Matt Schneider: [00:00:00] there was just nowhere else to run, like there was just-- there was, there was no money to rob Peter with to pay Paul.
There was just nowhere else to run. Um, I had one phone number in my phone of an entrepreneur that I knew was successful, and I sent him a text and I said, "Hey, can I buy you a cup of coffee?" Uh, and, um, and he says, "Yeah, of course." And so we, uh, we met up at a coffee shop at the Village, at the Village Coffee Spot.
And I said, "Look, I've got to share with you what I, what I've been too afraid to share with anybody else." Um, and he's like, "All right, go ahead." And I said, "I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't, I don't-- I'm in a situation. I don't know how I'm gonna get myself out of it. Like I, um, I just know that if I keep going down this path, it's like everything I care about is, is-- feels like it's coming to a, an, an end."
And, um, and he said, "Why have you been s- why have you been so scared to share [00:01:00] that?" Then he's like, "Did you not realize that's what virtually every entrepreneur experiences at some stage of their journey?" Um, and I was like, "I did not know that." He said, "Yeah." He's like, "What you're experiencing is not abnormal.
Riley: Today I've got my friend Matt Schneider on, on the show. Matt and I know each other, again, from the jujitsu mats. We, uh, we first met there. Actually, we first met in a business networking group, didn't we? Before jujitsu,
Matt Schneider: Does [00:02:00] it?
Riley: the bank over there by Walmart off of Overland.
Matt Schneider: Oh, was... Okay. At the Icon. At the Icon Credit Union.
Riley: Yeah. Yeah,
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Okay. Was I speaking
Riley: met
Matt Schneider: at it?
Riley: and then... that again
Matt Schneider: Was I speaking at it or was I in attendance? I was a guest as well. Okay. Okay
Riley: met later at Team Ryno. So,
Matt Schneider: Okay
Riley: but anyways, Matt's on here. I invited him here today because he's, he's got an interesting story.
He's a, he's a, he's a great business mind. He's a go-getter. He's an entrepreneur and, and he's done some really cool things in the world and, and he knows that grind that just that, um, what it takes to build a new thing and then pivot if you have to into a new venture. So Matt, welcome to the show, my friend.
Matt Schneider: Hey, thanks, Ryan. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it
Riley: Yeah, dude. So tell us about yourself. Who are you? Where'd you grow up? What was life like as a kid?
Matt Schneider: Oof, such a loaded question. Um, I, I mean, first and foremost, I'm a, I'm a husband and father. I'll [00:03:00] be, uh, married 20 years in just a few days. Uh, so June 7th will be my wife and I's 20-year anniversary. Pretty proud of that.
Riley: Oh, congrats, man
Matt Schneider: yeah, thank you. Our, our son, he'll be, uh, 17 this month as well. He actually struck gold with the, um, the whole birthday thing because June 25th is his birthday, so every six month on the dot, that guy, you know, he's gotten a, a party and presents and, um, and you know.
So he doesn't have to wait too terribly long before there's like a, a new celebration where he's got all of his friends and family over. Um, but he's the light of our life
Riley: kids, man, 'cause my birthday is in December, like six
Matt Schneider: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Riley: I
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: one a year.
Matt Schneider: Well, my wife, Kirsten, you know, she, uh, her birthday is on Christmas Eve, so she really gets robbed. Yeah. Yeah, she really gets robbed.
But,
Riley: Yeah
Matt Schneider: you know, that's all she's known her whole life, and we've always made it a point to do something on [00:04:00] the, the front end of the month to kind of recognize it before the, the Christmas, um, s- thing really started kicking off and people were just consumed with old St. Nick and, um, everything there. But, uh, yeah, we live in, um, Star, Idaho.
We just actually moved to Star from Eagle, Idaho, which is a suburb of Boise. And, um, yeah, we've been entrepreneurs now since 2013, so I guess about 13 years we've been entrepreneurs. Um, I grew up in Eastern Idaho. Uh, my wife grew up in, uh, Western Idaho. My upbringing and hers were, uh, I mean, they couldn't be any more different.
Um, she grew up in a, in a very stable home, um, uh, w- LDS, a lot of core values, a lot of, uh, being taught right from wrong and, um, being shown, um, shown the way through, you know, adolescence into young adulthood, into adulthood. And, um, and mine was-- it looked very different. And, you know, I, [00:05:00] I say that with, with, uh, no, no ill intent or, or to shine a negative light on, on my, my mom especially because it was really her that raised me and my, uh, four siblings.
But there was constantly men coming and going my whole life and, um, she just had a tough time picking quality guys. Uh, I never did get to know my father, my biological father. He was a wife-beating, uh, alcoholic, and so, um, my mom left him when I was three. She was, uh, about seven months pregnant with my little brother and then my older brother, he's six years older than I am.
So she just, uh, loaded us up one day and drove us from San Francisco to Newport Beach, where my grandmother lived at the time, and there-- she didn't have a place for us. Somehow we ended up on a little houseboat. Um, but when I say a little houseboat, it's the kind where, like, there's like a little living quarters underneath the, the deck, like one bed and...
'Cause I'm, I'm-- I was too small to really... I don't have any memory [00:06:00] specifically, but I-- there is a, there's a picture, uh, of me climbing out of this little houseboat when I was just a little, a little tyke and, uh, we moved around a lot. Um, we, um, it seemed like every time my mom got into a new relationship, we were moving around and, and, um, you know, I, I've learned later on in life the, the kinds of superpowers that come with these kinds of experiences.
But y- you know, it, it came at a, at a price of never really being taught what it's like to be a man and a husband and a, and a, um, you know, to nature and nurture and what it means to be a provider, not just, um, financially, but emotionally and, um, all the other things. Protector, uh, not just physically, but of You know, the future and, and, um, goals and the whole thing, right?
I wasn't taught those things. I had to, I had to, um, learn those along the way. Um, so, um, when I say I'm proud of our 20 year e- yeah
Riley: Do, do [00:07:00] you... You said you had to learn those things on the way,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: the way.
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: what did you do? So there's, 'cause there's two mindsets you can take, right? You can take either I'm a victim and this is just the way it is and
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: gonna be, or man, I don't like the way this is.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna learn a different way. So w- how did you go about that?
Matt Schneider: You know, I mean, the best that I-- I haven't done any, like, formal, um, like deep therapy on it, like EMDR, uh, or, you know, ayahuasca, these plant-based medicines where you, like, really go internal to, to resolve things. I've, I've never done that. I, I, um, I'm on that path. I really, uh, wanna go down and, um, do ayahuasca, um, like a retreat thing.
But, um, to the best that I am aware right now, it's I just chose different. I th-- I, I just didn't wanna repeat, um... There was just so much [00:08:00] instability and, uh, never really be able to, to like root in. And I-- And so I learned a lot of things that I did not want to have be present my entire life. I, I, I learned a lot about what kinds of things would, would create the uncertainty, the, um, the constant shifting and pivoting and, and, um...
And I didn't want that for myself. I didn't want that for my future family. I certainly didn't want that for my future kids. Uh, and so I just, I just chose different. Um, and so the lessons I was learning was like, I'm just gonna kinda do the opposite of a lot of what I was exposed to. Uh, so that's-- I, I was y- I was younger when I started to pick up on that, but I don't recall any real one specific, like pivotable, uh, pivotal moment, uh, per se, where I was like, "You know what?
This is how I'm gonna break the cycle," or, "This is..." You know, lots of just [00:09:00] incremental times where I'm like, "This isn't-- This is not the way I want my entire life to go."
Riley: So when you say you were young, kinda... 'Cause I went through a similar thing, man. I had a,
Matt Schneider: Hmm
Riley: a similar childhood where my dad was actually the solid one, but he, my stepmother was not, right?
Matt Schneider: okay. Uh-huh
Riley: I remember some of those same thoughts as a really young, young kid. I had step-siblings come into the picture when I was six,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: I got to watch some life decisions that they made and, and I learned from that, you know?
And, and my mindset even as a little, little boy was, I don't know if I wanna go. That looked like it hurt."
Matt Schneider: Hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm
Riley: and it sounds like you're kinda in that same boat.
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I, you know, I, um, my mom was, you know, very loving and, um, you know, she just, she had her own needs. She had her own wants. She had her own, you know, life, uh, uh, as far as, like, her own human experience and wanting to do life with [00:10:00] somebody else, and, um, she just didn't pick the right guys to do that with, so the-there was no longevity to it.
But, um, she always would make sure that we were never mistreated by these guys. Like, uh, you know, her kids were always number one, so we, we were never really exposed. Early on, yes. E-early on, um, the, the, the, the, the guy that she got together with and married right after my father, he was still physically abusive, uh, not to me, but to my older brother.
Um, and, um, and I remember, I remember those things, but that's the last time I remember, uh, her being in a relationship with somebody that was, like, you know, a-a-abusive in any way. So she did a, she did a, a, a good job as she went on, picking guys that were going to, um, not mistreat us. Now, they weren't getting into the relationship because they wanted five additional stepkids, um, and they wanted to take that on.
They were getting into it because of my mom, [00:11:00] and so when that relationship went from the initial fun honeymoon stage to, like, real life, um, usually within a, a couple of years, that's where, uh, we would, we would start to experience the transition again, and that's where, you know, it was out with the old and in with the new.
Uh, that came, uh, new schools, new towns, new, new everything. But I, I really contribute a lot of the way in which I process, uh, the en- the just the landscape that we all navigate in, uh, for me personally and professionally. Um, like, my ability to not get wound up, wound up about things and really having much more of, like, a, a, a stoic way about me.
Like, it's, it's very hard to get me riled up. It's very hard to, um, get me overly excited about anything 'cause, uh, I just grew up knowing it's gonna be okay. Like, everything's gonna be all right, you know? And, uh, and it, it's always turned out to, to be that way. So, um, so I, I, [00:12:00] yeah, to your point, I find the superpowers in it.
I, I refuse to, to take the victim approach. There's just no... There, there's no fruit there. I mean, there really isn't, so I choose to go the other way.
Riley: That's a, that's an interesting thing, man, 'cause I, you know, you can grow up in the same house. I don't know what your, what your siblings, how they to do life, you know, but I look at my, look at my siblings
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm
Riley: I see them learn from some mistakes of other people, and sometimes they just go down, go down the same road, do the same thing, and
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: it's like, uh, it repeats another generation or
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: you know?
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So my little sister, my, the youngest of the five, and I are really the ones that, that found our way out of the, the cycle. Um, my, my, uh, other sister, she, she was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, and so she, uh, was handicapped, uh, and disabled her entire life. And so, um, of course she gets a free pass for, like, [00:13:00] the cycle situation.
Um, but when it comes to my little brother and my older brother, they unfortunately, you know, uh, that- that's a generation that, um, wasn't broken. Um, kind of thankfully my older brother doesn't have any kids, and so, you know, just by that, the, you know, that cycle will break with him. Um, but my little brother's got a few, uh, and, um, that's been a kind of a rough, a rough thing for them
Riley: Yeah. Yeah, so, so you grow up and then you start to enter adulthood and when did you, uh, when did you get into law enforcement part of your, your
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's kind of a ... It's funny how I got into it, 'cause I wasn't a kid that grew up wanting to be a cop. Um, I actually ... I was a bag boy at Albertsons and, um, I was dating this girl in the bakery section, her name was Nicole. Uh, there wasn't a, like, a, a real flame there between the two of us, but my favorite checker, his name [00:14:00] was Lincoln, and, uh, one day we were talking about Nicole and he, like, asked how things were going and showed some interest and, and, uh, so I told him, I said, "Hey, you know, there, it, this isn't, this isn't really going anywhere.
Do you want, uh, do you want me to kinda introduce you to her?" And he's like, "You're gonna introduce me to your girlfriend?" I'm like, "Yeah, well you know, when you say it like that, it sounds weird. But, um, you know, maybe there would be something there between you two," which there was. They ended up getting married, they ended up, uh, having a family, and he ended up going from, uh, Albertsons as a checker to being a Idaho Falls police officer.
And, um, so not long after that had happened, he took me out on a ride-along and that was my first exposure to law enforcement. And nothing happened. We made a few traffic stops, went on a couple of nothing burger calls. But I do remember sitting in that car thinking, "Man, this is, this is cool. Like, the, like, look at all these gizmos and gadgets, and look at, um, the, what, [00:15:00] what police officers represent in the community and, um, and, you know, the, the possibility of really having big impact."
And so I was just sitting there taking it all in. I was 19, uh, when this happened. Um, so I was just trying to figure out what was going on. And after that ride-along, I started doing some research into it and I wasn't ... I mean, it was just one ride-along, so I wasn't sure if that was what I really wanted to do.
