AI transcript
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0:01:08 – Welcome to the Prophg Pod’s Office Hours.
0:01:09 This is the part of the show where we answer questions
0:01:11 about business, big tech, entrepreneurship,
0:01:12 and whatever else is on your mind.
0:01:14 If you’d like to submit a question,
0:01:15 please email a voice recording
0:01:17 to officehours@prophgmedia.com.
0:01:20 Again, that’s officehours@prophgmedia.com.
0:01:22 So with that, first question,
0:01:23 I have not seen these questions.
0:01:26 – Hello, Scott, my name is James.
0:01:28 Thank you for what you do every day.
0:01:30 My question is simple, but requires some background.
0:01:33 How do I scale myself?
0:01:36 What do you do when the product you’re selling is you?
0:01:38 As a physician with more than 20 years experience
0:01:40 in practice, I have some professional assets.
0:01:42 The first is my work ethic.
0:01:45 The second is my experience and expertise.
0:01:47 The third is that I care.
0:01:50 And the fourth is the integrity of my personal brand
0:01:52 that’s been built upon all of the previous.
0:01:55 I’m blessed to have a successful practice
0:01:57 that draws patients from a surprising distance
0:01:59 and for which I am very grateful.
0:02:01 And over the years, people have asked me
0:02:03 to expand my presence locally and beyond,
0:02:05 but I’ve been unable to figure out a way
0:02:08 to duplicate myself to make that happen.
0:02:10 I have very many employees for decades
0:02:14 and they depend upon me and they have made me who I am.
0:02:15 So I don’t want to do anything
0:02:18 to risk my family’s wellbeing or theirs.
0:02:20 I’ve been reluctant to expand my influence
0:02:22 or espouse my opinions through social media
0:02:25 because I don’t want to come off as an opportunist or a quack.
0:02:27 But more and more, I feel like I have something
0:02:28 to offer to a wider audience
0:02:29 and I would like to get it out there.
0:02:31 At least I feel I should try.
0:02:34 If I can’t clone myself to help people face to face,
0:02:37 how do you think I could do it indirectly?
0:02:40 – The first thing is to step back and just acknowledge
0:02:42 you’re building economic security for other people.
0:02:43 It sounds like your employees sounds like,
0:02:45 I don’t know this, but I’m going to assume you’re a good boss.
0:02:48 So you’re kind of riding like, you know,
0:02:50 you’re already on the metal podium.
0:02:51 It’s just a question of whether, you know,
0:02:53 how many golds you collect, if you will.
0:02:56 Look, I’m honestly, this is something I’m good at.
0:02:59 I’m a good professor, I understand marketing,
0:03:01 but the way I’ve been able to build this life
0:03:03 is by quote-unquote scaling myself.
0:03:05 And it all comes down to one statement.
0:03:07 Greatness isn’t the agency of others.
0:03:08 It’s finding good people.
0:03:09 If you have a practice,
0:03:10 that means you can bring in other young,
0:03:11 I don’t know what you want,
0:03:13 orthopedic surgeon or dermatologist,
0:03:14 you can bring in other doctors
0:03:17 and try and create a culture of excellence
0:03:18 such that you can scale yourself.
0:03:20 And when I go, you know,
0:03:22 my friend is the top orthopedic surgeon.
0:03:24 When I hurt my knee, you know,
0:03:25 I saw him for the first consultation,
0:03:28 but then he passed me off to another very talented
0:03:30 orthopedic surgeon to look at my knee.
0:03:31 I ended up not getting surgery,
0:03:33 but you’ve already kind of figured out
0:03:36 that you scale with other good quality people
0:03:38 and you can run a business and run a practice
0:03:40 and try and create a good culture,
0:03:41 try and, you know, try and instill loyalty
0:03:43 by being good to people.
0:03:46 The second thing is you kind of answer your own question
0:03:47 when you’re talking about social media.
0:03:50 If you want to expand your sphere of influence,
0:03:52 whether you like it or not, it’s social media.
0:03:55 I had lunch today with the woman who started,
0:03:56 I think it’s called the Eight Greens,
0:03:58 which is this really cool supplements company,
0:04:00 you know, all that green shit you take in the morning,
0:04:01 I take it every morning now.
0:04:04 And she runs a great business,
0:04:05 but the reason, or one of the reasons
0:04:07 her business is so successful
0:04:09 is not only because she’s got a good product,
0:04:12 but she’s on, she’s very attractive, very articulate.
0:04:16 So the view and, you know, Oprah loved to have her on.
0:04:19 And social media, if you really have desire
0:04:21 to kind of scale yourself,
0:04:23 unfortunately, it involves YouTube, TikTok,
0:04:25 Instagram, all that shit.
0:04:26 And you can be more measured.
0:04:27 You can be one of those doctors
0:04:30 that is a little bit more, you know, measured.
0:04:33 You don’t have to say blueberries will cure your cancer.
0:04:36 But I think doing stuff in an interesting,
0:04:38 visual arresting way that’s compelling,
0:04:41 talking about whatever your domain expertise is,
0:04:44 you know, it’s hard, it’s a slow build and it’s huge.
0:04:47 About 15, maybe even 20 years ago,
0:04:50 I thought, okay, I need to be a, you know,
0:04:53 professor of strategy or brand strategy at Stern.
