you know, independent enough to be, to be proactive and do that.

LuRae That, and, it's easy to come up with... I think there's, like, analysis paralysis, let me research this a little bit more before I do something," or, "Let me get this perfect before I can..." I'm sure you see this too, and we know this, better to get something out [00:12:00] there and not have it be perfect and learn, get the MVP, the minimal viable product, like, whatever that thing is, get it out there and get some, get some feedback and then you can refine it.

LuRae But if you keep fine-tuning, fine-tuning, fine-tuning, by the time you get it fine-tuned, someone else will have done what you thought you were gonna do and, and you'll be watching them be successful instead of yourself jumping out there.

Cory The s- you know, I had a mentor once say to, to me, "There are probably 1,000 people who have your, the same idea you have."

Cory 'Cause everyone's scared to share their ideas. They're like, "Well, if I tell you, you're going to, to do this." And we talked about this before, earlier on the call. It's like there are doers and then there are talkers, right? And, and most folks just don't do, they talk. And so, you know, an idea's just an idea.

Cory And so, you know, what he was saying is, like, there are th- you know, you might have the most amazing idea in the world, you may, but probably 1,000 other people have it. And, you know, the differentiator [00:13:00] between the entrepreneurs that are successful and those that, aren't are they get it done.

Cory so for me, you know, I, I share my ideas because the reality is, is someone actually gonna execute on it? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not.

LuRae Exactly. So talk about, like, y- your current company and w- and what you're doing with that, because I know th- they're, you know... One of the things I think that is a challenge for people when they are starting is they're trying to do everything themself, and they may be still, you know, working their job and then trying to get something started on the side.

LuRae So talk a little bit about, 'cause I know i- it's so helpful to have someone else that you can count on, but the process of finding the person and making sure that they n- they can really do what they say they're gonna do, talk about that a little bit, 'cause I think you've got a good angle going.

Cory Yeah. in terms of identifying those individuals, whether they're gonna do, the reality [00:14:00] is Proof is in the pudding.

Cory You, you ha- you have to see execution isn't something you can talk about. it's, it's something you, you demonstrate, right? You, you have to have a track record. You need to be able to show it, and you need to be able to prove it. And there's ways to, you know, if you have no experience, there are ways to prove that you're an executor because you will show someone, right?

Cory You will go and create a sample project. You'll go and do something without need, needing to be told to do it. you know, executors have a track record. they get stuff done. And, and there are different types of people that are needed on a team. But if we're purely talking about the executor, you know, it's something that can be learned.

Cory I think, 'cause I'm not, to be honest, I'm more of, like, you know... I think there's the, the EOS system. I've read this and, and, like, there's the visionary and then the integrator. I'm not the integrator, I'm not the executor, I'm the, the visionary person. I have a lot of ideas, but, you know, I, I have ADHD, so I need to learn to be the executor.

Cory I need to be mindful of it. I need to spot when I'm doing a lot of talking and I'm unfocused, and [00:15:00] then push myself to, to get things done, right? So I do believe you can, like, train the mind to be an executor by being more mindful.

LuRae Absolutely. So how d- what's some examples of how you support people today with your business?

Cory Yeah, so we focus... We have two parts to the business. One, with Bluemosa we focus on more back office roles, operation managers, virtual assistants, executive assistants, social media managers. Then we have CSMOSA, which is more front office, so client success, customer success, account executives, roles like that, that are speaking with, with clients.

Cory the way we support client- is we know how difficult it is to manage an individual, right? There, there's just... As, as a business owner, as a small business owner, as, as a leader in a business, when you start managing other people, you have to set them up for success, right? The other thing is you have to identify the right people.

Cory there's the managing, setting [00:16:00] people up for success, but before you can even do that, you need to make sure you're working with the right individual. And so what that means is just because someone has all the skill on paper, right, even if it shows that they're an executor on paper, 'cause... and that's what you're looking for, if you're gonna manage that individual, you need to make sure that the person shares the right personality type.

Cory They have a good, the communication style, the personality type that's going to mesh with you, the work style is gonna mesh with you. And what we do is we come in and we assess that. We help find the right individuals, for you to work with, and then we help manage that individual, right? You know, as I said, there are different types of, folks.

