hey life masters this is Stefan James
from project life mastery and today I'm
super excited to introduce you to one of
my inspirations and one of my mentors
for my online business his name is
Russell Brunson he is the co-founder of
clickfunnels which helps you create a
funnel for your online business it's
what I use to create all the funnels for
project life mastery can't recommend
them enough whether you're doing
affiliate marketing or selling on Amazon
or publishing books or whatever that
might be having a funnel is so important
and it's something that we talked about
in this interview
Russell's actually created a movement a
community the funnel hacker movement and
community that I'm proud to be a part of
that I also want to share with you guys
as well so he's built a hundred million
dollar business now with click funnels
he's got an incredibly inspirational
story of where he started to getting to
where he is today we went into his
mindset one of his biggest failures we
had to layoff 80 employees in one day
the mindset of it and what drives him
and what motivates him and there's so
much awesome wisdom in this interview
that you're gonna absolutely love so
make sure that you schedule the time for
this no distractions and enjoy this
interview
all right right now I'm here with
Russell Brunson the founder of
clickfunnels
and one of my mentors and someone that
inspired me to start my business Russ
thank you so much for taking the time
yeah I'd love for you to share with my
audience a little bit about your story
your story inspired me when I started I
remember back in the day your I think in
college and you're learning how to make
a potato gun and you realize that you
could turn that into an info product and
you're selling it as a DVD and that was
one of the first ways but now like fast
forward to today you've built this
incredible company with clickfunnels
that we use it in our business we love
it
it's you've created more than a company
you've created a movement and I just
gonna love for you to share with my
and how you got to where you are today
yeah as funny as you said that actually
have a feel good okay grab real quick so
this we still play this is like a potato
gun so yeah I was in I was in college
and I was trying to figure out this
whole game and I remember back then
everyone talking about information
marketing creating info products and and
I was like but I don't have any talents
or skills or any abilities like what do
i do went on and it was a spring break
and my buddy and I we were the two guys
on the Boise State wrestling team who
were married so everybody else was like
out doing it non-married people do when
they're during spring break and we were
stuck hung somebody's working or I god
we can't like have fun so he was like
hey man do I make potato gun I'm like
what does that mean he's like it's like
these guns you shoot potatoes there's so
much fun I was like yeah let's do it so
we spent the whole weekend building
potato guns and I had so much fun and
then I remember the next Monday I'm back
to school I'm sitting in my class like
all bummed out cuz like I don't want to
be there and and then the game time was
learning about in and you know selling
information products I was like I wonder
if anyone else besides me was like
looking for information about potato
guns I remember I searched online and
they're like 18,000 people a month
searching potato guns and nobody had a
product so I went and I called my buddy
up I was like dude this is a huge
opportunity let's make a DVD selling
teach people I make potato guns and so
what made that and I was my very first
information product and put it out there
we started selling some and and that's
how the whole thing got started but it
was just so much but I remember it's fun
it's funny
up to that point in my life I always
thought I was a dumb kid like I was
struggling school as like I was a
wrestler but I was like not that smart I
remember when I made this first little
website I was selling Canadian DVDs I
remember I started learning marketing
stuff I read a book and I would learn
something and that would go try it on my
thing and it made it make it make more
money and I was like oh my gosh this is
like the most exciting in the world I
read another book I learned something I
try something to make more money and I
say everything I'm learning now turns
into more money and I became obsessed
with like learning and it was funny
because like that was the first time I
ever considered myself smart because I
was like learning something do it I see
result and learn do see result and
that's when for me the whole thing
caught on fire I became obsessed with
with marketing and business and selling
stuff and it's been a crazy ride ever
since then yeah and when you started to
I mean it was the way you learn is very
different than today I mean now there's
YouTube and all of that you know back in
the day when you're first learning this
how did you learn like what would you go
through courses books how did you learn
this process it's funny because there
were it's not like today where there's
like you said there's a billion things
to learn this is pre pre Facebook pre
MySpace he has my friend strike that was
the social network back when I started
and there were a couple guys who were
doing stuff I remember Armand Morin was
one there was Mark joiner there were
three or four guys who were making money
and so and part of them like they were
teaching but mostly they were just doing
it I was just watching what they were
doing and I got really obsessed with
like the process remember if you ever
Armand he had all these products like
software generator Ecover generate
header generating they all followed the