0:04:55 I thought I want, I have a bigger ambition than this.
0:04:57 Social media, I thought this is gonna be big.
0:04:59 So I did a follower strategy.
0:05:02 Every day I followed 200 people on Twitter,
0:05:03 which is the max you could follow without getting,
0:05:05 and I’m locked out for whatever reason,
0:05:08 and about 60 or 80 would follow me back.
0:05:11 So over the summer, I got 1,000 users,
0:05:13 and over the year I got 10, or 1,000 followers,
0:05:13 and by the end of the year,
0:05:16 10,000 followers now, I’d given up Twitter,
0:05:18 but I had over a half a million when I stopped showing up,
0:05:20 pulling up a seat to the Nazi porn bar.
0:05:22 But I have not huge followings,
0:05:24 but decent followings for a professor
0:05:26 on all of these different platforms.
0:05:28 I have somebody very talented,
0:05:31 George Hahn, who helps me with my social.
0:05:34 I do about half the postings, he does about half.
0:05:36 We take it very seriously, we film video,
0:05:38 we have a firm, we pay $10,000 a month through
0:05:41 that does these mashups of my content or speeches
0:05:44 and turns them into cool little 60 second videos
0:05:48 that we then snake through LinkedIn, YouTube,
0:05:51 TikTok, Instagram, Reels.
0:05:53 We hit all of these things.
0:05:56 So I would say the thing that’s missing here
0:05:57 is thought leadership and social media.
0:05:58 If you want to write a book,
0:06:00 if you want to be known as the doctor
0:06:01 that kind of gets this domain,
0:06:04 but it probably starts with social
0:06:05 and it requires some production values.
0:06:07 You have to hire some people.
0:06:09 The first video, the first thing you do will suck.
0:06:10 You can release it or not.
0:06:11 Just commit to Mr. Beasing it.
0:06:12 What do I mean by that?
0:06:15 The second one, better lighting, better video,
0:06:18 some visuals, topics, read the comments.
0:06:19 Don’t take them to heart
0:06:21 ’cause there’s gonna be bots and weirdos out there
0:06:23 that are just angry.
0:06:26 Also, I’m not sure I would go all in
0:06:29 on any kind of big idea because I don’t know how old you are.
0:06:32 You sounded like you’re in your 40s or 50s,
0:06:34 but if you’re making good money with a practice,
0:06:39 my suggestion would be to double down on that,
0:06:42 make more money, invest in low-cost index funds,
0:06:44 and just build a great life for yourself.
0:06:46 And also start to experiment with thought leadership
0:06:49 and hire someone to manage your social media
0:06:53 and start allocating four to four, eight hours a week
0:06:56 for content that goes beyond yourself.
0:06:57 Appreciate the question.
0:06:58 Best of luck to you.
0:07:01 And again, congratulations on all your success.
0:07:02 Question number two.
0:07:03 (electronic beeping)
0:07:06 – Hey, Scott, this is Barbra from Istanbul.
0:07:07 Long time, this is the writer.
0:07:12 I have a question for you that you might not like answering,
0:07:14 but I think you will appreciate it.
0:07:17 So the other day, I was reading the corporate life cycle
0:07:18 from Espar the Modern,
0:07:20 which I got to know for your podcast.
0:07:21 Thank you for that.
0:07:24 And he was talking about how long-lasting businesses
0:07:27 usually have a sexation plan in place.
0:07:30 They usually think about sexation just in case
0:07:32 and they end up, you know, lasting longer.
0:07:38 But then I can’t help but notice that the podcasts
0:07:42 that you release, like Proficy Markets, Proficy Podcasts,
0:07:44 yes, they’re basically unapproachable branding,
0:07:49 but what happens if you decide to start one day
0:07:53 or if you decide to pass it over, you know, to Ed and a team?
0:07:55 Does that mean you will have to rebrand
0:08:00 or do you have a succession plan that you wish to share?
0:08:04 – Barbra from Istanbul, that’s a good question.
0:08:07 It would be relevant, but I’m going to live forever.
0:08:08 Yes, that’s right.
0:08:11 The midlife crisis, the rest of the adolescence tour
0:08:13 continues, new dates announced.
0:08:15 Okay, enough of that.
0:08:18 Yeah, this business is getting to the point
0:08:19 where I need to be thoughtful
0:08:21 about creating enterprise value.
0:08:23 When it’s just a group of a small number of individuals,
0:08:25 you don’t have a business or an enterprise,
0:08:25 you have a practice
0:08:27 and people are too dependent upon one individual.
0:08:29 I think about this a lot.
0:08:32 Realistically, I’d like to think I have 20 good years in me.
0:08:34 I know I have 10 good years left in me,
0:08:38 but okay, still a lot of people are making good money here.
0:08:40 You want them to continue to make good money
0:08:44 and any business that’s just dependent upon one business,
0:08:45 you know, that’s, you need to be thinking
0:08:47 the way you’re thinking about succession strategies.
0:08:49 So what have I done?
0:08:52 One, you noticed I’ve brought in Ed Elson
0:08:54 and Ed is the co-host of markets.
0:08:58 At some point soon, sooner, actually, I’d like to be sooner.
0:09:01 I want Ed to start co-hosting with guest hosts
0:09:03 that aren’t me such that over time,
0:09:06 ProfG Markets is the brand, not Sky Callaway.