Cory Sometimes you need an executor, sometimes you need that integrator. Other times you need, you know, a, a different type, personality type. Most of the time people are looking for executors, and the reality is we come in and we first start and find that. You know, the other thing I see business owners especially that are new to managing, they're so nice, they're so kind, and I think that's important in [00:17:00] business.

Cory But sometimes, you need individuals to spot the red flags when people aren't executing, when people are taking advantage of your kindness, when, you know- People need more guidance, right? 'Cause as a, as an operator, as a business o- you're focused on executing, too. And so your time needs to be focused on that, and we come in and we, we help support that as well.

Cory You know, that extra push, that extra guidance. Really setting the business owner up for success, the founder, the leader up for success, and the, the virtual worker up for success.

LuRae Smart. And anybody out there trying to do it all by themselves definitely may need to get in touch with you, 'cause I think you would be a great resource for a lot of, a lot of entrepreneurs out there trying to grow to the next level, and they need some additional support, for sure.

LuRae I have another question for you. if when you think of looking back how you came up with, "Oh, I'm gonna pursue this. This is a m- this is a need in the market. This is something I'm gonna go after." Like, it- for people listening and trying to figure [00:18:00] out, like, what, what should I do? What could I focus on?

LuRae What advice would you have for people?

Cory Yeah, so I think early on in my career I focused, I really wanted to be in healthcare. I really wanted to be a doctor. And I had my blinders on. And so another story about another mentor, um You know, at the same time, from the original story of like the thousand ideas, you know, an individual, you know, this mentor was, was talking to a group of us and was like, "Okay, how many of you are passionate about what you're working on?"

Cory Everyone raised their hand. "Oh, I'm su- I'm super passionate about healthcare. I'm super passionate about this." He's like, "Sometimes passion, can be challenging because you put on your blinders, right?" He's like, "I am passionate about building businesses. I love the idea of building businesses, creating value.

Cory That is what inspires me. And I r- you know, it took me years to realize that because I went through the bl- blinder stage. What am I really passionate about? It's building businesses." So something that I've learned, from th- that

[00:19:00] experience, from my experience in building businesses, is to not force problems, right?

Cory I have the greatest idea in the world. We all pr- have, but there's a lot of, "Oh, if only this existed," right? You know, a lot of business owners and founders will say that. But the reality is, you know, sometimes you, you force that problem, right? in- instead of validating is there a market need? And so, you know, with the current business, like you were saying, I had, I've, I had no experience in this space.

Cory I, I didn't even know that there was a market need for this. But, you know, I started creating a lot of content and brought on my own virtual assistant, and then I had lots of conversations with content creators and other business owners on LinkedIn, and I kept hearing, "It's a challenge. It's a lot of work to manage my virtual assistant.

Cory I've gone through like five of them. No one's sort of the right fit. I, I don't think that folks in the Philippines can handle this workload. you know, I suck at creating systems. I suck at creating process." And I realized, okay, they don't suck at creating process 'cause they've created a process that works for

[00:20:00] them.

Cory The folks in the Philippines are amazing. They're running my business right now. Like it's not about l- geography, right? It's not about the individuals. And then, going, a lot of the times it's, comes back to the founder too, or the, the leader. It's like maybe they don't know how to manage. Maybe they don't have the time to do it.

Cory And so- As I started having these conversations, I was like, "Well, my system's working really well for me. I, I could manage, and, and I think, I, you know, I have a team of virtual assistants at this point. I think they're looking for extra work. Let me ask them." And yeah, like, that business found me because there was a clear need in the market.

Cory And, and, you know, it's a competitive space, so that's okay that there's 1,000 other people with this idea because competition is good. It says there's a market need. it's just how you execute. So everything kind of fell into place because I wasn't looking, because the problem clearly came to me, because there was data that validated that this was a real problem, and it was a problem people were willing to pay for.

Cory So, yeah, it just [00:21:00] unfolded naturally.