But I did find that there was a nine-month program through Idaho State University in Pocatello that, um, you could go through a college program and you could get detention certified and patrol certified. So you get to go through the academy. You have to pay for it, where otherwise when you're hired with the department, they will pay for it.
So I paid for that and went nine months and, um, and really got exposed to the whole thing. We d- I did several ride-alongs with the Pocatello Police Department, which that was a kick in the pants because Fort Hall Indian Reservation, um, was right [00:16:00] there and, um, there was always, there was always things going on, always problems.
Uh, and, um, and then, you know, w- when it, when it came to those that were, you know, that lived on the reservation, um, there'd always be like this short pursuit where if they could get to the, the, like ... They could get to the line, they could get to the border, they could get in, like we, they, they beat us, right?
And so it was almost like a game to them. It wasn't a g-
Riley: grew up like three miles from that border,
Matt Schneider: Oh, okay. So you know that. Yeah.
Riley: would go by my house.
Matt Schneider: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I g- that's how I really got exposed to it and, um, and then I was like, "Yeah, I wanna do this. This is cool. This is fun. It fits my personality. It fits, um, it just fits." So I, uh, I did continue on and I moved from Pocatello to Boise where, um, then I started going to Boise State University.
I got my degree in psychology. I started with the Ada County Sheriff's Office in 2006 and, um, and that's where it all began. I spent a year in, working the jail as a detention deputy and then [00:17:00] in 2007 I went, um, out to patrol and, um, and then I did that full-time until starting our first business in 20, um, late 2013, early 2014
Riley: Okay, so talk about that transition 'cause you, you, uh, so s- what, seven, eight years you were
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: Boise Police Force?
Matt Schneider: Yeah, Ada County, yeah
Riley: What's, uh... Oh, wait, I kinda s- excuse me. Um, what, what made that trans? 'Cause, 'cause a lot of times you think of when someone goes into law enforcement, man, it's,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: career.
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: entire working life,
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: But you didn't.
Matt Schneider: I, I did. Yeah. I, you know, th-there's, um, there is actually some statistic out there that says when, when a cop gets to about six years, I think that's really kind of a pivotal timeframe in, uh, in every cop's career because they get to that place of being seasoned enough and exposed enough to be able to say, "Is this still what I wanna do forever, [00:18:00] or is it not?"
Um, and, and I got to that point, and I started questioning whether or not I would actually be able to retire from it, largely because I loved finding bad guys. I, I just enjoyed that hunt. It w- to me, it was some sort of, like, puzzle, um, where it's like they're out there, I just have to find them. So I would...
I was one of those guys that would stop anybody for anything, right? If the registration sticker wasn't in the right spot on the license plate and the Idaho code said I'd be at the bottom right of the plate and it was on the top left of the plate, I'd make that traffic stop. Um, I pulled people over for everything.
Now I, I, in the, like, eight years of, of being on the road and doing this, I, I probably gave a dozen tickets, uh, in that entire time because I-- it was never for me, uh, anything more than just who's in the car? Um, is it... Are there warrants? Are there drugs? Uh, you know, uh, what, what could be happening, um, in here?
And y- dude, you'd be surprised at how many really big cases [00:19:00] came from such a cheesy traffic stop. I mean, I, I solved, um, I solved really significant cases and, and arrested really, um, like really bad people i-i- from, like, a no, no blinker or, you know, they, they went over the, the, the center line or something.
And, um, and I loved that. I... It was always just like a game for me to see if I could find them and, um, and I... You know, they drive the beater cars. They drive the, the, the, the most, um, you know, the most expensive nice cars, the brand-new car. Like, you, you could never really tell, right, what was... what you were gonna come across.
Um, but, you know, about that six-year, seven-year timeframe, I started thinking, you know, y-when you work for a police department or a sheriff's, you, you know, your politics is a real thing. You know, the, the sheriff is an elected official. Uh, the police chief is, is, um, appointed by the mayor. And, you know, and your, your...
You have the city council, or you have [00:20:00] the county, uh, commissioners that they report to. The... Like, politics is definitely a part of the equation. And, um, and so, like, if, if their guys are making the news for things, or, like, there's something going on that makes them nervous so they're starting to get flack for politically, it, it, it makes its way through the ranks.
And then, um, before you know it, you're starting to feel like, man, it's becoming harder just to do good cop work. And that's how I started to feel, um, largely because I just loved turning over every stone. And when you do that enough, you will get people who will run, you'll get people who will fight, you'll get people who will barricade.
Like, you know, when you come across a bad guy, they, they don't just say, "You, you got me." So there was, there was one summer where I was, like, in seven different pursuits. Uh, and, um, and most pursuits don't end with... Like, most pursuits end with a crash of some sort, right? Um, and, uh, and sometimes they end up driving into a [00:21:00] daycare at 2:00 in the morning, um, and driving straight through into the building, uh, in downtown Eagle.
You know, and so, like, uh, I, I was just-- I was a topic of conversation a lot, uh, and, um, I was thinking, you know, I don't think I can... I don't think I could do cop work the way that I want to do it, uh, and be able to survive this thing. There's just, there's... I'll, I'll have to get, uh, beat down, you know, um, and put into a corner.
So you've then, at the same time, the family had an opportunity. Our-- My mom and her, uh, and her two siblings, they, um, they took my grandmother's share of a building that was downtown San Francisco that, that my grandmother and her brother, it was a business that they started, like, kind of like a sporting goods store, and it, and it, um, it, it was on Market Street, so in a very, um, popular, highly sought-after area.
And, um, the Hilton approached the family wanting to demolish the building and put a hotel there. So between my mom and her two siblings, [00:22:00] uh, and then our uncle, um, they worked out a deal, and so everybody came into a little bit of money. Uh, my mom said, "If you didn't do cop work, what would you do?" And so when you, you take all these elements about where, like, my headspace was at about could I really retire from this profession with, well, what would I do?
And that's where my brain started thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. Um, and so I consider myself to be an accidental entrepreneur, uh, because it was, it was that recipe that eventually led me to starting that first business.
Riley: So that first business, I want you to talk about that because that's, that's adjacent to law
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: right?
Matt Schneider: Yeah. I mean, I-- my degree was in psychology. I had, I had no business background, training experience, anything. And so I was-- when she asked me that, I'm like, "Well, I know enough to know that I should do something I'm good at and that I, that I enjoy, uh, and that there's some sort of gap in the [00:23:00] market.
Like I, I need to fill a void of some sort." Um, I knew enough, uh, to do that and, you know, so Idaho being a very, uh, um, pro self-defense state, you know, it's a open carry state. It's constitutional carry state, meaning that you just have to be an Idaho resident over the age of twenty-one and not disqualified from having a firearm, and you can carry concealed.
It's a very low bar, uh, to be able to, to carry a firearm, um, with you just in the event of a bad thing happening. Fantastic, uh, you know, w- if you just look at it through the eyes of ability to bring a gun to a gunfight, um, and not be disarmed by the government, so really nice from that standpoint. But from an actual, what's the probability of making the right decisions and not hurting an innocent person and, you know, not committing a felony that would land you in prison.
I mean, what-- like how many other things could be worse than being victimized by some dirtbag, right? That comes into your world. [00:24:00] You've-- you pull the trigger, accidentally shoot an innocent person that's a hundred yards away, but that stray bullet kills them, and now here you are being charged with, you know, um, manslaughter or, you know, some other felony and having to spend your entire life savings, uh, to try to keep yourself from going to prison and then sometimes still end up going to prison, right?
So, um, there's that in the equation and, and because there was, there was, uh, so many self-defenders out there that I knew weren't getting training 'cause there wa- that's where the void was. There wasn't a void. I opened up... It was called Forward Movement Training and, um, we leased out a, um, a sixty thousand square foot space, thirty thousand of it was inside and then an additional thirty thousand outside.
And we built up what like would be like a scenario village in there. Uh, we had a two-story house. We had a bank and that, that... So you and I met at Icon. Icon Credit Union was the credit union that sponsored the, the structure inside of our facility. Um, that was my relationship with them. Um, we had [00:25:00] vehicles.
We had a shooting simulator, mat rooms. Um, everything that, that, that you would really need to be able to, to perform virtually any kind of real world urban type force on force scenario. Um, and, and so it was designed to be able to train anybody that wanted to have a firearm for self-defense, whether it was in the home or out and about.
And then we had contracts with most of the feds. Um, uh, most of those agencies we had contracts with. Most of the local departments we had contracts with. And then we had a few government contracts as well that trained out of there. So it was like a reality-based training facility.
Riley: When you put that together, so had, had you seen some, uh, cases go wrong where people defended themselves and ended up in prison?
Matt Schneider: Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah, just being in law enforcement, you know, I, I mean, there was, there was, um, uh, you know, a neighbor dispute in particular that I, that I went to where it, like, it was over sprinklers and flooding and then, and [00:26:00] dog poop. And it just, this thing, it, it just festered amongst these two neighbors.
And, um, and then one started accusing the other one of, like, of, of trying to poison their dog. And then, um, and then on this particular day, there's a, there's a guy that, um, uh, goes out and they're arguing, and he, and he grabs a shotgun. But he unloaded the shotgun, uh, before he brought it out thinking that, you know, "This guy's on my property.
He won't leave my property, and so I'm just going to, I'm going to demonstrate, like, dominance." Yeah, and intimidate. And well- I mean, the-- well, by the time we get there, and we're, we're like trying to figure out what the hell is going on, he's like, he's not thinking he's in any trouble. He's like, "No," he's like, "Yes, I did it, but it wasn't-- I made sure it was unloaded."
Like the guy, you know, there was no possibility of, of, um, of actually shooting him. And so he's kinda thought that he was gonna be fine, and then he talks to the other guy. He's like, "I definitely thought he was gonna shoot me. Like I didn't know it [00:27:00] was unloaded. He didn't tell me it's unloaded. Like he's pointing a shotgun at me."
And, uh, you know, the way the law reads is like if this, if this guy, the victim, if he, if he genuinely fears for his life... First of all, he could have shot the guy back, right? If he's generally feeling,
Riley: For
Matt Schneider: for his life. Um, but he was unarmed, but he, he thought he was going to die, and that's enough to fit the code for a felony aggravated assault.
So that guy, um, he, he ended up getting arrested. He went through the court system. He... Neither one of these guys were bad guys. I mean, they, like, like individually, they had lots of people that, that loved them, and they were like good, productive members of society. They just had just crazy bad blood between them.
Um, so this guy, he did, uh, he did like a couple months in, in jail in county. Um, and then, you know, when-- but you're a felon, so now you lose like all kinds of rights and, you know, um, it becomes like a lifelong thing. So yeah, uh, you know, it's, um, whether it's something like that or legit, um, shootings that... We had one guy get shot in the [00:28:00] leg over a, a, a road rage thing that should never have happened, but it was the guy who pulled over first who, who shouldn't have.
Um, so yeah, there was, there was a number of, of circumstances where you're just like scratching your head thinking, "Dude, how the hell did you even get to this place? Like what, what were you thinking?" And then you realize, well, there's not a lot of thinking when you're in that kind of fight or flight. Uh, that lizard brain, you know, the, the, uh, the amygdala, it's like, it's, it's like the ancient part of our brain, right?
It's like it's live or die and, um, and the whole reasoning and logic, the frontal lobe piece, that's not-- that's out of the equation when, you know, for a lot of people when they've, when they've never experienced anything like that before. And so they don't... After the fact, they're like "Holy shit, I think I just, I think I've got a problem on my hands.
Like, I think what I did may not have been correct." Uh, but it's, at that point it's too late, right? At that point the thing already happened. [00:29:00] Um, so you feel for those people for sure, but that's again, that's, uh, uh, with the Reality Beast training, you can build those pathways. You can... It's like jujitsu, right?
It's like you, you do things enough, you find yourself in enough positions enough times because you've, you've been there before, you've, you've experienced, you know, it before, and repetition, repetition, repetition. Like, you, these pre-built pathways as to what to do, um, are there in those, like, crazy moments and, um, that's why we say you can fall back on your training.
That was what our intent was, is to make our entire community safer, uh, and make law enforcement safer, everybody safer by, by having a place where they could experience real world circumstances. 'Cause the brain doesn't know, um, you know, fake from reality when, like, it, it's a realistic enough scenario.