same process remember these long sales
letters and then they buy it then it be
like something to upsell and like so I
buy every one there are things I've just
watched the process over and over and
over again and so for me the very first
outside potato guns like my very first
product I ever made was a software
product and I saw harm and made software
something I'm gonna make a software
product I made one and I remembered like
modeling what he did like almost
identically he had a picture of him in a
suit I got a picture me in a suit like
you know just looking the same and then
he had a headline that was blue so I had
a headline those blue and I just modeled
as close as I could everything he did
but it wasn't you know my it was my
stuff my product my words my everything
by just modeled the look of it I was
like he's it's got to work like he
figured out that this is
process the words I modeled it and
that's how I made my first you know we
didn't call them funnels back then my
first funnels were all that's what we
that's what it looked like it looked
identical to to the people who are doing
it and I just modeled them really really
close and it was funny because sometimes
those guys would do teleseminars back in
the day and they usually that I was in
school during the teleseminar so I would
I would download them afterwards I
remember I go on these wrestling terms
we have to drive you know from from
Boise up to to to Oregon or California
we have like 18 hour ban rides with like
20 wrestlers in the van and every else
we listen to music I'd be listening to
these guys talking about their internet
businesses and I would just be like so
fascinated for hours and hours just
listening to all their stories what they
were doing and how they were doing in
that's really kinda where I learned a
lot of stuff initially was just watching
those guys do it and hearing them talk
about on teleseminars that's awesome and
you eventually started teaching other
people how to build a business teaching
marketing how did you how did you start
clickfunnels what was the story behind
starting click funnels because that was
really what took you to that next level
of where you are today yeah for sure I
mean the first decade of this experience
for me was just doing it right I was in
the game I was playing with that we were
creating all sorts of funnels from
everything from like we had neuropathy
diabetic neuropathy pain pills we had
dating products the weight loss products
cute bonding baby styling was like every
every like so you don't have this this
game works any exciting start trying to
do it every single market speed-reading
like every single market is interesting
to me like I found that guru and we'd
build the funnels for him and so it was
really like first off a decade of just
like geeking out on and just doing it
and then like most good entrepreneur
businesses it's like you find your pain
points and you try to figure out to
solve them and the HAR thing for us is
it took us on average about three months
to build out a funnel between our
designers our copywriters like
programmers like all the people and
connecting the shopping cars like it was
just a big process and one of the guys
that works to me at the time he was one
that was kind of doing it every single
time and I think he was annoyed that it
was like we're doing another funnel like
all these funnels are very similar and
one day he was like we could build I
could build something that that would
make this really really easy it was fun
easily good now that wasn't like a
unique idea like I wasn't the first one
to think of it there were tons of people
who tried to build like a funnel builder
in fact I had tried twice earlier
one time we tried to call it click calm
calm I still have all the old
screenshots and all this stuff and we
tried to create it there and didn't work
and I tried twice before but uh Todd
who's not my co-founder he he one day I
was like I we should build a software
that does all the stuff that we did we
keep doing my hand I was like dude we've
tried it twice it doesn't it's not gonna
work everyone's tried it and he was like
no I think I can I can do it and Todd is
like literally the smartest human I've
ever bumped into in this planet he knows
marketing you know sales he knows
copywriting he knows coding he's just
the smartest human ever and and he was
in Atlanta so we were in Boise kind of
planning this thing he flew him to
Atlanta spent the next five or six
months and don't what became
clickfunnels and just it was cool
because it simplified all except we were
doing the initial plan was him our other
co-founders guy named Dylan Jones and
they should code it and they sent it to
me and I like what I do right we can't
tell you like we have to tell you what
what to do that means we fail like just
do it and they make me record myself
using it and they would watch me like if
I could find the button and they'd see
my mouse floating around the buttons
right here on my movie alright where's
the thing and it's what I'd watch the
videos with them I hear em yelling like
you're like half an inch of the button
like how do you not see that and I'm
like I don't know maybe it's the wrong
color I get the changes they change the
color or move it or whatever and that's
how we did clickfunnels they like we
have to make it so simple that Russell
could actually do it and since we have
that then we know we've got something we
can sell and we did that and then yeah
when it came out and just you know you
never know what ideas what projects are
gonna hit and that one that wouldn't hit
it for us and it's been you know four
and half years since that launched I
mean today living them right here