LuRae Yeah. I mean, you said, like, two really key things. One, people will sometimes think, oh, there's... You know, whether it's about writing a book or whether it's starting a business. "Oh, someone else has already written that. Oh, someone else has already done that." And to your point, that just says there's interest there, the fact that there are other people doing it.

LuRae And I'm also, you know, we're... A business is like a snowflake. Like, there, you know, there are all different ways. And even though there are how many multiple fast food places, for example, or restaurants you can go to, just because there's one of each genre or food variety doesn't mean you don't open your own version of that because, like as you said, there are other people doing what you're doing.

LuRae The other thing I heard you say is that being really in tune with and open to what you're hearing and not thinking you know everything, you know? It's, there's that saying that you don't know everything and, you know, like, it, it's good to have people who, are smarter [00:22:00] than you, right? You know, pull people in that do, are good at something that you don't necessarily wanna do or it's not your strength or whatever, but being really in tune with what you're s- hearing and seeing, and then validating it.

LuRae That's what I heard you say is that, you know, you listen to people and then you validate it. Yeah, there is a need, and there are other people doing this, so I will create my own version of this. and you went for it. I mean, that's brilliant,

Cory Thank you. Yeah. It's just, it happened, it happened accidentally.

Cory I think the other thing to add is, especially in today's world, it's not- It's not about having the best product unfortunately or the best service. Now, there are outliers. Yes, the best product in certain cases can win, but you know, those who put themselves out there, those who are creating content, those who are creating, a need in the market, m- they, they can, they can make up for where their product or service kind of is weak.

Cory and, and I see this all the time. So you know, [00:23:00] that's where I started putting out content and that's why I started putting out content. And I think for a lot of business owners, you know, there, there's... Okay yes, you need to validate your ideas, you need to make sure you have the right team to support you or the right individuals or the right skill sets.

Cory Sure, that, that a- you know, applies, but it's also how are you putting yourself out there? And I think that was the other thing. I just decided to put myself out there.

LuRae Well, that's why s- and when I remember, you know, and having worked with literally Coca-Cola was a brand, but there were other... When I was, you know, in the ad industry and they were one of our clients, m- but I was, you know, work with other companies.

LuRae Like y- if you don't have a Coca-Cola budget, then you need to be smart about how you get yourself out there. And like or- organic content creation and visibility for whether it's a startup or a new business or a business period, being top of mind and, and people buy from people they trust.

LuRae They don't buy f- they don't buy from a logo. I mean they might, you know, in the, in the... I'll say [00:24:00] in the vanity space, in the space where people are buying like I wanna, you know, look a, a certain way or I l- I just love this brand, hopefully you like it because it's something that works well. But, but people will, will choose to work with someone that they feel like they have some trust with already.

LuRae It just makes it that much easier to step over to the other side as like, "Oh, this looks interesting." Like, "This person seems like they know what they're talking about and they sound like they would be someone I could, could see myself working with." And then they'll be much more receptive or more apt to either message or co- you know, comment on like all the con- great content I, which I already share with you.

LuRae I think your content on LinkedIn, if, if people haven't found you, Corey, they need to go find you because there's, you know, great, just great support and thinking s- you know, strategic thinking. Thinking about how you're doing things as a, as a business owner and how you could be smarter and doing things better and, and just tips and tricks.

LuRae And then, if they're ready to pull the trigger, like you're, you're the one to go [00:25:00] to. Yeah, for sure. So what other, entrepreneurial advice would you give for people if think of people who are f- you know, they're s- sitting in a role where they maybe don't want to be, or they're wanting to do something, or maybe they've been laid off.

LuRae Like, what would you advise them to do to get out of their own way and get going?

Cory Yeah, I think the reality is you have to find a way to get started, right? And I don't like to shit on people and say, "You should get started. You need to get started," but the reality is, you need to get started. You need to be focused.

Cory I think that's important, right? If, you know, if you're constantly trying and testing new things a- and not seeing something through, that can be a challenge. But yeah, there, th- the reality is if you're s- trying to figure out w- what's next, it's, it really... you, you need to take the plunge. And I'm not saying give up everything, quit that job, drop out of school.