Like, it doesn't know training versus non-training. It just knows I'm getting shot at and, or I'm getting attacked. Um, so that's, uh, we look to just put people in [00:30:00] as many realistic scenarios as possible, um, i- in the hopes that they never actually had to leverage any of that training in the real world. Uh, but you just never know
Riley: Yeah. if you had to put a percentage on How am I gonna articulate this? A percentage on, you know, you have this kind of force on force training, right? Where you're, you're doing simulated, uh, home invasions or you're doing simulated building clearing, you know, this, this kind of stuff you guys did down there. How much of your training did you do when it came to these mindset things, when it came to the, the legal side of self-defense and it came to the situational awareness and that kind of a thing?
Matt Schneider: Oh, I mean, it was hand in glove. Like we-- One of our instructors was, um... He had his doctorate in psychology, and we had specific classes on, um, on the whole psychology component of [00:31:00] it, you know. Because being, um, being calm in combat, like, uh, like being, uh... Staying, uh, like aware of your surroundings, fighting that tunnel vision, making logical, rational decisions, it's, it is, it's, it's not something that's natural.
And, um, you know, we, we, we prove people wrong on a daily basis, right? Like we would have people come in that they... We'd be like, "How, how often do you carry a gun out for self-defense?" Like, "Always. Not, not only am I... You know, I, I go everywhere with it. I'm on the church security team. Like I, like I always sit facing the door just in case, you know?"
And like, "Okay, and, and what level of training would you say?" Like, "Well, you know, I've, I, I went to this class this one time, and then I... You know, but I watch all kinds of videos, and then I go to the range. I go to the range all the time." And um, and like so confident, and then you put them into... You put them in one scenario where it's, it's like it's a realistic scenario, and now for the first time, they're dealing [00:32:00] with somebody that's, that's actually moving around and engaging them and talking to them and like doing shifty behavior, and their hands are like, you know, here and then maybe behind them and, and like, and they just crumble.
And they, um... The number of, the number of felonies, right, that got committed i-i-in that, in that building of ours had those not been UTM rounds. Like we used, uh, UTM, which is, um, I guess close as you can get. UTM and Simunition are as close as you get to real rounds, um, uh, that are, that exist. Um, I mean, it'll break the skin if it's a
Riley: with real guns, right?
Matt Schneider: Correct.
Yeah. Yeah, you just change the bolt carrier group and the, and the rifle, and then just it would be an upper receiver. So it, the, it would just do a, um, a rimfire on these cartridges. But yeah, they, I mean, they-- you-- it would, it would pierce the skin. You, you-- if you weren't wearing, like, if you weren't really heavily clothed up, like, you would be riddled with these bruises and things [00:33:00] and, um...
But yeah, they'd crumble. They, they, they would... And then after the fact, it's so humbling, and the crazy and scariest part is some people would leave. They would, like, they just, their ego took such a hit that I'm like, if I ever see that person in public, uh, and there's ever anything that, like, spooks my Spidey senses that something could be going on and they're in the equation, like, I'm out of here.
Like, I'm, like, that's a person who knows they're not prepared, has too much of an ego to continue to, to go down the process of really learning what they need to do, um, and instead are going to just, are just going to ride this wave of machismo that they've built up for themselves but isn't based on reality.
Um, that would happen sometimes. Uh, ego and pride would, would get in the way. But most of the time people-- we had people that would stop carrying altogether. Like, we had people that said, "I, after learning the realities of it, I just, it's just in my safe." We're like, "Well, that's not what we want either." We-- but it-- they're like, "Well, I, I, I just can't train at [00:34:00] the level that I need to train."
The re- once you get hit with reality, it's, um, you know, it, it, it's a paradigm shift
Riley: Yeah, I think we all think it's gonna look like the movies, right?
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: And you're just gonna walk through there like John Wick and take care of
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah.
Riley: at all
Matt Schneider: It's not... We actually... It's funny you say that because last night the, uh, the wife and boy and I were watching, uh, Godfather II, you know, and there's, like, one scene where, um, where, uh, you know, a guy gets shot, like, in the chest and he's just standing there, uh, and he's, like, standing at the door, and then he shoots him again in the face and hits him in the cheek, and he's just, like...
He's, like, standing there like he's just, like, like, dying, but he's still standing there. Uh, and then, um, and then he does, like, a final headshot, and then he falls down. And, uh, yeah, it's... I mean, it wa- and the face one was just, like, this little red dot as if it was just, like, this super clean entry and then no exit.
Like, it was just... Yeah. It's not like the movies, that's for sure. [00:35:00] Yeah. No. No.
Riley: not like the movies. The little, the little Hollywood spot between the eyes, right? It's
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah. No, it's not like that at all
Riley: No, it's, you know, we kind of giggle about it here, but that kind of stuff's pretty gnarly and
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: I do think there's so many, so many places in life when you, you talked about people's ego and them not being able to even stick around and, and receive the training.
They just had to leave, right?
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Riley: world too, right? Where
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: they don't wanna learn. They don't wanna... They think they know it all. They think they've got it all together, and
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: there's that... It's- ego's a perfect way to put it, man. It's, it's a unwillingness to really dive in and learn and be humble enough to, to ask questions and
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: there thinking you know it all.
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah.
Riley: Right?
[00:36:00]
Matt Schneider: Yeah. And, um, you know, having a CEO mindset but a white kn- white belt mentality, you know, just in life, in all things in life, and recognizing that, you know, we need to be the, we need to be the boss of our own lives. Like, we need to take ownership and, um, like, there is no knight in shining armor that's ever gonna come in and just save [00:37:00] our day and pull us out of whatever circumstance we're in that, um, is really hurting us.
Like, recognizing that while at the same time recognizing w- we are so much more ignorant in so many more areas than we actually have any level of intelligence. And even the areas that we have intelligence, it's such a s- it's just a, a small amount compared to what the, what, what is capable, right? And, um, and so, you know, I was taught early on in my entrepreneurial days, like the, the proximity, uh, the power of proximity and, like, how powerful it becomes when you, when you, well, align yourself to other people who, um, have that same kind of growth mindset and, um...
But everybody's got their own different experiences and, um, and expertise and things, and collectively, like, that's where really cool stuff gets built. That's where really cool ideas, uh, are formulated, and, um, [00:38:00] support exists that you can't find other places. And, and, um, but yeah, man, you have to, like, y- y- you-- Pride and ego will kill opportunity.
It'll kill relationships. It'll kill, you know, um, you know, it'll kill everything if, um, if you let it get in the way
Riley: That is well said, man. So Matt, you, you, uh, you ran this training facility for, uh, remind me again, how many years?
Matt Schneider: Uh, it w- we started in late, uh, 2013, late 2014, then sold in 2019. Mm-hmm.
Riley: 2019, okay. what prompted that, uh, pivot from there for that, that sale?
Matt Schneider: Uh, mainly the end of our lease. We had signed a five-year lease and, um, you know, I, at that point, five years in, I had, I had so many different areas where I would've done so many different things, uh, differently. And, um, [00:39:00] and had I, had I... Really had I been wise enough to delay opening my first business, um, by a year and instead investing in, like, mentorship, um, the number of mistakes I could have avoided, the, the, the amount of pain I could avoid, the amount of money I would've not lost, like, you know.
But I, I didn't do that. I just went all in. And I ha- and I, I was naive in thinking that hard work alone pays off when it really oftentimes doesn't, you know? Um, you can work super, super hard and have very little to show for it, uh, in, um, in many different cases. And so at five years when our lease was up, I, you know, there was, there was so many different things that I didn't structure correctly from the very beginning that, um, it, it made more sense for me to package the facility up and, um, and I worked out a deal with the Ada County Sheriff's Office where, um, where that became their training center for...
They really just, um, [00:40:00] moved from it maybe, like, six months or so ago. So, like, maybe five-- maybe they signed a five-year as well with them. Um, so it went on another five years there, and then I packaged up the civilian side, all of our memberships and everything that was happening on that front. Um, and there was a former, uh, a guy that was working for the agency that was, um, getting out of that contract world, and I sold that side of it to him.
And, and so at that point, it made the most sense to, to do that, and I had all kinds of, um, ideas of different stuff I wanted to do. I also was, I also was, uh, at that point, pretty tired of the whole tactics and, you know, shoot, move, communicate, um, that whole thing. It had been just part of my life at that point since, um, 20 or 2006, and I was ready for, uh, just to have different conversations and different challenges and things.
Riley: Okay, so two, two things there. Um One of them is the, [00:41:00] that, that repetitiveness, right? Is, and I'm, I'm gathering that's what you're saying. shoot, move, communicate.
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: But you,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: when you're, when you're doing any type of a, any type of a training scenario, you're doing the same presentation over and over and
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: and over again,
Matt Schneider: yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm
Riley: is that, is that what you're saying there?
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah, totally. I, I th-- so not only that, because I could-- we taught the concealed, like the enhanced concealed weapons class there. And man, I could, I could give that presentation in my sleep. Like we taught it once, twice a month, and I, you know, I could, I could do it, you know, I could just do it, um, because I knew every slide, every point, everything.
Um, and, you know, then you do scenarios and things and you know how it's gonna work out. You, like, you can tell already, um, like how it's gonna shake out and what the feedback's gonna be. So there was definitely that element, but then it was also too just, um, just the conversation [00:42:00] around, around guns and, and, and self-defense and stuff.
It was just ... It, it ... I lost the excitement for it. Like I wasn't excited to go in and even though it was the coolest facility, it was, I mean, it was, it was awesome. Like you don't, as a civilian, you, you really don't get an opportunity to train in a place like that. I mean, it's very rare. There's a few places around the country.
Um, I still hear from people that, that, um, trained, used to train back there in the day and, and they say, "Man, I, I, I wish you still had that place." And because it was super cool. But I did- wasn't excited walking into it. It was just, it, it was work. It felt like work. Um, and, uh, yeah, and I just, I didn't wanna clean guns anymore and the solvent and things.
I just, I was ready for a new challenge altogether
Riley: Yeah. That's, that's, that is an interesting thing because there's, you, you mentioned it with police work, that there's that five or six-year
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: start to question, "Is this still for me?"
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Riley: where
Matt Schneider: [00:43:00] Yeah
Riley: kind of timeframe. And I, I do think somewhere around that five-year point
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Riley: I had to make that decision.
It's like, "Man, do I wanna keep doing this?"
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, that's a good point. I mean, because, like, with my upbringing, and it sounds like maybe with yours, too, to a certain degree, like, uh, it was constantly starting over. It was constantly the new thing, and I did find... I did, you know, figure out the glass half full to it and, um, probably even to some degree, like, gamified it, right?
Like, just found the adventure in it all. So there probably is something very real about the fact that... You know, 'cause it's not just business. It's like, it's vehicles. It's, um, like, you know... I mean, we move, we move every few years, right? Like, it's just, I like... I, I don't get attached to anything really. That, that is definitely part of my upbringing is that I do not get emotionally attached to, uh, to much.
It's, uh... There's no [00:44:00] real sentimental value to, uh, to things. W- my wife, you know, she grew up her entire life in the same house and, uh, her- when her dad got sick and they had to move down to, um, Arizona to be close to the Mayo Clinic and they sold their house, like it was devastating for her even though she had lived in it for, uh, you know, over a decade.
Um, so yeah, the, the... There, there's an element that kinda gets bored and, um, and I like adventure. I like, um... I mean, it's... I was in SWAT for five years and I loved SWAT because it was... You never knew, right? You, you, you just... You did not know how it was gonna shake out. You just knew there was a real problem.
Like, there... Like, something had happened to where now SWAT needed to get activated and was involved and, you know, it was always dicey and, um, and I, I loved that. Uh, um, so I, I think, you know, for me it's if I, if I'm not, if I'm not doing something new that's challenging me in some way or, or stretching me in some way, like I'll just get bored[00:45:00]
Riley: I heard a, it was just a little video clip I saw the other day, and the guy said, "It's the pursuit of happiness that we like."
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: yeah, man."
Matt Schneider: Yeah, yeah,
Riley: that
Matt Schneider: yeah
Riley: even reaching the goal, right? Reaching the goal is cool for five minutes, and then it's like, "Okay, where's the next goal," right?
We...
Matt Schneider: Yeah, I call... Yeah, dude, I, um, so I refer to that as, as, um, as like, um, being Uh, like constantly, um, like happy, happily dissatisfied, I guess. Like, I would refer to... Because I... Like, um, I love... I, people ask me would I go back to law enforcement. They've asked me that, you know, for years. And, and I did stay on as an admin reserve until 2019, so, you know, I had an advanced, uh, certificate in, from post, and I had enough years and experience and training hours to where I was able to, at any point, go out and take my own police car out and go play cop for the day.