0:09:10 I’m focused on getting us to 20 or 30 million revenue
0:09:12 with 15 million in EBITDA.
0:09:14 I think I can do that in the next three to four years
0:09:16 and then build a series of voices
0:09:19 that I help foster, create good businesses
0:09:22 and slowly but surely reduce the dependence on my voice.
0:09:24 I always start a job thinking, all right,
0:09:26 I either need to have an exit for people
0:09:29 or build something where they could have 10, 20, 30 years
0:09:32 of real solid earnings and help build economic security.
0:09:36 And this isn’t an obvious company that you sell,
0:09:37 although to a certain extent every four years
0:09:39 you sell the cash flows and you can actually make
0:09:42 tens of millions of dollars now if you’re in a,
0:09:44 we have three top 100 podcasts right now,
0:09:45 which is exceptional.
0:09:46 We’re very good at what we do
0:09:48 and we’ve also been very fortunate.
0:09:49 So you can kind of every four years
0:09:52 when the midst of this now renegotiate a deal.
0:09:55 And the way I try and build economic security is I give
0:09:58 and also just selfishly to keep everyone engaged
0:10:01 and acting like an owner is I give everyone,
0:10:03 or not everyone, but the majority of the full-time employees
0:10:06 a percentage of our revenues.
0:10:08 And so the question is how do you maintain
0:10:11 those revenue flows after, you know,
0:10:14 I start going Biden, if you will.
0:10:16 And by the way, I do not run the business.
0:10:18 My partner Catherine Dillon has been running the business
0:10:19 for the last few years.
0:10:21 I have talented producers.
0:10:24 So the risk is that I’m kind of the front end of the talent
0:10:27 and we’re going to need to dilute and diversify
0:10:30 away from that over the next three, five, 10 years.
0:10:33 And we have a plan for that, but it’s a correct question.
0:10:34 Thank you for asking.
0:10:37 A board strategy, a good fiduciary,
0:10:39 focuses on succession strategy.
0:10:42 And that is German companies demand that the CEO
0:10:43 take at least four weeks off every year.
0:10:45 And if the company goes to shit when they’re gone,
0:10:47 they fire the CEO ’cause they need an enterprise.
0:10:49 They don’t need to practice.
0:10:50 Thanks for the question.
0:10:52 We have one quick break before our final question.
0:10:53 Stay with us.
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0:11:58 Okay, so I created a new board for the Dataflow diagram.
0:12:00 Can we update the query to pull in data
0:12:01 from the Southern Hemisphere?
0:12:04 Yes, I’ll get a developer on it.
0:12:06 And with Miro’s seamless third-party integrations,
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0:12:49 for the new year doesn’t include improve your ad targeting,
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0:13:36 Go to linkedin.com/scott to claim your credit.
0:13:40 That’s linkedin.com/scott, terms and conditions apply.
0:13:42 LinkedIn, the place to be to be.
0:13:47 – It’s a new year.
0:13:49 Maybe you’re taking a month off from drinking,
0:13:50 you know, dry January,
0:13:53 and maybe you’re placing it with something else.
0:13:55 – Puff puff pass.
0:13:58 – Some like one in five people who do dry January
0:14:01 say they’re smoking weed instead,
0:14:03 and more Americans are now smoking weed daily
0:14:05 than drinking daily.
0:14:07 Current president is into it.
0:14:09 – No one should be in jail merely for using
0:14:11 or possessing marijuana, period.
0:14:13 – Future president is into it.
0:14:16 – I’ve had friends and I’ve had others and doctors
0:14:19 telling me that it’s been absolutely amazing,
0:14:21 the medical marijuana.
0:14:24 – Failed president and former prosecutor was down to clown?
0:14:27 – People shouldn’t have to go to jail for smoking weed.
0:14:29 – Even health conscious brain worm guy likes it.
0:14:32 – My position on marijuana is that
0:14:35 it should be federally legalized.
0:14:36 – Everyone’s getting down with pot,
0:14:39 but legislatively we’re still stuck with a hot mess
0:14:41 in the United States.
0:14:43 Today explained.
0:14:45 Wherever you listen, come find us.
0:14:50 – Welcome back, question number three.
0:14:52 – Hey, Prof. G, my name’s Jack.
0:14:53 I’m attending Georgia Tech right now
0:14:56 pursuing my undergraduate in industrial engineering,
0:14:57 and I’m 19 years old,
0:15:00 which makes me an infant in your eyes, I know.
0:15:02 I recently landed a big wig consulting internship
0:15:05 at a tier two firm, which I’m pretty stoked about.
0:15:08 But as someone who has no experience at a corporate job,
0:15:09 I wanna make the most of my time there.
0:15:11 What can a lowly intern like me do
0:15:13 to increase my chances at a return offer?
0:15:16 Thank you, Prof, for your insights and dick jokes
0:15:18 and for making the professional world more navigable
0:15:19 for a young man like me.
0:15:22 And a big thank you to my dad, who put me onto your pod
0:15:23 and who makes me a smarter, stronger,
0:15:25 and funnier young adult every day.
0:15:27 Love you, dad.
0:15:29 – Jesus, I’m like still there.
0:15:34 If my son at 19 was a Georgia Tech in this thoughtful
0:15:37 and then took the time to like say something nice
0:15:41 about me on a podcast, you’re a wonderful young man.