Cory That's not, the mindset that I [00:26:00] have. It's figuring out what's the smallest test you can run to, like, validate and test, the idea you've always wanted to test.

LuRae And it's actually making me think of, I know it's... I've made, I created this, like, now it's months ago, but the corporate exit AI blueprint.

LuRae So it's like an AI prompt that they can just go in and put, you know, "Here's what I've done. Here's what I like to do. Here's a, you know, here's what I'm good at. Here's what I want to be doing," and, and it'll spit out, "Here are some ideas for what you could do. Here's how you could make your first thousand."

LuRae and so I know that, you know, a lot of people have done that, but is, you're right. It's, it's just t- even taking the baby step, giving yourself permission to look at, what could I be doing? And then not just keep thinking and ruminating on it, but take a step.

Cory Yeah, you know, like even with this business, so I had, for the first time, the reason I got my virtual assistant was I was working in a full-time contract position, and I wanted to [00:27:00] continue building my personal brand 'cause I, my hypothesis was- That I needed to create a personal brand to build my business.

Cory And so I started doing that. And with the full-time, contract position, I wanted to continue doing it, so I brought on a virtual assistant, right? So me creating content, having a social media manager to support me, right? 'Cause that's what my virtual assistant was doing, was, was very helpful, and that was me taking the plunge.

Cory I kept the, the, the work because I was able to manage it because I had someone to delegate to. So, th- that's what I'm, what, what I'm saying, right? It's, it's there are ways to get started. You just need to figure it out. A lot of folks will say, "Well, I'm working. I can't do this. I can't afford,to give up my job."

Cory That's okay. I couldn't afford to give it up either. I just, you know, knew how important it was for me to figure out the next thing. I, I realized how important my personal brand was, so I invested in myself. I [00:28:00] invested in a virtual assistant to help own my personal brand. So, you know, I think that's another way to look at it, right?

Cory If, if you need to keep that, that job, that's okay. But if you do wanna start something, you can get started. You can run tests. You can outsource stuff if it's that important for you, and I think that's the thing, like how important is it for you? how much do you really wanna do something? You, you, only you can make the decision, right?

Cory no one's gonna force you or push you to do it, and no one should.

LuRae Yeah. And you're so right about building your personal brand. I mean, we see a lot about that, you know, in different places. But having a clear understanding of, like, what do you stand for and what are you wanting to be known for, and, and then creating that, that platform and, and talking consistently about it, that will help facilitate that.

LuRae Step out in, in whatever direction. You can always shift the direction. If you start [00:29:00] in one direction, you can always modify and, and adjust and, and go in another, in another direction. And whatever, whatever fits. I think, you know, we were, we were talking when I initially left my corporate role, I was helping com- it's it's funny to me looking back at it because it was mindfulbusiness.guru.

LuRae So I was helping companies with employee retention, and that lasted a nanosecond. No, I shouldn't say that. It, it lasted, you know, like, a couple years, and then I was like, "No, I do not wanna help..." I just personally did not, was not my why of I wanna help companies retain employees. I wanna help people break free from their nine-to-five.

LuRae So then it eventually became, you know, even though I have, you know, a digital agency also, but I, I, created youcanbefree.life to help people realize they can be free in all kinds of different ways. Whether it's emotional freedom or it's financial freedom or it's, like, your career freedom. Don't feel that you're stifled by the programming that we all received growing up.

LuRae Just like you said at the beginning, you know, go to school, [00:30:00] get a good job, work until retirement. And I add the D for retired, that people are tired by the time. And then they think, "Oh, I'm gonna travel once I'm in my 60s," you know? And unfortunately I've had friends that, r- didn't make it.

LuRae their dream of, "Oh yeah, we've got this, you know, beach property that we're gonna..." Yeah, and then one of them didn't make it. So I was like, "Don't, you know, don't wait to live your life." And that's the, that's the, the message and, and to your point, multiple times, take the blinders off, 'cause it's okay.

LuRae You don't have to do anything like flash cut, but take the blinders off and see what else could you possibly be doing,

Cory Yeah. No, it's super true and it's super... Like, it's, it's very wise, right? And, right, I won't tell a person how to live their life, but I'll focus on how I wanna live my life.