[00:46:00] And, um, and that was always cool because, uh, you know, I had, I had all, all of my stuff, I had the radio and things. And so if I heard, like, a ton of police cars going a certain direction, I'd, I'd go in the house, I'd turn my radio on, and I'd like, "Oh, shit, there's a real problem that's going on. I'm gonna go play cop for the day."
And I'd, and I'd call, like, up one of the sergeants and say, "Hey, I'm gonna suit up and take out a car. Where do you need me?" And they'd be like, "Hey, go and, like, get here as quickly as you can, go and take this position," or whatever. And, um, and I loved it. I never had to do paperwork. It was the coolest thing.
They don't... Uh, a reserve guy accidentally shot somebody back east when they meant to tase them, uh, many years ago, and so most departments actually got rid of their reserve program. But if they hadn't, I'd still be a reserve today. It was the coolest thing. But, um, I did do that till 2019. And, um, but, you know, the, um, this whole, like, happily dissatisfied piece is, like, always knowing that there's more that could be done, could be more to be accomplished.
Like, you set goals, and then you reach the goals. [00:47:00] And no, I would not go back to, uh, law enforcement because, uh, because the life that we've been able to create and, um, and the experience we've been able to have, the things we've been able to achieve, just were not in the cards for law enforcement. People don't get into law enforcement for wealth or recognition or, you know, legacy.
Well, may- maybe legacy. But, um, but, you know, yeah, so I would never go back. Uh, but I have found that because you never arrive, like, there's, there's never that, you know, "Oh, I just... I've, I've, I've made the most amount of money that could be made," or, "I," you know, "I, I landed the largest contract that could be landed," or, like, whatever.
Like, "I got this, this... Um, I reached this goal." It's like, yeah, but that's like, like, I'm not sending rockets into outer space and then having them come down to Earth and, like, catching them with chopsticks in the middle of the ocean like Elon Musk, right? So it's like, w-
Riley: Right
Matt Schneider: so I'm [00:48:00] like, okay, what, what am I...
So yeah, I'm happy, like, th- that this year was way better than last year and, or whatever. Um, but, like, what, uh, dude, there's so much more I could do, right? And that's that dissatisfaction piece. Like, you're always dissatisfied because, like, I'm not even t- I'm not even... I'm still not scratching the surface of my potential.
So you're constantly working
Riley: I feel, I feel that so much, man. Sometimes I'll just be, you know, you have those, I'm tired, it's late at night, and I'm sitting
Matt Schneider: Hmm.
Riley: thinking about crap, man. So dissatisfied with certain areas of my world, you know? And
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah
Riley: I'll kill myself sometimes just, like, racking my brain on how I can change that.
And sometimes that change has to happen over a long period of time, and I'm not patient, you know?
Matt Schneider: Dude, you know what I found recently, Riley? Probably like the last like year I would say, is I love sleep and I, and I-- but I hate going to bed. It's like I, I, I love... Like I love sleep [00:49:00] and, um, and if I can take a nap, I'll take a nap. But I, I found myself, uh, lots of times, like at first I was like, "Oh, maybe this is just kind of like a, a thing."
But no, for like the last year, like I feel like I'm losing time by sleeping so much. But I'm in the h- I'm in like the health and medical space, right? So we-- a, a big part of what we do today is consult, uh, private practices in the holistic, integrative health, uh, functional health, HRT, peptides, like these, these clinics that are doing cutting-edge things and, and kicking Western medicine in the nuts when it comes to, um, deviating from what Western medicine says is, is required in order to have like optimized health.
Um, sleep is such an important component of it, and so I know that, but at the same time, the entrepreneur in me is like, "Man, but if I can get away with four hours or three, maybe like three hours, then like I, you know, I could get-- I could start like hammering on this thing." Um, so I've been working through that actually, because [00:50:00] all...
I mean, this week alone, I've gotten up, uh, a couple times at like 2:30. I'll go to bed at 9:30, and then a couple times I've gotten up at 2:00, 2:30. Uh, this morning I got up at 4:00. I mean, I, I always try to get up by 4:30 'cause of the 6:00 AM jujitsu class. Um, but I don't, you know, if jujitsu's at 6:00, I need to leave the house by 5:30, I don't wanna be up at 2:00, right?
But then I do want to be up at 2:00, 'cause then between like 2:00 and like 4:00, uh, to 4:30, yeah, I'm like, I'm working on stuff. So my-- it's hard to shut the brain off. I, it's... I, I'm working through that piece of it. I don't wanna start taking stuff to sleep through, you know, sleep more hours though, you know?
Riley: You know, it's, it's funny you said that 'cause this, uh, well, last, probably last October, November, it started dawning on me that my sleep needed attention,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: But I view it as almost the same as I would view out.
Matt Schneider: Hmm.
Riley: always glad after I've had a good night's
Matt Schneider: Oh, for sure
Riley: it's [00:51:00] that procrastination that I just put it off,
Matt Schneider: Oh, yeah.
Riley: push it later,
Matt Schneider: Oh, yeah
Riley: I know, like there's not enough time between now and morning.
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah.
Riley: I'm starting to s- yeah, that's
Matt Schneider: Yeah. I'm a- I'm good at...
Riley: it that way, but
Matt Schneider: Yeah, I'm good being in bed by 9:30. Like it, uh, like I'm, like I'm... My batteries are depleted by 9:00, 9:30. Um, but then it's like, I don't know, the, the internal clock goes like, "Hey, asshole, there's work that needs to get done. You got 14 different projects simultaneously that you're, you're powering through."
Um, and then once, like once, like I, like I, like wrest- wrestle in the bed enough and like that clicks, like I hear that, then it's d- I'm done. Like there's no like falling back asleep after that. It's just...
Riley: two
Matt Schneider: So sometimes I'm mad at myself. I'm like, "Damn it, why did I have to say that to myself now?" Like, can I s-
Riley: Yeah
Matt Schneider: another hour from now?
But, mm-hmm.
Riley: Matt, you, there was... The other thing [00:52:00] you mentioned in the, in the conversation there, it's been a few minutes, but, uh, it's hard work doesn't always pay off.
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: you said that in the context of you're in that initial grind of a business, but there's, there's more than just the grind, right? There's the strategy, and there's the
Matt Schneider: Oh yeah, for sure
Riley: and there's, you know, there's all these other things.
So when you said
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: hard work doesn't always pay off,
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: what were you getting at?
Matt Schneider: Um, I mean, the, the, uh, countless times that, um, that I put in just crazy numbers of hours into things and, um, and time and money and, um, and energy into something that ultimately there was like, there, there was a fraction of the fruit that I had hoped for, um, that I was, I was planning on. And, uh, but ultimately it's like that was a waste.[00:53:00]
Like that, that, like I just, I just wasted six months and, you know, $80,000 towards this thing. And, and, um, you know, to be an entrepreneur, you gotta take risk. And, you know, I don't know about you, Riley, I don't have a crystal ball. Um, and so I, I can't see into the future. And so it's like, it's calculated risk.
It's, it's like calculating your, your probability of success versus failure, and we don't always get it right. And, you know, I've been an entrepreneur now for, uh, going on 15 years, and so there's just been, there's been a number of times where like, I was like, "Okay, I, um..." Like I, I like, I, I feel this... I generally I can trust my gut and generally I can like see around corners and I can kind of like visually put things together.
Um, and then like there's, there's been plenty of times where it's worked, but man, it's, you know, it's painful when it doesn't. And so like that was my point is [00:54:00] that you... There's so, there is so much more to it than just being a visionary or just being a risk taker or just being, you know, financially sound enough to throw, you know, some money towards something and say like, you know, "I don't wanna waste this.
I, I want a positive ROI." Um, if it doesn't work out, it's okay. But, um, it doesn't mean it doesn't suck when you like, there, okay, where'd that $250,000 go? Um-
Riley: Right
Matt Schneider: But for me, it's more of the time piece. Like I l- I really look at the, the time that gets lost. Like, uh, like I've, I've, I've demonstrated a number of times that I can make, I can make a lot of money and I can lose a lot of money.
Um, the money can... The, the money is easy to come and easy to go, right? Someone coined that phrase a long time ago. Um, opportunities, the s- like, um, going cool places, doing cool things, being on, on stages, like all of that stuff I can, uh, uh, I can create and it can also easily be [00:55:00] taken away. Like the universe, God, whoever, like it can, it can take it away too.
But it's the time piece that we know that once we lose, like it's gone, and our son, he's gonna be 17 this month. He was four when we started our first business. And um, and so, you know, it just... You- you're always told being a parent, your kids are grown up before you know it, and you're like, "Yeah, like that makes sense."
But then, like as an entrepreneur, you, you can be... You can like realize like if it does not make sense to work really hard and lose time that you can never get back, never get back with your family, never get those memories, never get those opportunities. Um, and so that, that for me is like the, the... Has been the devastating part of, of working really hard on some things and, um, and not having much fruit come from it.
Uh, but I've always, I've, I've always... Well, I... Not [00:56:00] always. I was taught about 2015 by a mentor that, um, you know, if you took some arrows in your back, if you like, if you went-- if you stepped up to the plate, you, you, you know, you stepped into the arena and like you gave it hell, but ultimately you got knocked on your ass, whether it was the same day or it was a year later, um, if you end up going in and, and getting knocked on your ass, it-- then what did you learn from it?
And how, like what would you do differently in the future? So I, I've always since 2015 taken that approach to, um, to say, "I don't wanna do that again." So the next time I take a risk on something, the next time I go down a certain path, um, how do I have a better, uh, outcome? And the, the like golden thread through it is, um, is y- like the people you surround yourself with.
Like it's, um, the, the, the number of, of [00:57:00] times that success has resulted, uh, you know, on the, um, on the other side of hard work and things because of being humble enough to ask questions, to say, "I don't," you know, "I don't know this thing." Um, to, to, to hire good people, um, to, um, you know, understand leadership and be a good leader.
Like that's All, all of the failures pretty much have come from, like, not, not being a good enough leader, uh, not, um, having the right mentors, and it's been solved by fixing those things
Riley: Yeah, that's a-- it's, it's those unseen things, right? That you-- they make... It's not that hard work doesn't pay off, right? That's not what you were saying. You were just saying
Matt Schneider: Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I'm like,
Riley: these other things that amplify it, right?
Matt Schneider: yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, uh, no, I've... I mean, like if I look at my f- the first [00:58:00] couple of years of the business, I worked more hours by far than I had ever worked in my entire life. Um, and I had made... And I was making less money than I had ever made in my entire life because I didn't know, I didn't know how to do business.
I didn't, I didn't understand marketing. I didn't understand, uh, you know, P&Ls and balance sheets and, um, you know, what a net promoter score was. Like, I didn't know anything about business. I knew tactics. I knew room clearing. I knew close quarter combat. I, I knew that there was a lot of self-defenders in the, in the area that weren't getting training, and that's what I knew.
But, I mean, at least for me, uh, it, like, it paid off in lessons learned. Like, i-in that way it, it paid off. But when it came to being in business and, like, having a for-profit business and, um, when you own a for-profit business, like at the end of the day, h-how, how are you measuring success and, and, uh, um, and, like, [00:59:00] effectiveness of your business?
It's d- what's your profit look like, right? When you own a for-profit business. Like, and so, um, but no, I'm flush with lessons learned for sure. So yeah, it-
Riley: It's, that's an interesting thing because you're, now you're, now you're into that, that place of, well, technician who thinks he's gonna go start a business. And he's a great technician. Sure, he knew how to train guys how to clear a room, but crap, man, he didn't know how to run a business, right?
They're
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: sets. It's a
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: form.
Matt Schneider: Yeah. It, it, yeah, it is. It is. It's an art and a science for sure
Riley: Yeah. Yeah. So now you've moved from that business, you sell it, and pivoted into something else now, and I want you to talk
[01:00:00]
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Yeah Yeah. So I, as a result of, of figuring out the power of proximity of, of, um, surrounding myself with the right people and learning a lot of lessons, it-- that's not nearly as common as it really should be. Uh, and, um, many, many [01:01:00] things, Riley they are common sense, they're just not common knowledge.
And so very few things are unanswered in, like, in today's world. Um, but when you don't know what questions to ask, when you don't know, um, when you really don't even know how to articulate what you're solving for or what the win looks like, it, it makes it really tough to, um, to progress. And so through my own mentorship from about twenty fifteen to twenty nineteen, um, uh, people had s- had seen that, like, I was going from this completely naive, um, you know, former cop who became an accidental entrepreneur, but was like, you know, white-knuckling it and, um, and working hard for very little ROI to, um, to, like, achieving some, some success, some recognizable success.