0:15:43 So well done to your dad and your mom.
0:15:47 As it relates to your actual question,
0:15:49 okay, the easy stuff, listen more than you speak.
0:15:52 You know, offer ideas when people ask you,
0:15:53 but when you’re in meetings,
0:15:55 just try and do a really good job of listening,
0:15:58 taking notes, show up 10 minutes before everyone else,
0:16:00 stay at least 10 minutes after everyone.
0:16:02 Face time, it sounds stupid,
0:16:03 but you wanna show that you’re there to play,
0:16:05 that you came to play.
0:16:07 Come up with ideas every week,
0:16:09 trying to at least have one or two ideas
0:16:11 and say to someone, can I help you do this?
0:16:13 Or I was thinking of putting together
0:16:15 a list of potential clients or outreach,
0:16:18 or I was thinking about putting together show initiative.
0:16:20 And they might say, no, that’s a bad idea, don’t do that.
0:16:22 But see if you can’t come up with some ideas
0:16:24 that aren’t a part of your job description
0:16:27 and then ask people, would it help if you did something?
0:16:30 If you can save, if you can spend four, six, eight hours
0:16:31 making someone senior to you,
0:16:33 save them at 30 or 60 minutes,
0:16:34 they’re gonna want you back.
0:16:35 People are selfish.
0:16:38 This kid gave me an extra hour every week, right?
0:16:40 Hire him.
0:16:42 So you’re gonna get the easy stuff right.
0:16:43 You’re gonna listen a lot.
0:16:45 You’re gonna be very personal, very nice,
0:16:46 very supportive of other people.
0:16:48 Whenever you work on anything,
0:16:50 immediately thank other people for their help.
0:16:52 You’re going to show up early.
0:16:53 You’re gonna stay late.
0:16:55 And you’re gonna try and find little projects
0:16:56 that might help other people.
0:16:57 And it’s gonna be your idea
0:16:58 and you’re gonna pitch them to people.
0:17:01 What if I put together a data.
0:17:04 Now I’m in technology, I understand sites.
0:17:06 It would make sense for me to look at the technology
0:17:07 that our site is built on.
0:17:12 Can I do a project on how AI is impacting our business
0:17:13 and come back to you in a couple of weeks
0:17:14 or the presentation?
0:17:18 You wanna be the guy that was to get off your heels
0:17:19 and onto your toes, right?
0:17:22 You wanna walk into offices or send people an email saying,
0:17:23 would you be willing to have coffee with me?
0:17:25 Would you be willing to have lunch with me, right?
0:17:26 So you’re gonna network.
0:17:27 You’re gonna show up early.
0:17:28 You’re gonna stay late.
0:17:28 You’re gonna come up with new ideas.
0:17:31 You’re gonna focus on attention and detail around your work.
0:17:34 The work doesn’t have to be breakthrough or even right,
0:17:35 but it has to be professional.
0:17:37 No typos, right?
0:17:38 Attention to detail.
0:17:40 And just keep doing what you’re doing.
0:17:42 You’re obviously a very successful young man
0:17:44 and the fact that you understand the importance
0:17:47 of relationships is like you’re just so far ahead of the game.
0:17:50 So I’m like, Jesus Christ.
0:17:52 It’s like, will you coach me?
0:17:56 You have your shit sewed together at 19
0:17:58 that it’s encouraging and inspiring.
0:18:02 But again, congratulations on your success today.
0:18:03 That’s all for this episode.
0:18:04 If you’d like to submit a question,
0:18:05 please email a voice recording
0:18:07 to officehours@propertymedia.com.
0:18:10 Again, that’s officehours@propertymedia.com.
0:18:13 (upbeat music)
0:18:22 This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez
0:18:24 and Caroline Shagarin.
0:18:25 Drew Burroughs is our technical director.
0:18:27 Thank you for listening to the PropG Pod
0:18:28 from the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:18:29 We will catch you on Saturday
0:18:32 for No Mercy, No Malice as read by George Hahn.
0:18:35 And please follow our PropG Markets Pod
0:18:37 wherever you get your pods for new episodes
0:18:39 every Monday and Thursday.
0:00:05 Imagine having a conversation with the future you
0:00:08 and asking yourself, hey, what did we accomplish in 2025?
0:00:10 What would you like the answer to be?
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0:01:08 – Welcome to the Prophg Pod’s Office Hours.
0:01:09 This is the part of the show where we answer questions
0:01:11 about business, big tech, entrepreneurship,
0:01:12 and whatever else is on your mind.
0:01:14 If you’d like to submit a question,
0:01:15 please email a voice recording
0:01:17 to officehours@prophgmedia.com.
0:01:20 Again, that’s officehours@prophgmedia.com.
0:01:22 So with that, first question,
0:01:23 I have not seen these questions.
0:01:26 – Hello, Scott, my name is James.
0:01:28 Thank you for what you do every day.
0:01:30 My question is simple, but requires some background.
0:01:33 How do I scale myself?
0:01:36 What do you do when the product you’re selling is you?
0:01:38 As a physician with more than 20 years experience
0:01:40 in practice, I have some professional assets.
0:01:42 The first is my work ethic.
0:01:45 The second is my experience and expertise.
0:01:47 The third is that I care.