Cory I wanna work. I don't wanna retire. I had a mentor, and I've shared this story a few times, on podcasts. But I had a mentor. He was retired, had a s- a successful business, [00:31:00] and he's like, "Cory, you know I'm retired." And I was like, "Yeah, Scott, but you work so, so hard. What are you talking about? You're now retired."

Cory He's like, "Yeah, I'm retired. I choose what I wanna work on." Right. And that is the whole piece of taking back your time, choosing where your time is spent, right? So for me, I live by the beach. I barely go to the beach, but I know it's there. Like, I've chosen where I wanna live. but I, I wanna see palm trees every day.

Cory I wanna be able to wear my sandals outside, even though my girlfriend and my friends tell me that I need to put on shoes from time to time. You know, I wanna wear shorts every day and a short-sleeved shirt, and I wanna work. I, I want something that fulfills me. And what I'm working on right now, like I, I...

Cory There's a today, there's a tomorrow, and then there's a future. Like I, I see what we could do, and for me it's, it's super exhilarating, right? I, I get to help businesses. I like to help businesses. I get to help, folks find meaningful work, because I found meaningful work, right? I, I get to help support individuals, and like [00:32:00] the...

Cory To me, it feels like there, there is a greater cause here. It's not easy. Like today I'm like struggling like, ugh, is this gonna ever get easy? And it's probably never gonna get easy, but I've made my peace because even though it feels like it's never gonna get easy, it is my easy. Like I found my easy, right?

Cory Like it just feels natural. It's like I want the struggles. I signed up for the struggles, and I'm gonna continue doing this because if I have a day that it just like, I'm... If I have a day where I'm just lying on the beach, that's not fulfilling for me. I do like to lie on the beach, but occasionally.

Cory But you know, that's... I just don't wanna coast by. I want there to be some new problem to solve. That's why I signed up for this lifestyle.

LuRae Yeah. I mean, it's so, it's so good. 'Cause I mean, people will say the opposite like, you know, choose your hard. Like working for an employer is hard. Starting your own business is hard initially.

LuRae And it can be, you know, continue- but it's like choose your freedom. Like what, what i- what does your, what does your ideal life look like? It, you know, that having that clarity, that, that is everything. [00:33:00] And then having the choice to b- just c- just as you said, like I can work on... You know, I think I had taken a, an abundance, w- course after I'd gone to a Dr.

LuRae Joe Dispenza retreat, you know, and he offered his first abundance. You know, he was... People were asking him, "Oh, we wanna..." You know, and he's like, "Oh," you know. he's more, you know, like grounded in like create whatever it is that you want. It doesn't necessarily have to be like, you know, money, wealth, or whatever.

LuRae but part of it was like I, we had to define what was abundance. And like to me, abundance was like working on what I want, when I want, with whom I want, as long as I want, like wherever I want. That's it. Like it wasn't the car or the house or the money. It wasn't any of that. It was the freedom to do, to live life as much as possible on my own terms, right?

LuRae So I hear that in what you're saying,

Cory No, ex-exactly right. And it's important, right? That, you know, I have these tattooed on my arms. It's like, [00:34:00] "Have the most fun," right? With the way I look at what I'm doing, if I, I have to be enjoying, there has to be joy, right? I, I used to say wake up happy every day, and then I realized that's not the right thing, 'cause there's days where we're gonna be sad, there's days where we're gonna sa- doubt ourselves.

Cory But waking up fulfilled, super important. That's fun for me. And then find your easy, right? It's like you choose your hard. It's like for me, I'm gonna go and find what... It's just a little easier, which is the same as saying like, find your hard. It's just a little, it's a little easier for me. So those two th- things really mean a lot.

Cory And yeah, you know, you said some important stuff, like abundance mindset. Like I find far too many people live in, in, you know, this poverty mindset where they don't deserve stuff. they, you know, they have to do this before they can get this, where it's like l- the only way to experience abundance is by believing that you deserve it.