And, um, and so I started incrementally getting asked [01:02:00] questions from, from others that were small business owners like, "Hey, you know, what do you think about this?" Or, "How should I do this?" And so I'm very vocal, like, ask the questions, check your ego. Um, whatever the pro- whatever the biggest problem that, that somebody has, um, at any given moment, there are others that have the exact solution.
Like, they know exactly what to do because they've already walked that path before. And it just becomes a matter of, like, finding them. And, um, and if they're not, like, in your immediate circle, then, like, reach out beyond that. But they're there. People are there. Like, we-- Like, that thing where like, "Oh, I don't know how, I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Like, I'm, I, I, I literally don't know what I'm gonna do about this. Um, I've tried all these other things that haven't worked." S- somebody else ten feet away is like, "Bro, it's easy. Like, don't do this, do this instead." You do it and you're like, "Holy shit, that worked amazing. I wish I would've known that [01:03:00] before."
So I started getting people asking me questions and, um, and I would share what I had learned. Uh, it would work for them. And then at some point, I, I started thinking I should charge for this because I'm investing time and energy, and the amount of money it cost me to learn these lessons, uh, is a lot, right?
So, um, I'm s- I, I'm, I'm like, if I'm gonna help you make money, then I'm gonna, like, I'm not gonna just give you my time for free, give you this advice that cost me, uh, you know, multiple seven figures over the years, uh, and tons of, of You know, arguments with my wife and, like, sleepless night stuff. Like, I'm not gonna give that to you for free.
You turn around and you go make a bunch of money with it. Uh, so then I, I was like, "Well, here's the price tag. You want-- Like, let's sit down, let's do a whiteboard session. Let's, like, let's, let's problem solve this. I, I-I'm very confident I... Based on my experience, I can, I can help you with that. Um, here's the price tag for it."
So I started charging for consulting in like twenty, uh, like [01:04:00] twenty eighteen timeframe. And, um, and, uh, like people would take what I, what I, like, had to offer to them. They would do the thing and it would work, and I was like, "Okay, I'm actually, I'm actually pretty good at this." Like I, I can use that SWAT brain of mine that's always like problem-solving ahead of, ahead of time and like thinking about, um, you know, here's the, here's the main objective, but then here's like if we get denied that, here's our secondary and then tertiary breach points.
And using that side, the psychology side and my business experience, I was like, "I'm actually pretty good at helping people." And the evidence of that is the outcomes that were produced immediately after them implementing the guidance that I gave. Um, and so then I just started having more people come and I started charging more money and I got to a point where I was like, "I'm gonna do-- Like, I'm gonna make this like the main thing 'cause I'm, I'm making a lot of money."
I mean, I, you [01:05:00] know, I, I started making about... And this is just to give you a sense but-- of why I made this main thing. But, um, about thirty-two hundred and fifty dollars per hour, I was on the phone with a client. Um, and so as soon, as soon as I started looking at it like, "Okay, well, what other job could I get or what other thing could I do where I can exchange an hour for three thousand two hundred and fifty dollars?"
It, it wasn't there. Um, and, you know, some people may wonder, "Well, who's gonna pay you that much money to talk to them on the phone, um, for an hour?" Well, the people who-- They take-- They pay thirty-two hundred and fifty for that hour, and that, and that makes them twenty thousand or fifty thousand or a hundred thousand.
E- Like, that is just simple math, and that's what, that's what that's been since like twenty eighteen timeframe. We also have some ownership in a company called Fitpro Tracker, which is a software company, uh, for gyms. Um, I'm a minority owner of it and, um, and then we have a, uh, another software that we white label.
It's called [01:06:00] Ignition Systems. It, it's for, um, medical practices primarily, but it's a CRM billing system, um, that we... It's fully HIPAA compliant that we, we integrate with clinics that don't have, have that system in place.
Riley: Mm. You, um... It's, it's, it's kind of a fun thing though, 'cause you, uh, you know, watching you come along and realize at some point coffee shop meetings you're having are valuable,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: And then turning that into a business, that's, uh... me, that's... You've said it twice now, right? You, you talked about when you left the police force, you found this, this hole in the market,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: that needed attention.
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: and you were aware of it because of your career,
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Riley: this other thing starts happening where you sort of slowly became aware of the fact that, "Oh, crap, I have something to offer, man. I
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: I have some understanding of the business world now, partly through my school of hard knocks
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah
Riley: me into this, you know, given me some wisdom here [01:07:00] on,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: how this little machine works, and now I can pass it on to other people, and that
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Riley: back to what you said, you know, what people are gonna pay that kind of money for that kind of advice. Well, they'll pay three grand to make 20 all day long. You can
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: trade a whole bunch of times,
Matt Schneider: Oh, for sure. Yeah. Yeah, and, and that's something that I, I learned, um... Well, first of all, I, you know, I, um, I was helped with my relationship with money to understand, um, the value of money and the value, um, like that I've brought forward and, um, and how to charge for certain things and how to think like this.
But, you know, just to kinda simplify it because, you know, it's entrepreneurs that tune into your podcast, um, is, you know, the bigger the problems you solve for people, the more money they're happy to pay you for it, right? Um, it, it really is just kind of that simple. And so focus on solving big problems and when, [01:08:00] when you clearly do solve big problems, and it's not just like good marketing and, you know, good s- you know, social media.
But like when you have somebody in front of you who says, "All right, I'm gonna hire you, and I'm gonna pay you a premium because you're going to give me a premium outcome." And that premium outcome is worth far more than the premium price tag that you're putting on it. Um, i- if you can deliver on it, you've got a business.
You've got... And you've got a business that, that can grow. Um, and but it, it's-- you do not have a business if you're just really good at marketing and really good at having conversations, convincing somebody to, to spend, you know, some money with you up, up front, but then like the moment that the rubber meets the road, they're like, "Oh, you're just, you're just a snake oil salesman," right?
So like,
Riley: what we call gimmicks, right? It's that, it's that gimmick sales.
Matt Schneider: yeah. Yeah.
Riley: I were talking about that just yesterday on how in the electrolyte world there's a lot of gimmick, man.
Matt Schneider: Hmm
Riley: just, fluff,
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: they make a big deal out of that, and [01:09:00] it seems very convincing, but when you get down to it, it's, it's a pretty lame electrolyte drink that, you know, really shouldn't be saying the things they're saying
Matt Schneider: Sure.
Riley: flat false, you know?
Yeah. What, what, what would What would you say is the Is the defining thing that really separates those two, those two approaches, right? 'Cause you, you're in the consulting field, right? In
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: field, that usually means I'm between jobs. That doesn't mean a real,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: right?
Matt Schneider: Sure. Yeah
Riley: it's one of those things just full of fluff.
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah
Riley: you've, you've discovered a way to actually bring some results to people. So what's the, what's the difference?
Matt Schneider: Uh, I mean, so the outcomes you produce r- I mean, truly. Like it's, it's, um, it... You know, if th- One of the areas where people get jammed up right away is that they're chasing the almighty dollar. Like, their focus is on the dollar, and they're like, [01:10:00] "I wanna make, you know, X am- millions of dollars per year."
And it's like, you know, "And then I'm... 'Cause then I could buy this, and then I could live in this ZIP code, and then I can be on that boat," and whatever. And, um, and what I have found, Riley, is that, is that people who, who are chasing the almighty dollar because their Greek lands are just secreting, um, that's a very, uh...
First of all, that's the complete wrong why, and, um, and people pick up on it. People, like, people will figure you out. They... You know, if you do anything long enough, like, y- people will, will start to believe their own eyes and own experiences. And in today's world where, like, it's so easy to learn, like, just about anything about anybody, um, y- like, if you can't deliver, you're, like, people aren't going to trust you.
And you're, you're, you're going to find yourself looking for other work and hopefully a, a job that you're actually good at, that [01:11:00] you can actually deliver. Because people are paying for outcomes. They're paying for results. When people buy SALT, they're, they're not, they're not paying for a drink or a mixed for their water, right?
They're not even, they're not even paying for the, um, the contents that are in the package. What they're paying for are the outcomes that your, your product produces, right? If they-- If what your product produces is, um, is better clarity, is, you know, the hydration that leads to, um, um, more focus and better sleep or whatever it is, right?
I, I... Like, you know the science of it. But if, if I'm in... I'm just gonna give you an example of, like, um, this big problems charge big money. If, if I'm an entrepreneur and I'm, and I'm sitting in a boardroom a lot, or I've got a trip overseas and, um, we're gonna have really long, really tough negotiations or conversations and, [01:12:00] um, I need to be at the top of my game.
I, you know, When-- Because when, when it's go time, like, uh, my, my shareholders and, um, and stakeholders and board, they don't care about jet lag. They don't care that it was an 18-hour flight. They don't care that I, I, you know, I, I like h- have not been sleeping well. Like they... What they care about is did you meet the objective or not when you were there, right?
And so if w- if I'm gonna be put in that position, I'm gonna say, "What, what do I need to do to optimize?" Like so that way the 18-hour flight is a, is a non-factor. The, the time zone thing's a non-factor. The fact that I Um, you know, have had to eat, um, you know, out of the house and haven't been able to have like, uh, home-prepped meals, um, is in fact like, "What do I need to do to optimize so that I can go into that room and I can, I can, uh, think more clearly, uh, make better decisions, um, um, [01:13:00] ha- like outlast them in negotiations by way of, of..."
It's like a, it's like a game of like who can tire the other person out faster, right? Like who can, um, who can maintain mental strength, uh, the longest. If, if what I'm negotiating is a, is a, you know, $100 million deal and salt by way of what it does is, is it will scientifically dramatically improve my probability of success.
That amongst, you know, other things that, um, that, that I would need too like nutrition and, you know, whatever. Um, and it's a major contributor. We're talking about $100 million deal that's on the line. What is, what is the value of making sure that that is-- that's in my system and that it's a, it's a part of what I do, right?
It's like it's... Do you see where I'm going with that? Where it's like what problems is it solving? It's not just the content. It's not like, "Oh, [01:14:00] we just rehydrate." No. If you're helping people think better, if you're helping people, um, perform better and, and do what they do at a much higher level than their competitors, that is massively valuable.
And that's what, that's, that's what they're paying for. They're paying for their performance. They're paying for those outcomes. So when it comes to the consulting side of it, um, the, the money always... The money's a lagging indicator of, of does the consulting work or not. Uh, the, the... People-- Because people pay for done, right?
People vote with their wallets. And so, um, if you're making a lot of money consistently over years and you're doing it the right way and you're not, like, you're not a fraudster, then that just inherently means you're, like you're good at what you do and people are happy to pay you for it
Riley: I, I love that you're saying that, man, because I, I, I do think that's the, that's the nobility of business that I've always felt is a well-run business creates happy people. And they vote with their wallet is[01:15:00]
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: and I,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: because that's the... whenever we pay for a service that has-- brings more value to us than the amount of money we just parted with to,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: that service, it's always a pleasure.
You know? You just, you walk away feeling like you just got the better end of the deal,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Riley: both parties win that way, and I love that. I love that in the business world, man. It
Matt Schneider: Yeah. I mean, really a- as it should because it's, um... Look, like we, we If, like it's a, it-- Being an entrepreneur is one of the, the hardest things that, um, uh, hardest journeys that somebody can put themselves through. And, um, but if you do it right, it, it, it's, it can be one of the most rewarding things as well.
And, um, and you know, so it's the, the w- the people that I feel for are the ones that they go all in and they become [01:16:00] entrepreneurs and they, they, you know, um, and they, they put it all out there and, um, and it doesn't work out for 'em because they didn't, they didn't recognize what they were really stepping into.
They didn't recognize the, uh, the amount of resilience and tenacity and grit, um, y-you know, the amount of like communication skills that need to be had. Like, you know, they just don't recognize really what they're signing up for and it doesn't work out. I feel for those ones. I don't feel for the ones that don't work out because they got, they, they got seen for, uh, for being a shyster or for not putting the people and the outcomes first.
Um, you know, uh, and that's why it's interesting 'cause I've never, I've never priced anything com- uh, uh, uh, compared to competitors, um, ever. I don't, I don't know what other people in this space charge. I-- Well, I know some because they're just like they're in the network, and I know that I don't charge as much as some of them.
And I have, I have been asked before. There was a, there was one [01:17:00] where I had did a consult and they're like, "Hey, you only charge..." I think I was charging, um... I think they wanted to do like a, like a half-day whiteboard session, if I remember right. And I was like, that's, uh, I charge ten grand for a half-day whiteboard session, plus travel if I'm coming to you or, you know, you can pay your travel and come to me.