0:01:50 And the fourth is the integrity of my personal brand
0:01:52 that’s been built upon all of the previous.
0:01:55 I’m blessed to have a successful practice
0:01:57 that draws patients from a surprising distance
0:01:59 and for which I am very grateful.
0:02:01 And over the years, people have asked me
0:02:03 to expand my presence locally and beyond,
0:02:05 but I’ve been unable to figure out a way
0:02:08 to duplicate myself to make that happen.
0:02:10 I have very many employees for decades
0:02:14 and they depend upon me and they have made me who I am.
0:02:15 So I don’t want to do anything
0:02:18 to risk my family’s wellbeing or theirs.
0:02:20 I’ve been reluctant to expand my influence
0:02:22 or espouse my opinions through social media
0:02:25 because I don’t want to come off as an opportunist or a quack.
0:02:27 But more and more, I feel like I have something
0:02:28 to offer to a wider audience
0:02:29 and I would like to get it out there.
0:02:31 At least I feel I should try.
0:02:34 If I can’t clone myself to help people face to face,
0:02:37 how do you think I could do it indirectly?
0:02:40 – The first thing is to step back and just acknowledge
0:02:42 you’re building economic security for other people.
0:02:43 It sounds like your employees sounds like,
0:02:45 I don’t know this, but I’m going to assume you’re a good boss.
0:02:48 So you’re kind of riding like, you know,
0:02:50 you’re already on the metal podium.
0:02:51 It’s just a question of whether, you know,
0:02:53 how many golds you collect, if you will.
0:02:56 Look, I’m honestly, this is something I’m good at.
0:02:59 I’m a good professor, I understand marketing,
0:03:01 but the way I’ve been able to build this life
0:03:03 is by quote-unquote scaling myself.
0:03:05 And it all comes down to one statement.
0:03:07 Greatness isn’t the agency of others.
0:03:08 It’s finding good people.
0:03:09 If you have a practice,
0:03:10 that means you can bring in other young,
0:03:11 I don’t know what you want,
0:03:13 orthopedic surgeon or dermatologist,
0:03:14 you can bring in other doctors
0:03:17 and try and create a culture of excellence
0:03:18 such that you can scale yourself.
0:03:20 And when I go, you know,
0:03:22 my friend is the top orthopedic surgeon.
0:03:24 When I hurt my knee, you know,
0:03:25 I saw him for the first consultation,
0:03:28 but then he passed me off to another very talented
0:03:30 orthopedic surgeon to look at my knee.
0:03:31 I ended up not getting surgery,
0:03:33 but you’ve already kind of figured out
0:03:36 that you scale with other good quality people
0:03:38 and you can run a business and run a practice
0:03:40 and try and create a good culture,
0:03:41 try and, you know, try and instill loyalty
0:03:43 by being good to people.
0:03:46 The second thing is you kind of answer your own question
0:03:47 when you’re talking about social media.
0:03:50 If you want to expand your sphere of influence,
0:03:52 whether you like it or not, it’s social media.
0:03:55 I had lunch today with the woman who started,
0:03:56 I think it’s called the Eight Greens,
0:03:58 which is this really cool supplements company,
0:04:00 you know, all that green shit you take in the morning,
0:04:01 I take it every morning now.
0:04:04 And she runs a great business,
0:04:05 but the reason, or one of the reasons
0:04:07 her business is so successful
0:04:09 is not only because she’s got a good product,
0:04:12 but she’s on, she’s very attractive, very articulate.
0:04:16 So the view and, you know, Oprah loved to have her on.
0:04:19 And social media, if you really have desire
0:04:21 to kind of scale yourself,
0:04:23 unfortunately, it involves YouTube, TikTok,
0:04:25 Instagram, all that shit.
0:04:26 And you can be more measured.
0:04:27 You can be one of those doctors
0:04:30 that is a little bit more, you know, measured.
0:04:33 You don’t have to say blueberries will cure your cancer.
0:04:36 But I think doing stuff in an interesting,
0:04:38 visual arresting way that’s compelling,
0:04:41 talking about whatever your domain expertise is,
0:04:44 you know, it’s hard, it’s a slow build and it’s huge.
0:04:47 About 15, maybe even 20 years ago,
0:04:50 I thought, okay, I need to be a, you know,
0:04:53 professor of strategy or brand strategy at Stern.
0:04:55 I thought I want, I have a bigger ambition than this.
0:04:57 Social media, I thought this is gonna be big.
0:04:59 So I did a follower strategy.
0:05:02 Every day I followed 200 people on Twitter,
0:05:03 which is the max you could follow without getting,
0:05:05 and I’m locked out for whatever reason,
0:05:08 and about 60 or 80 would follow me back.
0:05:11 So over the summer, I got 1,000 users,
0:05:13 and over the year I got 10, or 1,000 followers,
0:05:13 and by the end of the year,
0:05:16 10,000 followers now, I’d given up Twitter,
0:05:18 but I had over a half a million when I stopped showing up,
0:05:20 pulling up a seat to the Nazi porn bar.
0:05:22 But I have not huge followings,
0:05:24 but decent followings for a professor
0:05:26 on all of these different platforms.
0:05:28 I have somebody very talented,
0:05:31 George Hahn, who helps me with my social.
0:05:34 I do about half the postings, he does about half.