Cory I'm not saying go and be manic and sell everything, and, y- you could, and I would support that, right? Like, [00:35:00] I'm gonna support you either way. But, you have to do what makes what's the most fun for you. What brings you joy, what brings... 'Cause that is where you're gonna be in your zone of genius.

Cory That's where you're going to perform the best, w- That is where, where you're gonna be operating at 110%, when you're in a, in an environment when the energy's just flowing.

LuRae Absolutely. Man, this has been inspiring for me. I hope it has been for the listeners. What, what would you say are kind of final, tips or words of advice for someone who knows that they wanna do something else and hasn't taken the first step to do it yet?

Cory Find the smallest, itty bitty test you can do to validate your... Right? No one's asking to, to dive headfirst in. But if you, you need to find a way to get started, and that's starting small, right? Starting with something adjacent to what your, your dream is. Something that can get you there. And that's what great entrepreneurs do.

Cory You know? They, [00:36:00] they have the vision, and then they know all the little things that they need to do to get there. And so actually putting the plan in place. You know, I've heard for f- I hear it too, I need to get a couple more years to do this. I need more experience to do this. I need to do this.

Cory I need to do that," right? It's, okay, but what can you do today to start? Just what can... it doesn't have to be the whole thing. Just what can you do today that's actually gonna get you there? I never hear that, "This is what I'm doing to get me there," right? "I have to do this first," where it's just like, okay, yeah, well, I'll see you in two years, and you, you'll still be saying the same thing.

LuRae Well, and I, and I think that made me think, of something that's so, like, important for people to realize. We assume everyone knows what we know. We assume that, oh, well, the, you know, no, you know- But no one, no one would pay me to do that. And I use the silly ex- and it's not silly. I use the example of someone who's really great at organizing closets, right?

LuRae Who would have thought someone could be paid to go into people's homes and [00:37:00] organize their closets for them? Like, literally be a professional closet organizer. I mean, it's like the, the craziest things that... I even think people writing down, "What am I really good at? What do people come for advice to me to get help with?"

LuRae Or just listing out their skills. I just think, you know, that, it just reminds me of that, that people underestimate everything they know that others would be willing to pay them to get help with.

Cory I mean, I just talked to a professional organizer this week on my podcast. So yeah, you know, like you put yourself out there, right?

Cory You put yourself out there, you get started, and that's the only way you can take in that energy, right? Like, that you can accept this, right? So, you know, that's why I'm huge on content. Like, put yourself out there. Start creating content. Something will find you. Show, sh- people pay for things when they, they pay for...

Cory They buy from people, right? But what they really do is they buy from experts. So if you are an expert [00:38:00] organizing closets and you're just like, "Look how co-" I would love that, 'cause I'm so unorganized, and I was saying this to, to this individual that I was speaking to. It's like, yeah, I know how, how beneficial it is to have an organized space.

Cory I'm just all over the place, and I love it. You know, I have my, my house- my housekeeper's downstairs right now cleaning, and I love it. I'm just not as g- as good as her at doing it, right? So yeah. So there, there is a need for pretty much everything, I think, right? You just have to go and find those people, right?

Cory I live in Playa del Carmen. There's a coach for every little thing you could possibly imagine, and sometimes folks will come up to me and say, "I'm a coach for this." I'm like, I don't need you. That's cool. Go and find the people that, that need you," right? And, and the only way you can figure that out is by putting yourself out there, and it's never been easier and never been harder to put yourself out there.

Cory Because there's all these free channels, there's a lot of competition, but if you tell your story, right? It's not easy, and it's not saying that people are-

[00:39:00] not saying people are gonna find you, but it's, it's a starting point.

LuRae Yes, exactly. Such good advice. Corey, thank you so much for all the wisdom, gems of wisdom and words of advice.

LuRae Yeah, this is awesome. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Cory Thank you, and I end every call with a fist bump, so boom, thank you for having me.

LuRae Boom. Love it. Love it. And that's a wrap on another episode of And Then I Did This, celebrating the lives of those who've walked away from the beaten path to pursue work and a life that nourishes their soul.

LuRae If you're feeling inspired and ready to explore your own path to freedom, check out youcanbefree.life where you'll find resources and support to help you break free and live life on your own terms. See you next time.