But the, the half day is, um, is ten thousand. And they're like, "You know, so and so, they charge, uh, thirty thousand for that." And they're like, "So why aren't you charging that much?" I'm like, "First of all, I don't, I don't know what-- Like I didn't know that they're charging that much. Um, second of all, because that's the price that I wanna charge for it.
Like, 'cause I'm exchanging my time and that's what I feel I wanna exchange it for. I'm like, "If you wanna pay thirty, I'd be happy to charge you thirty, but mine is, uh, mine's ten." Um, so you know, it, I-- It just, the money piece has to come, it has to just be, it has to be the right part of the [01:18:00] equation. And, um, and you, I mean, if you're a for-profit business, profit does matter.
But, um, yeah, I don't-- I price things based on what I feel my time is worth, based on I feel what, what results I can produce, um, and the value that I assign to it, and I don't let other people's pricing raise or lower what I charge.
Riley: I think that's so wise, man, 'cause I hear that a lot, especially in the service industry, right? Where businesses will shop their competitors and then charge
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Yeah
Riley: but what if your competitor's losing money because they're not charging enough?
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: what if, uh, your overhead's different than theirs, and so
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm
Riley: you know, well, that's... You'll, you'll hear people say, "That's all, that's all the market will support," you know? It's like, no,
Matt Schneider: That's false. Yeah.
Riley: Not
Matt Schneider: That's totally false. No, that, I mean, it... Yeah. You, you're right. Like, it's, it, there are unknown factors there that really shouldn't, um, uh, yeah. [01:19:00] We, we, we will work with, with, uh, these private practices all the time where I'm saying, "What, where did these pricing come from?" They're like, "I just, I, I see that's what other people are charging, and I don't know that other people would charge or, or would, would pay much more than that."
"So where'd you... How are you coming to that conclusion?" Like, "I don't know. I just..." And they, then they don't know. And it's like, "Okay. Well, here's what we're gonna do. We're going to 6x what you're charging now, and, um, and then I'm going to show you exactly h-how you're going to be able to charge that, and people are going to be happy to pay you for it."
And, um, and that's actually one of the funner parts of when, when I'm working with a client is, um, is, uh, like they, they don't wanna root against me because they, you know, they're like, "That would be very, that would be amazing if you can 6x what I'm charging right now and, um, and we see higher conversions.
That would be amazing." Um, and I, and I love the, the like, um, you know, I don't do the I told you [01:20:00] so, but I'll be like, "So what would you like to focus on now?" And it's the, and it's, um, that's cool for me because the, when you start solving the money problems for entrepreneurs, um, so many other doors start to open up.
And for the passion entrepreneurs, like, you know, I work with doctors and nurse practitioners, those that are in the space of helping people. Um, like, they're so passionate about that that when you start solving the money problems, now it's like they're able to help more people, and they love that. And so it's, um, it's, um, that's really what fires me up
Riley: You, so cool, man. I could go on for hours about that. I, we're not going to, but man, you're, uh, you're firing me up here. I'd, uh,
Matt Schneider: Okay.
Riley: hear it. So
Matt Schneider: Okay
Riley: Matt. So you in the consulting space, now with Profit Practice, you have, you have narrowed your, your audience down,
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: over the years, [01:21:00] you've found your audience. So
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Riley: that's a, that's something I've talked about on this podcast before in other episodes, where with my mobile oil change company, it took me
Matt Schneider: Oh
Riley: years of doing it before I really narrowed down who my customer was
Matt Schneider: Hmm.
Riley: then cater my message to that person,
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: did you, how did you pick your audience?
Matt Schneider: Um, I was mentored into it. So I, I, um, I was asked many years ago, like, who's my ideal client profile? And I'm like, you know, um, anybody who's got a gun, right? Anybody who, like, has a gun that's, that's, like, attaches a self-defense, um, component to that gun, like, that's my target audience. And they're like, "No, that's not, that's not a fact."
Um, they're like, "Technically, yes, but the reality is no, that's not, that's not your ideal client profile." And they helped me identify what that means and, um, and then I learned this, this, this, um, saying that [01:22:00] the riches are in the niches. And, um, I'm like, "Okay, well tell me more about that." And so, um, you know, I I learned that, you know, when-- First of all, there's a certain, there's a certain, uh, client profile that I just enjoy working with more.
There's a certain, there's a, there's certain, um, there's certain work that's being done that's more exciting to me than others. And, um, and so when I first started the consulting thing, I wasn't, I wasn't niched down to anything. In fact, I was more or less doing a, uh, like a proof of concept to myself to like, is this going to just be a side hustle thing, or is this like, is this something that I can really build a, a business, um, on top of?
And so I would just take on whoever. And, um, and so I had construction companies. I had, you know, mechanic shops. I had, um, um, tattoo artists. I had... You know, I still to this day, for like the last four years, have had a lure company out of Oahu. It's called Sutumu, uh, [01:23:00] Lures. Uh, Garrett, he's a, he's a stud. But like I had like this just like there was no rhyme or reason to, to any of them.
But for me, like business is business, and so I was having success with all of them. Um, but then I got my first functional medicine clinic, and, um, and then I, I started getting exposed to like, okay, what does it mean when, when they are winning? Like, as, as I'm helping them, uh, thrive, what's, like what's happening as a result?
And as I, as I started to go through that process, I had this, this one client that, um, was a diesel mechanic shop. And, um, and through our work, after, after a few months of working together, they had, they had, um, increased their sales by over $100,000 in a single month. And so they, they like smashed, um... They'd been in business for about 11 years, and they had smashed every goal that they had ever had.
Um, this was after a few months of working together, of getting [01:24:00] things really dialed in, and, and so they did over, over $500,000 in a single month in just, um, fixing cars. And,
Riley: Mm-hmm.
Matt Schneider: um, and so I get, you know, I get a call from the owner, and he says, "Hey, what's your address? I wanna s- I wanna send you something." He's like, "I got, I got something for the team, and I got something for you as well."
I give him my address, and, um, and, you know, about a week later or so, this box arrives, and it, and it's this super cool like Henry, uh, Henry's .22 like action, um, rifle. You know? And, uh,
Riley: Yeah
Matt Schneider: lever action rifle, yeah. And, um- And on it, it's got, it's got, um, my logo, it's got, uh, the, the company's logo, and then it has 500K on it.
And it was, it was, um, what the owner did to celebrate this, this huge accomplishment, um, that this little local and some small rural, [01:25:00] uh, uh, Midwestern town was able to do. Um, and that was big, big money, especially for like in this little town that they were in. Um, and I remember getting this trophy, I'm like, "This thing is so cool."
And it's, and it's, and it's, it's hanging up on my wall downstairs, um, uh, as we speak. But I was thinking, man, uh, like that's cool and all, but what does that really mean? It means that they just got more cars in and out. Like we got them efficient enough, and we got the team dialed in, and like we like rearranged, uh, like where tools will be found and, and systematized like, uh, how, um, cars would come in and come out and stuff.
And, but all it meant was just more cars. And so at, at, at the end of the day, it was like, yeah, people got their cars back faster, which is cool because they, you know, they don't have to shuffle around how they get into work and maybe pay for rental or... But I, I was like, "That's not it." And this was at the same time where now I'm on a...
I'm on, uh, these calls with this other client at the functional medicine clinic, and she's like, "Hey, I was able to hire another provider. And, [01:26:00] um, and now we're able to bring on an extra 200 patients for this provider's caseload, um, based on the, the type of clinic that they're in." And, and I was like, "That's cool."
Like that's like d- 'cause now you're talking about 200 people that are gonna get, gonna get quality care in a, in a, from a functional medicine, which is like holistic precision medicine. It's about your labs. It's about like you as a person. They get quality time with the provider. I'm like, that I like.
That's, that lands with me. Um, and that's where I started transitioning to, and I'm like, I'm done taking on just any Tom, Dick, and Harry small business, and it's only going to be those that are in private practice, functional medicine, naturopathic, and, um, and that's it. And it's been that way for the last, um, like four years, five years.
Riley: It, it's so cool, man, because, you know, when you, when you've narrowed down [01:27:00] to who your prospect is, now y- now you've learned to speak the language,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: and you can serve that person so much better because you're tailored to that. It's like...
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: It's just as amazing to me. When we found our client with our mobile oil change company, it was that
Matt Schneider: Hmm.
Riley: It was like, now it's like red carpet service. They love what we do,
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: easy for us to serve that person.
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm
Riley: of the things you had said in there was, you know, you, you found the people you like to work with,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: you know. And that was part of the equation for us. It
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: it was, it was fellow business owners.
I've always loved to work with business owners, 'cause if something happens that isn't ideal, you know, we have a problem,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: it. Dude, they
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: it, 'cause they've just had
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: day,
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Right. Right.
Riley: back and fix it, they're always appreciative, and they, they understand that
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: go to plan,
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. Which just makes the, the whole process th- like, that much kinda more [01:28:00] enjoyable, right? When you're just like, "These are my people, and I get to do work that I enjoy doing. Um, I get to kick ass at it, and I get to work, um, with clients that, like, we j- we vibe."
Riley: Yeah.
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Riley: listen, man, I, I wanna switch directions here,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: for the last segment of the show where we ask some, some... it's mostly lighter questions, but a couple of them some pretty thoughtful questions. Uh,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: you, you game for that?
Matt Schneider: Oh, totally. Yeah. Fire away
Riley: right, man. So Matt, when you, when you hear the term go earn your salt, name of this podcast,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: what comes to mind?
Matt Schneider: Um, well, the first thing that comes to mind is, uh, um, are a couple of entrepreneurs in, um, in, um, the Pennsylvania area that I met years ago that started a company called, um, Fuel Hunt. And,
Riley: Yeah
Matt Schneider: uh, and so those guys, I'd met [01:29:00] them along the way and, and I'm like, "Hey, tell me about, tell me about your-- the name of the brand and things."
And he's like, "Yeah." He's like, "We were-- we were just talking about one day where like everybody's got these goals and everybody's got, you know, these dreams and, and aspirations and they, they, you know, they want better, um, th- they, they talk big, but, um, everybody wants to eat, but few will hunt." And, um, and that became like...
That-- There's-- That's got a ring to it, and it turned into a, uh, an apparel company that, um, i- is done quite well for itself. Um, and so, you know, that's what comes to mind first when you say go earn your salt. Um, I don't, I don't know, is there a scientific meaning behind the, the salt piece? When I, when I hear it, I think like, like go out and do it yourself.
Like, go, um, go, um, do the thing, uh, and, um, and earn the [01:30:00] reward. That's what I, I think of, uh, but I don't know if I'm on track with it
Riley: that word in there earn is kind of the, the big thing. It's more historical than it is scientific. It was,
Matt Schneider: Uh-huh
Riley: you know, soldiers and warriors and,
Matt Schneider: Hmm
Riley: sailors. Folks back in the day, they would be paid with salt. It was a preservative. It had a lot of nutritional
Matt Schneider: Oh
Riley: it was, it was valuable, you know,
Matt Schneider: Hmm
Riley: was used in, as a currency in some circumstances.
And
Matt Schneider: Oh
Riley: they... You heard the, you hear the term like he was worth his salt, that's what that means.
Matt Schneider: I have heard that
Riley: was worth what I paid him 'cause he, his, his output
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: you know, was more than, more than it cost me. So a
Matt Schneider: Hmm.
Riley: we've been talking about, right?
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah
Riley: Yeah, Matt, outside of, uh, the business world, what, what, what's your favorite pastime?
[01:31:00] [01:32:00]
Matt Schneider: I mean, I love jujitsu. Um, my, you know, I s- I s- started jujitsu in 2017 with, uh, with my son at, at, uh, Team Rhino, um, uh, with Keith and company. Um, and it turned into a father-son thing. Um, and then i- about 20, um... let's see, 2021, my wife got involved with it, and she started training. And, um, and so there for a while it was a real family thing.
My son, um, has stopped, uh, training since, which is a real bummer because, like, those were, like, the, the coolest, you know, days where, um, we all got to, to train hard together and then, like, drove home sweaty and, like, quiet and, like, um, thinking about why we got destroyed the [01:33:00] way we did and, like, you know, um, and then the conversations.
But, uh, we still watched all the UFC stuff together, and he's super into it. But I love jujitsu. Uh, my wife's still heavily involved. She's a purple belt, uh, now. Um, and, um, and so that's a, that's a big pastime. I, believe it or not, I love yard work, mainly mowing. Um, I, I, I find that I actually do some of my best thinking on the mower, um, and, uh, and when I'm doing yard work, so I really enjoy that.