0:05:36 We take it very seriously, we film video,
0:05:38 we have a firm, we pay $10,000 a month through
0:05:41 that does these mashups of my content or speeches
0:05:44 and turns them into cool little 60 second videos
0:05:48 that we then snake through LinkedIn, YouTube,
0:05:51 TikTok, Instagram, Reels.
0:05:53 We hit all of these things.
0:05:56 So I would say the thing that’s missing here
0:05:57 is thought leadership and social media.
0:05:58 If you want to write a book,
0:06:00 if you want to be known as the doctor
0:06:01 that kind of gets this domain,
0:06:04 but it probably starts with social
0:06:05 and it requires some production values.
0:06:07 You have to hire some people.
0:06:09 The first video, the first thing you do will suck.
0:06:10 You can release it or not.
0:06:11 Just commit to Mr. Beasing it.
0:06:12 What do I mean by that?
0:06:15 The second one, better lighting, better video,
0:06:18 some visuals, topics, read the comments.
0:06:19 Don’t take them to heart
0:06:21 ’cause there’s gonna be bots and weirdos out there
0:06:23 that are just angry.
0:06:26 Also, I’m not sure I would go all in
0:06:29 on any kind of big idea because I don’t know how old you are.
0:06:32 You sounded like you’re in your 40s or 50s,
0:06:34 but if you’re making good money with a practice,
0:06:39 my suggestion would be to double down on that,
0:06:42 make more money, invest in low-cost index funds,
0:06:44 and just build a great life for yourself.
0:06:46 And also start to experiment with thought leadership
0:06:49 and hire someone to manage your social media
0:06:53 and start allocating four to four, eight hours a week
0:06:56 for content that goes beyond yourself.
0:06:57 Appreciate the question.
0:06:58 Best of luck to you.
0:07:01 And again, congratulations on all your success.
0:07:02 Question number two.
0:07:03 (electronic beeping)
0:07:06 – Hey, Scott, this is Barbra from Istanbul.
0:07:07 Long time, this is the writer.
0:07:12 I have a question for you that you might not like answering,
0:07:14 but I think you will appreciate it.
0:07:17 So the other day, I was reading the corporate life cycle
0:07:18 from Espar the Modern,
0:07:20 which I got to know for your podcast.
0:07:21 Thank you for that.
0:07:24 And he was talking about how long-lasting businesses
0:07:27 usually have a sexation plan in place.
0:07:30 They usually think about sexation just in case
0:07:32 and they end up, you know, lasting longer.
0:07:38 But then I can’t help but notice that the podcasts
0:07:42 that you release, like Proficy Markets, Proficy Podcasts,
0:07:44 yes, they’re basically unapproachable branding,
0:07:49 but what happens if you decide to start one day
0:07:53 or if you decide to pass it over, you know, to Ed and a team?
0:07:55 Does that mean you will have to rebrand
0:08:00 or do you have a succession plan that you wish to share?
0:08:04 – Barbra from Istanbul, that’s a good question.
0:08:07 It would be relevant, but I’m going to live forever.
0:08:08 Yes, that’s right.
0:08:11 The midlife crisis, the rest of the adolescence tour
0:08:13 continues, new dates announced.
0:08:15 Okay, enough of that.
0:08:18 Yeah, this business is getting to the point
0:08:19 where I need to be thoughtful
0:08:21 about creating enterprise value.
0:08:23 When it’s just a group of a small number of individuals,
0:08:25 you don’t have a business or an enterprise,
0:08:25 you have a practice
0:08:27 and people are too dependent upon one individual.
0:08:29 I think about this a lot.
0:08:32 Realistically, I’d like to think I have 20 good years in me.
0:08:34 I know I have 10 good years left in me,
0:08:38 but okay, still a lot of people are making good money here.
0:08:40 You want them to continue to make good money
0:08:44 and any business that’s just dependent upon one business,
0:08:45 you know, that’s, you need to be thinking
0:08:47 the way you’re thinking about succession strategies.
0:08:49 So what have I done?
0:08:52 One, you noticed I’ve brought in Ed Elson
0:08:54 and Ed is the co-host of markets.
0:08:58 At some point soon, sooner, actually, I’d like to be sooner.
0:09:01 I want Ed to start co-hosting with guest hosts
0:09:03 that aren’t me such that over time,
0:09:06 ProfG Markets is the brand, not Sky Callaway.
0:09:10 I’m focused on getting us to 20 or 30 million revenue
0:09:12 with 15 million in EBITDA.
0:09:14 I think I can do that in the next three to four years
0:09:16 and then build a series of voices
0:09:19 that I help foster, create good businesses
0:09:22 and slowly but surely reduce the dependence on my voice.
0:09:24 I always start a job thinking, all right,
0:09:26 I either need to have an exit for people
0:09:29 or build something where they could have 10, 20, 30 years
0:09:32 of real solid earnings and help build economic security.
0:09:36 And this isn’t an obvious company that you sell,
0:09:37 although to a certain extent every four years
0:09:39 you sell the cash flows and you can actually make
0:09:42 tens of millions of dollars now if you’re in a,
0:09:44 we have three top 100 podcasts right now,
0:09:45 which is exceptional.
0:09:46 We’re very good at what we do
0:09:48 and we’ve also been very fortunate.
0:09:49 So you can kind of every four years
0:09:52 when the midst of this now renegotiate a deal.
0:09:55 And the way I try and build economic security is I give
0:09:58 and also just selfishly to keep everyone engaged
0:10:01 and acting like an owner is I give everyone,
0:10:03 or not everyone, but the majority of the full-time employees
0:10:06 a percentage of our revenues.
0:10:08 And so the question is how do you maintain
0:10:11 those revenue flows after, you know,
0:10:14 I start going Biden, if you will.
0:10:16 And by the way, I do not run the business.
0:10:18 My partner Catherine Dillon has been running the business
0:10:19 for the last few years.
0:10:21 I have talented producers.
0:10:24 So the risk is that I’m kind of the front end of the talent
0:10:27 and we’re going to need to dilute and diversify
0:10:30 away from that over the next three, five, 10 years.
0:10:33 And we have a plan for that, but it’s a correct question.
0:10:34 Thank you for asking.
0:10:37 A board strategy, a good fiduciary,
0:10:39 focuses on succession strategy.
0:10:42 And that is German companies demand that the CEO
0:10:43 take at least four weeks off every year.
0:10:45 And if the company goes to shit when they’re gone,
0:10:47 they fire the CEO ’cause they need an enterprise.
0:10:49 They don’t need to practice.
0:10:50 Thanks for the question.
0:10:52 We have one quick break before our final question.
0:10:53 Stay with us.
0:11:00 Fox Creative.
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0:11:16 So I got us working on Miro,
0:11:19 where we could go from idea to outcome in one place,
0:11:21 starting with a brainstorm.
0:11:23 What if we added a feature
0:11:26 that lets users name their own constellations?
0:11:28 Yes, great idea.
0:11:30 I’ll make a brainstorm board.
0:11:32 We can add stickies with user feedback.
0:11:35 Miro’s canvas is infinite and intelligent.
0:11:38 So my team could brainstorm as expansively as we wanted
0:11:40 while keeping everything in one place.
0:11:42 What about an astrology feature?
0:11:43 Oh, I love it.
0:11:45 Add it to the board.
0:11:47 Miro AI took all our unstructured ideas
0:11:50 and user feedback and synthesized them
0:11:52 into a product brief in seconds.
0:11:55 With the brief solidified, the team took the next step.
0:11:58 Okay, so I created a new board for the Dataflow diagram.
0:12:00 Can we update the query to pull in data
0:12:01 from the Southern Hemisphere?
0:12:04 Yes, I’ll get a developer on it.
0:12:06 And with Miro’s seamless third-party integrations,
0:12:08 like our two-way sync with Jira,
0:12:11 we added a con button board directly to the workspace,
0:12:14 keeping all of our work in a single organized space.
0:12:17 Wow, that was fast.
0:12:20 The stars have a line, let’s ship it.
0:12:22 From idea to outcome,
0:12:23 Miro’s innovation workspace
0:12:25 is your team’s one collaborative space
0:12:27 for seamless, productive work.
0:12:30 Innovation belongs on the canvas.
0:12:32 Innovation belongs on Miro.
0:12:34 Go to Miro.com to find out how.
0:12:37 That’s M-I-R-O.com.
0:12:43 Support for ProfG comes from LinkedIn.
0:12:46 It’s 2025, and if your B2B marketing strategy
0:12:49 for the new year doesn’t include improve your ad targeting,
0:12:51 then your ads can just get lost in the noise.
0:12:53 LinkedIn ads can help by ensuring your message
0:12:54 makes it to the right audience.
0:12:55 With LinkedIn ads,
0:12:57 you can precisely reach the professionals
0:12:59 who are more likely to find your ads relevant.
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0:13:33 We’ll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign.
0:13:36 Go to linkedin.com/scott to claim your credit.
0:13:40 That’s linkedin.com/scott, terms and conditions apply.
0:13:42 LinkedIn, the place to be to be.
0:13:47 – It’s a new year.
0:13:49 Maybe you’re taking a month off from drinking,
0:13:50 you know, dry January,
0:13:53 and maybe you’re placing it with something else.
0:13:55 – Puff puff pass.
0:13:58 – Some like one in five people who do dry January
0:14:01 say they’re smoking weed instead,
0:14:03 and more Americans are now smoking weed daily
0:14:05 than drinking daily.
0:14:07 Current president is into it.
0:14:09 – No one should be in jail merely for using
0:14:11 or possessing marijuana, period.
0:14:13 – Future president is into it.
0:14:16 – I’ve had friends and I’ve had others and doctors
0:14:19 telling me that it’s been absolutely amazing,
0:14:21 the medical marijuana.
0:14:24 – Failed president and former prosecutor was down to clown?
0:14:27 – People shouldn’t have to go to jail for smoking weed.
0:14:29 – Even health conscious brain worm guy likes it.
0:14:32 – My position on marijuana is that
0:14:35 it should be federally legalized.
0:14:36 – Everyone’s getting down with pot,
0:14:39 but legislatively we’re still stuck with a hot mess
0:14:41 in the United States.
0:14:43 Today explained.
0:14:45 Wherever you listen, come find us.
0:14:50 – Welcome back, question number three.
0:14:52 – Hey, Prof. G, my name’s Jack.
0:14:53 I’m attending Georgia Tech right now
0:14:56 pursuing my undergraduate in industrial engineering,
0:14:57 and I’m 19 years old,
0:15:00 which makes me an infant in your eyes, I know.