If it, i- if, um, I had to do, like, a blanket statement, anything that's outdoors when it's warm and sunny, uh, you know, I'm a, I'm a super happy camper. Mm-hmm.
Riley: That's awesome, man.
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: I, I... Are you brown belt now?
Matt Schneider: No, I'm the purple. Yeah, I'm still purple. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Riley: Yeah.
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: Yeah,
Matt Schneider: I-
Riley: like we, we got to grapple a few times over the
Matt Schneider: Uh-huh.
Riley: was much meaner than you
Matt Schneider: She is very unassuming. She, I mean, she surprises so [01:34:00] many people, dude. Like, she's just the sweetest, um, happiest...
Like, she'll do the slap and bump, and she's just like, like, like, "Oh, I'm gonna..." Like,
Riley: like
Matt Schneider: she's so sweet, I'm gonna go l- yeah, I'm gonna go a little bit light on her, and then you start going and you're like, oh no, I gotta turn it on. Like, she's like, she's trying to...
Riley: for blood, dude.
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I, man, so many different times where I- I've, I've overheard another part of the gym where somebody's like, "Oh, I did not expect that."
You know? And she's like, "Ah, thank you," you know?
Riley: my eye, dude.
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She's,
Riley: love it
Matt Schneider: yeah, but she loves it. She, she competed in her first, um, World Masters at IBJJF in Vegas, uh, last summer, and I think she's going for it again. She took silver. She took silver.
Riley: Oh
Matt Schneider: That was her first ever, uh, IBJJF, so, uh, super proud of her there.
Mm-hmm. Yeah
Riley: Dang. Matt, what, uh, what's something quirky about you people don't know?[01:35:00]
Matt Schneider: Something quirky about me
Man, that would be a great question for people who know me. Do quirky people know when they're quirky? Y- you know
Riley: I think we all got that little thing we know is a little bit weird, but
Matt Schneider: yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Riley: wanna share
Matt Schneider: there's... Uh, no, I... Shoot. Um, something quirky about me. Hmm. Define q- Yeah, give me an example. Okay
Riley: If, uh, if I, if I snap my fingers on my right hand, I've gotta balance it out with snapping them on my left. It's just been a
Matt Schneider: Oh
Riley: since a kid. It's, it's gotta be balanced, man. So,
Matt Schneider: Oh. Are you OCD in general?
Riley: we- maybe, but I
Matt Schneider: Oh.
Riley: so, but maybe.
Matt Schneider: Huh.
Riley: in that regard
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Um, man I feel like there's probably so many different things. [01:36:00] Um, I hate when things aren't aligned. I'll like, I'll go, like if s- I'm in somebody's house, and they're, like a picture on the wall is like just slightly crooked, um, I will, uh, just get up and go fix it because once I notice it, then it drives me crazy.
Um, so like sometimes I touch people's things when I shouldn't. Uh, uh, I, um... Let's see. Uh, I, I'm known for the Irish goodbye. I'm known for being a great Ir- It's when, it's when you just disappear without saying goodbye to anybody. So like if there's, if you're at a, at a like family gathering or basically like any kind of event where there's a, there's people present, and, um, and you just disappear, and then later people are like, "Hey, where'd, where'd Matt go?"[01:37:00]
Like, like my wife's like...
Riley: I've never heard that term, man. I
Matt Schneider: Oh, no? Oh, yeah. So my wife says going to get the jacket. So she learned, we were, um, we were just first dating and, um, or maybe recently married, but, uh, um, we were at a friend's house, and it was just the four of us, and we were doing game night. And I just got tired. Like it was like, I don't know, maybe it was like midnight or something.
I'm like, "I'm gonna go get my jacket from the car." So I go and I get in the car, and I just s- and I put my jacket on, and I just fall asleep. And then,
Riley: stayed in the car, huh?
Matt Schneider: yeah, I say the car, Irish goodbye. But you can't... It's really hard to Irish goodbye when there's only four people, and there's only three others left, and one of them's your wife, right?
Like it, it's way easier if there's a lot of people there. So I, I didn't last long. But ever since then, um, like even my son, uh, like we'll go to a neighbor's or barbecue or whatever, and, and Kristen's like, "Where'd Matt go? Where did Dad go?" And he's like, "He went to go get his jacket." She's like, "Pfft." You know?
So, uh, maybe that's quirky about me [01:38:00] too.
Riley: You know, it's funny, I was talking to a friend of mine and there was this, this friend he and I had in common that would do that. We'd get ready-- We'd get finished up with a big mountain bike ride, a
Matt Schneider: Hmm.
Riley: of us guys, you
Matt Schneider: Hmm.
Riley: out there all chit-chatting, and next thing we know, it's just like, "Where'd Ron go?
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: man. We, no one
Matt Schneider: the Irish goodbye.
Riley: Yeah.
Matt Schneider: Yeah, that's the Irish goodbye. It's just... I, I don't know why I don't... I like, yeah, I don't like saying the goodbyes. I think probably 'cause when I'm like, I'm ready to go, if you're in a large group and you start saying goodbye, you, like, that's another 45 minutes.
Riley: That's
Matt Schneider: i- i- you know, and, uh, I'm like, no, I, I, I probably just need to be better, be like, okay, in 45 minutes from now, I'm gonna be like, my fun meter's gonna get pegged, so I'm just gonna start the process now before I'm really ready to go.
But, um, a lot of times I'm just like, "No, I, my, I'm, I'm done here." And, um and so I just like will excuse myself.
Riley: Well, that's fair, man. That's
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: quirky, so
Matt Schneider: cool. Okay
Riley: love it. Hey, uh, what's, uh, what's your, your favorite [01:39:00] naughty food?
Matt Schneider: Uh, cinnamon roll.
Riley: Oh
Matt Schneider: Cinnamon roll for sure. Yeah. Yeah, and, um, and my wife makes the best cinnamon rolls. So, uh, Easter,
Riley: Oh my gosh
Matt Schneider: and then, um, like our, like our, my birthday. My son loves them too, but yeah, I, I can't have them in the house. I will just smash on those
Riley: me this because cinnamon rolls have, I mean, they're special, I, I agree. But I get about three, four bites into them and I'm done with the cinnamon roll. Is
Matt Schneider: I'll, I'll take the rest of it.
Riley: just power through?
Matt Schneider: No, you take three or four bites and there's eight or nine left, I'll be like, "Hey, Riley, you gonna finish that?" Or, or... Yeah, no, I- it's... I am that way with, interestingly enough, you say that, and there are some things where if it's too sweet, if it's too, um, rich, it makes my cheeks tingle, like the back of my cheeks tingle, and I, and I can't get through it.
Um, but as long as, as long as it doesn't have too much frosting on top, I- I'll, I'll scrape the frosting on top. But it's something about, like, the, [01:40:00] the, the warm bread and, um, and especially when you get to the centerpiece of it.
Riley: That centerpiece.
Matt Schneider: the centerpiece is legit.
Riley: the center,
Matt Schneider: Dude, it's like the muffin top. It's just like, it's, it's like, it's the gold
It's the gold of it, yeah. Yeah, but that's definitely the, the food that I will, I, I will not, um, be anywhere close to my nutritional goals if those are anywhere within striking distance. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Riley: it, man.
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: you have a nickname?
Matt Schneider: I do. Uh, so when I was, um... Well, when I was in high school, it was Duke. Uh, I got the nickname Duke from my coach, um, uh, 'cause he said I was like a duke of armor, uh, uh, or something.
Um, like dukes from the whole knights kinda deal. That's what he said. That was quirky. It was cool, but that was my nickname there. Um, I got the nickname Trunk Monkey when I was, uh, on the street crimes unit at the sheriff's office. Um,
Riley: those old commercials, the drunk[01:41:00]
Matt Schneider: e-exactly, yeah. S- uh, yeah, so I was attached to, um... I was on the street crimes unit.
We were a plainclothes, uh, uh, group that were attached to the U.S. Marshals' J-team. And, um, we had this, this, um, situation where we were doing a, it's called an open air, um, takedown where, um, we had followed a guy into a parking lot and then pinned him with our unmarked vehicles, and he gets out and he starts running, and, um, it brought me back to the old high school football days because, because I, I came in and, uh, I, I got my truck stopped, and it just so happened that, uh, that the direction he was running and my angle, um, uh, like the contact was amazing.
And, um, yeah. And he, um, he, you know, he did have a knife on him. He, like, almost got shot. He had a big bag of dope on him. He... We, we were... We... When you... The U.S. Marshals are, are after [01:42:00] you, uh, you're, you are not a, a good person, right? Like, like you've crossed the threshold into a different level of danger. Uh, but man, I connected on him.
And so then after the fact, they're like, "Dude, where did you come from?" Like, y- "You came out of nowhere like a trunk monkey." And then, uh, and so that became my nickname there. Uh, I have the moniker of The Profit Doc, uh, um, currently on the professional side that I was given a, uh, few years ago from, um, from Dr.
Gabrielle Lyon, um,
Riley: Nice
Matt Schneider: for the work that I do on the consulting side. So got a few nicknames
Riley: I love it, man. That trunk monkey, if you haven't seen trunk monkeys, look that up on
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: worth your time.
Matt Schneider: Yeah, for sure. Those are good commercials
Riley: Oh my gosh. Matt, what is, uh, what's the scariest moment of your life?
Matt Schneider: Oof. Um Scariest moment of my life. I would say, I would say on the personal side it was, it was, um, the day of my [01:43:00] marriage, um, because I, I remember thinking, like, I don't have, um... Like, all I know is divorce. All I know is, is unhappy endings. All I know is broken families. And, um, I was like, uh, like, I do not wanna repeat the cycle, but I, like, I, I was not prepared to be a husband.
Like, I was not, like, shown the way. Um, and so that was a really scary day for me because I'm like, I don't... I, I know I don't wanna repeat the cycle, but I'm about to say I do, um, and make this commitment and, like, it's just, it felt like such a Hail Mary. And, you know, that'll be 20 years ago in, um, in just a few days.
But, um, the next time for similar reasons was when, uh, June, uh, 25th, 2009, when I became a, a dad, um, uh, for two reasons. The first was 'cause he was a month early. We had to do an emergency C-section because he [01:44:00] flipped around and became footling breech, and, um, and so he had to come, like, right then and there, um, um, in an emergency-type fashion, so that was scary.
But then, like, 30 minutes later, we have this human that now I'm thinking, "I was never taught how to be a dad. All I know is th- like, how I was failed by these men my whole life." That was super scary. Um, professionally, you know, the, uh, um... Man, I, I... If we had time, I could tell you a, a lot of different kinds of stories where it was, um, like, it, it...
I didn't know how it was gonna shake out and, um, you know, it was just... There was, there, there's... You know, when you do law enforcement, especially SWAT, uh, for a while, like, there's no shortage of times where you're like, "Here we go. Let's see."
Riley: huh?
Matt Schneider: It could've been bad, yeah. But it, it... But I was lucky
Riley: Yeah, yeah. I, [01:45:00] be, it would be interesting to hear those stories. You know, I've talked to a lot of law, law enforcement guys on here that,
Matt Schneider: Hmm
Riley: yeah, they have those ones. They always have the, the ones that really stand out, right?
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah
Riley: Matt, do you have something in your life that sticks out as the most valuable learning experience?
Matt Schneider: Hmm. Um I guess for the sake of the-- this being like a business-centric podcast, um, I'll, I'll, I'll share, um, when I was... Like, I was at the end of my rope. Like I, um, I was given some bad advice about, you know, "Hey, you don't know what you're doing, so just fake it till you make it." And, um, well-intentioned, but terrible [01:46:00] advice because, you know, when you're faking it, the probability of actually making it is not super high.
Um, but I did, I did take the advice, and I was trying to fake it till I make it and, um, and then, you know, between like twenty fourteen, uh, twenty... You know, basically when I started the business up to like twenty fifteen timeframe, um, everything just started circling the, the toilet bowl. I mean, I, I'd gained like sixty pounds of weight from just working nonstop, eating fast food, stress on my mind.
Um, uh, was financially on the brink of bankruptcy. Um, um, I had a, a terrible relationship with myself. Um, my wife and I were fighting all the time. I felt like a, a total failure as a, as a father because of how much time I was missing with my son, um, trying to make this business work. And, um, and when, when there was just nowhere else to run, like there was just-- there was, there was no [01:47:00] money to rob Peter with to pay Paul.