0:15:02 I recently landed a big wig consulting internship
0:15:05 at a tier two firm, which I’m pretty stoked about.
0:15:08 But as someone who has no experience at a corporate job,
0:15:09 I wanna make the most of my time there.
0:15:11 What can a lowly intern like me do
0:15:13 to increase my chances at a return offer?
0:15:16 Thank you, Prof, for your insights and dick jokes
0:15:18 and for making the professional world more navigable
0:15:19 for a young man like me.
0:15:22 And a big thank you to my dad, who put me onto your pod
0:15:23 and who makes me a smarter, stronger,
0:15:25 and funnier young adult every day.
0:15:27 Love you, dad.
0:15:29 – Jesus, I’m like still there.
0:15:34 If my son at 19 was a Georgia Tech in this thoughtful
0:15:37 and then took the time to like say something nice
0:15:41 about me on a podcast, you’re a wonderful young man.
0:15:43 So well done to your dad and your mom.
0:15:47 As it relates to your actual question,
0:15:49 okay, the easy stuff, listen more than you speak.
0:15:52 You know, offer ideas when people ask you,
0:15:53 but when you’re in meetings,
0:15:55 just try and do a really good job of listening,
0:15:58 taking notes, show up 10 minutes before everyone else,
0:16:00 stay at least 10 minutes after everyone.
0:16:02 Face time, it sounds stupid,
0:16:03 but you wanna show that you’re there to play,
0:16:05 that you came to play.
0:16:07 Come up with ideas every week,
0:16:09 trying to at least have one or two ideas
0:16:11 and say to someone, can I help you do this?
0:16:13 Or I was thinking of putting together
0:16:15 a list of potential clients or outreach,
0:16:18 or I was thinking about putting together show initiative.
0:16:20 And they might say, no, that’s a bad idea, don’t do that.
0:16:22 But see if you can’t come up with some ideas
0:16:24 that aren’t a part of your job description
0:16:27 and then ask people, would it help if you did something?
0:16:30 If you can save, if you can spend four, six, eight hours
0:16:31 making someone senior to you,
0:16:33 save them at 30 or 60 minutes,
0:16:34 they’re gonna want you back.
0:16:35 People are selfish.
0:16:38 This kid gave me an extra hour every week, right?
0:16:40 Hire him.
0:16:42 So you’re gonna get the easy stuff right.
0:16:43 You’re gonna listen a lot.
0:16:45 You’re gonna be very personal, very nice,
0:16:46 very supportive of other people.
0:16:48 Whenever you work on anything,
0:16:50 immediately thank other people for their help.
0:16:52 You’re going to show up early.
0:16:53 You’re gonna stay late.
0:16:55 And you’re gonna try and find little projects
0:16:56 that might help other people.
0:16:57 And it’s gonna be your idea
0:16:58 and you’re gonna pitch them to people.
0:17:01 What if I put together a data.
0:17:04 Now I’m in technology, I understand sites.
0:17:06 It would make sense for me to look at the technology
0:17:07 that our site is built on.
0:17:12 Can I do a project on how AI is impacting our business
0:17:13 and come back to you in a couple of weeks
0:17:14 or the presentation?
0:17:18 You wanna be the guy that was to get off your heels
0:17:19 and onto your toes, right?
0:17:22 You wanna walk into offices or send people an email saying,
0:17:23 would you be willing to have coffee with me?
0:17:25 Would you be willing to have lunch with me, right?
0:17:26 So you’re gonna network.
0:17:27 You’re gonna show up early.
0:17:28 You’re gonna stay late.
0:17:28 You’re gonna come up with new ideas.
0:17:31 You’re gonna focus on attention and detail around your work.
0:17:34 The work doesn’t have to be breakthrough or even right,
0:17:35 but it has to be professional.
0:17:37 No typos, right?
0:17:38 Attention to detail.
0:17:40 And just keep doing what you’re doing.
0:17:42 You’re obviously a very successful young man
0:17:44 and the fact that you understand the importance
0:17:47 of relationships is like you’re just so far ahead of the game.
0:17:50 So I’m like, Jesus Christ.
0:17:52 It’s like, will you coach me?
0:17:56 You have your shit sewed together at 19
0:17:58 that it’s encouraging and inspiring.
0:18:02 But again, congratulations on your success today.
0:18:03 That’s all for this episode.
0:18:04 If you’d like to submit a question,
0:18:05 please email a voice recording
0:18:07 to officehours@propertymedia.com.
0:18:10 Again, that’s officehours@propertymedia.com.
0:18:13 (upbeat music)
0:18:22 This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez
0:18:24 and Caroline Shagarin.
0:18:25 Drew Burroughs is our technical director.
0:18:27 Thank you for listening to the PropG Pod
0:18:28 from the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:18:29 We will catch you on Saturday
0:18:32 for No Mercy, No Malice as read by George Hahn.
0:18:35 And please follow our PropG Markets Pod
0:18:37 wherever you get your pods for new episodes
0:18:39 every Monday and Thursday.
Scott offers advice to a physician looking to scale himself and expand his scope of influence beyond his practice. He then speaks about the future of Prof G Media, specifically whether there’s a succession plan in place. He wraps up with advice to an intern hoping to receive a return offer.
Music: https://www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic
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