There was just nowhere else to run. Um, I had one phone number in my phone of an entrepreneur that I knew was successful, and I sent him a text and I said, "Hey, can I buy you a cup of coffee?" Uh, and, um, and he says, "Yeah, of course." And so we, uh, we met up at a coffee shop at the Village, at the Village Coffee Spot.
And I said, "Look, I've got to share with you what I, what I've been too afraid to share with anybody else." Um, and he's like, "All right, go ahead." And I said, "I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't, I don't-- I'm in a situation. I don't know how I'm gonna get myself out of it. Like I, um, I just know that if I keep going down this path, it's like everything I care about is, is-- feels like it's coming to a, an, an end."
And, um, and he said, "Why have you been s- why have you been so scared to share that?" Then he's like, "Did you not realize that's [01:48:00] what virtually every entrepreneur experiences at some stage of their journey?" Um, and I was like, "I did not know that." He said, "Yeah." He's like, "What you're experiencing is not abnormal.
In fact, it's, it's far more prevalent than you clearly realize." And then he shared with me, uh, several stories about his journey and, um, and So in that moment, I learned the lesson of like, um, you know, faking it till you make it is not a good strategy. Uh, suffering in silence is not a good strategy. Um, that, that w- it's, it's a form of self-sabotage to let pride and ego get in the way and, um, and it's unhelpful to tell ourselves a narrative of why it is that we are doing a certain thing when in all [01:49:00] actuality it's not the right thing to do.
Um, and simultaneously, like as I mentioned earlier, that, like, I was so close for the entire time to somebody who could have helped me avoid so much pain and, um, and that whole proximity of power thing. So, like, in this one conversation, Riley, it was, it was this like, um, this blend of, like a crazy amount of hope and like excitement that, um, I don't know what the pathway is out of this, but there is one.
And I know that for a fact because I'm not the first one to get to this point. And, you know, um, if you know anything about like, you know, Elon Musk in the early days of Tesla and how close, you know, he was to-- I mean, he was, he was within hours of the entire thing collapsing. Um, you know, and there's countless entrepreneurs who have gone all in [01:50:00] and like, uh, just, they were just at that point of, of almost ultimate failure and then b- was able to see themselves out of it.
Um, but when-- with the right people around you and the right level of, um, of work and humility, like, you know, um, things become possible. And so that was a, that, that was a lesson that I was able to learn. Unfortunately, I, it took me too long to get there, um, but you know, it, it was a paradigm shift for me in the way I looked at problems personally and professionally and, um, and really started taking inventory of who I spent time with and, um, and who I, who I allow to exchange energy with and, um, and the power of like pushing the bad people, bad stuff out and then making room for the, um, the ones that will uplift and you know, um, [01:51:00] um, and like be, um, like an asset.
So yeah, it was a, it was an extremely powerful paradigm shift conversation, um, that it, it completely changed like the trajectory of my entire life.
Riley: You know, it makes me think, man, about so many entrepreneurs, so many business owners have We've got that, that phrase, they say that it's lonely at the top,
Matt Schneider: Hmm
Riley: And a lot of times I think that comes because they have people around them that if they knew what they were going through, either positive or negative, man, if they're making a ton of money, they can't tell anybody 'cause everyone gets jealous.
Matt Schneider: Hmm.
Riley: know, if they-- They don't have people around them to celebrate those wins, right? But then the same way goes with their... If they're having a hard time, they kinda don't wanna tell anybody because they-- people will, "Ah, I told you so. I told you so." You know,
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: down more.
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: you do start feeling that loneliness if you don't surround yourself with the right people.
And
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: [01:52:00] man. I've got a, a couple guys that I can, man, I can share a win with, and man,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Riley: to celebrate it and not,
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: not jealous, not... know, it's just they're winning too, right?
Matt Schneider: Yeah. They don't judge. They don't judge. They, they, they understand 'cause we're all on peaks and valleys. I mean, look, w- we- we're in a peak today. Two weeks from now, we could be in an absolute valley and, um... But dude, it's, it's, it's lonely at the top, it's lonely in the middle, and it's lonely at the bottom if you're not around the right people.
If you're not surrounded by the right people, it, it's a very lonely journey because they're not the right people. You're, you're mixing it up amongst others that are not on the same journey as you are. Uh, it is not lonely at the bottom when you're in the valleys and you're, you're like, you're fighting tooth or nail to, like, figure the thing out, or in the middle when it's like, you know, there's, like, some stability there and, you know, things are kind of, like, at a good place.
Um, and there's-- it's not lonely at the top where y- you [01:53:00] know, you're like, "Hey," like, you know, "w- we need to figure out, um, h- how, like, we need some tax help. We need some investment help. We need, like, um, who knows how to, who knows how to be in this kinda space," right? "And, and navigate through these kinds of weird challenges."
Um, none of that's lonely if, if you got the right people amongst you. Like, it just, it just... And that's personal and professional. Like, life can be, um, very lon- you could be surrounded by a, a million people. I... You know, you talk... Y- you, you hear about these, um, like, these superstars, and these actors and actresses, and these, like...
And they're so lonely because they don't... Like, everybody around them is just around them because they're popular and because, like, the money and the, and the, and the opportunities and stuff, but they don't have any real friends. Like, they don't have any real, you know... Um, so it's not just the number of people that surround you, it's, it's the quality, and it's like, are they on the [01:54:00] same journey?
Truly, are they on the same journey, um, or not? Do they truly buy into depositing, um, when, when that's the thing that needs to be done, and then asking for help and receiving, and allowing for you to give back the way that they gave to you once? Um, yeah. It, it's not, it's not lonely if you have the right people around you.
Riley: Right. Yeah. Those right people are s- just incredibly valuable, man.
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: I love it. So,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm.
Riley: Matt, what's your, what's your favorite book of all time? Something you recommend anyone read
Matt Schneider: Outwitting the Devil. Um, Out-Outwitting the Devil. Have you read it?
Riley: Nope
Matt Schneider: Oh, man. That's, um, dude, yeah, that's a must. But it, it's a, it's a listen-to read. So Napoleon Hill wrote this book, I believe, like, in the 1930s. His family would not let him publish it because they were, they were so worried about him being, um, like, you know, ostracized and, like, [01:55:00] just, just kicked out of every network and community and relationship they had.
Um, and then he died, and his wife still wouldn't publish it after, uh, he died. She died. The, the family ended up, uh, publishing it. Um, and this was n- a, a number of years ago. Uh, but this book is about Napoleon Hill actually sitting the devil down and, uh, and the devil can't lie. And Napoleon is asking him, "How is it that you take control over people?
How is it that you take hold of people and people who have so much potential and, um, and are so capable that, that you get them off their path, that you get them to, you know, to not achieve what they're capable of and things?" And, um, and, you know, he talks about drifters and how the, the easiest people to get-- sink his, his claws into are those that, that have no real defined purpose and no real [01:56:00] meaning in their life because-- and they're just kind of drifting through.
And you, you'll, you'll, you'll-- And you listen to the book because the devil's got this, like, gravelly voice to him, you know, and, uh, and it sounds like he's sitting across the table from Napoleon. Um, but it's one of those books where you would never believe it was written in the '30s because it talks about school and what our kids are exposed to in schools.
And, like, it just, it's, like, it's, it's like it was written today. It's-- But you think about it as an individual, as a husband, as a father, as an entrepreneur, as a leader, as a friend. Um, and it-it's like if you really absorb it and you, um, you internalize it, you think about it, like, you'll-- it'll change, it, it'll change you.
It's, it's a, uh-- By far, that's probably be my number one
Riley: It sounds a little like The Screwtape Letters. Have you ever read those? C.S. Lewis, the, that book
Matt Schneider: screw tape letters. I have not. Uh-uh
Riley: Yeah, it's a, it's a similar type thing. It's more in the [01:57:00] spiritual realm, but it's,
Matt Schneider: Okay
Riley: it's that, you know, how does the, how does the devil deceive people? You know,
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: turn the course? And then, and it goes into this whole dialogue, you know?
Matt Schneider: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Riley: out, man. That sounds like a good one.
Matt Schneider: Highly recommend it
Riley: man. what's next for you, man? What's the, what's, what's the next challenge? Where are you going from here?
Matt Schneider: Um, well, um, you know, personally, uh, celebrating two decades of marriage. Um, you know, um, navigating the what's next for the boy. Uh, we're setting up currently a, a, um, uh, like a, a little outing to go to the, um, the, um, like the air, uh, airport for the tower, uh, for air traffic control. Um, he's super into aviation and things and, and, um, so like he's looking at military school.
What does he do? So we're like going through that process of what's [01:58:00] next. As a dad is like trying to help him identify opportunities that really align with him, really excite him. So, uh, looking forward to, uh, doing things like that, going and, and seeing air traffic control and seeing does it light him up?
Does it like, does it start to really shift, um, his focus this last couple years of school? Um, uh, it's, um, it's getting my brown belt and, uh, eventually black, but next step obviously is brown. I've been purple for a few years. Um, and so, um, I just look forward to that journey, um, to continue on. And then professionally, it's, um, man, we're, we're w- we're having a lot of fun with what we're doing.
Um, we are, we are in the process of, of, uh, a- an acquisition for Dipper Tracker, the software company. Um, so we're, we're hopeful that we will have a, um, will be acquired [01:59:00] here before the end of the year. Um, that might be a little bit, um, ambitious, but maybe early next year. So that will be, that will be a huge milestone.
And then, yeah, man, just growing, we, you know, um, this is-- this consulting thing has really provided me and my family opportunity to be very flexible, very free. Um, and so just continue growing that and having positive impact. I sit on a couple of nonprofit boards. One's for, um, law enforcement killed in line of duty, that's called Honoring Idaho's Fallen Badges, and then another, uh, board for, uh, Fortified Schools, which, um, helps raise money, um, to support schools that can't afford, you know, safety and security, training their officers security and security teams, and so just continuing that work as well.
Riley: That's awesome, man. Well, dude, um, where can you be found on the social medias?
Matt Schneider: On the [02:00:00] socials. Uh, so yeah, I, mattschneider.official is the Instagram. It's the same on LinkedIn. Um, you won't find me on there much. I... Dude, I have this... I, it's a, it's a real thing. Um, I, I just, I cannot get into it, Riley. I just can't, can't get into the content creation and stuff and...
Riley: you, but
Matt Schneider: You like it? You enjoy it?
Riley: I, I'll get on there and get distracted, and then
Matt Schneider: Oh.
Riley: way too many hours. Yeah, it drives
Matt Schneider: Oh, oh. Yeah, yeah. Well, they're great at, they're great at that stuff. So that's where people can find me. Um, and, uh, and I am on there from time to time, but you go to the website, too, if they're in the medical field, uh, if they own a private practice, um, and they're looking for, uh, maybe some help in that, that growth side of things, it's profitpractice.com.
And, um, yeah. And then if, uh, you're in the area, you can find me at Alliance Jiu-Jitsu with the missus mixing it up or maybe at Team Rhino [02:01:00] when I want to kind of get beat up by you and Ben and the others. So
Riley: Oh, I wish I could see you more often on the mat. That's,
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: time, man.
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: enjoyed training with you, for
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm. Yeah, totally
Riley: all right, my friend. Well, listen, man, um, appreciate you being here, dude. This
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: It's a fascinating interview 'cause I think we come across a lot of the same obstacles just being in the entrepreneur space, right?
And
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: fun to hear how you've navigated that, and,
Matt Schneider: Mm-hmm
Riley: it's, it's been cool for me 'cause there's a lot to learn here, you know, just
Matt Schneider: Yeah
Riley: to some of the solutions you've come up with for some of the same problems that I see on a, on a daily basis, you know. So
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: you for being here, man.
Matt Schneider: Yeah, man, thank you for having me. And, um, and yeah, truly, it's, it was-- it, I always have fun with these conversations 'cause from one entrepreneur to the other, um, you know, some of the most impactful things that somebody can say in here is, "I understand," right? And
Riley: Mm-hmm.
Matt Schneider: even though we do completely different things, we serve completely different audiences, um, we're, we're walking, uh, the same [02:02:00] entrepreneurial path.
And, um, and so, um, you know, I, I-- if, if hopefully this is some value to, uh, you and your listeners and things, it helps move things along 'cause I see how-- I see you're out, you're out there hustling and, um, and, and pushing this path forward. So, um, yeah, best, best of luck with what you're doing too, and I hope, I hope to see SALT in, on every shelf all over the places and, uh, Element like be like taking a backseat to you
Riley: Love it, man.
Matt Schneider: Yeah.
Riley: go earn your salt, my friend
Matt Schneider: Yeah, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. You do the same. Thanks so much, Riley
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