eighty-eight thousand active members
eighty thousand 107 active members as of
right now or people paying anywhere from
ninety seven to two hundred eighty seven
dollars a month to use it it's just it's
it's been a whirlwind just been fun and
crazy and scary and exciting already
into one one huge party yeah and you
guys just make it so much easier I
remember when I started as well you had
to either know HTML and code it yourself
or you'd have to find some freelancer
that would you know code everything for
you and it was just such a pain to do it
and and for those of you that are
watching that don't know what a funnel
is you know what it is you just might
not understand the language of it it's
when you go to a page it's like a
landing page you put in your name and
email address and then there's a sales
page there
upsell pages down sell pages there's you
know the order page all of that is part
of a funnel but you know there's there's
other ones out there I mean using
WordPress and different themes for it
and but you guys have really I think
made it even easier for people but I
think one thing that you guys have done
is you've made a movement it's not just
that that you're creating a funnel
you've created an identity for people
that that was one of the reasons why I
transition to click funnels because
before that I was using WordPress with
like you know different themes and I'd
use leadpages but you guys made it cool
you know you made it cool to be a funnel
hacker and you guys put on an awesome
event you got resources and trainings in
the community and all of that which I
love and I'd love to hear kind of the
thinking behind that because you teach
that a lot in to your expert secrets
book which I love everybody I'll put a
link below to that book it's one of my
favorite books there it is for you I'd
love to kind of hear I guess that
thinking on on building a movement what
you guys have done yeah it's it's funny
like when we were first building click
funnels you know Todd's job was to go
click funnels my jobs like how are you
sell this thing and so I remember
thinking I was like if if click funnels
is Russell's business no one's gonna
care about it right because it's just
it's Russell's business but I like how
do we make it like our business like
everybody was involved it's not just a
product we use but it's like this is
part of our business and I didn't know
how to do that and actually went with
one of my friends invited me to this
this event it was a network marketing
event and and I'd never really been to
one before he's like dude you have to
see what happens to these things so what
is this event I think there's like four
or five thousand people at it and the
company what they sell is soft it's a
software product and I walk in it and
I'm like I think there's a lot of people
here they're all going crazy and people
are getting on stage and they're telling
they've started how to use the software
they're crying they tears and all these
things are happening like person after
person for like three days just
everyone's telling us when they get out
of wards two people and all this stuff
and I'm just like perplexed like so
confused and I remember looking as David
fries my buddy that took me to sing him
and he's like you see what they're doing
I'm like no I have no idea what's
happening here like why do people cry
this is software that sends things in
the mail doesn't make any logical sense
he's like they didn't create a software
company he said they created a movement
is like watch what they're doing say
you say people are part of that this is
not just a product that used this as
part of their identity he's like this is
and he was like they give it outwardly
to recognition like say watch what's
happening and watch this whole
experience sounds like oh my gosh and
then create something special and as we
one-click for something how do we do
that I wanna create something special
too and I didn't know all the steps
ahead of time I just that was the angle
we want to try to get to and if you do
read extra secret says you know I kind
of you know a lot of these we didn't we
just didn't like Mandy's big impacts and
we kind of reverse engineers were
secretly we did this we did this we did
this but you know a big part of it is
first office helping people identify
with with what the thing is right and
the first time that happened we didn't
do it on purpose we had people are
signing up for clickfunnels I mean this
huge churn of people were leaving and
and we're like how do we get people to
stick we're trying all sorts of weird
things and one day I had an idea because
I love t-shirts this is one of my
clickfunnels diehard funnel hacker
t-shirts but I was like I was like what
if we created a shirt because basically
people reason people left click phones
as they signed up they didn't they they
logged in like I don't do Nate they
would cancel right and we have a chance
to even like help them so I said well if
we make a video that shows many just
click funnels but we we we get them to
watch that we bribe him to watch like we
give him the shirt it said funnel hacker
in exchange for the thing and and when I
was 2 let's test this we did that so
they had to watch like a the 15 minute
video that's a demo video click forms
after they sign up and then I send my
t-shirt I cover the shipping the
prettiest just you just watch the video
I'll cover all the costs we'll send this
t-shirt and C word of like 5,000 shirts
within a month they were gone and our
accounts like do we wasted so much money
they we can't do this I was like maybe
we'll just turn it off and I remember at
that same time I'm almost the same day I
got an email from somebody it was this
dude he's like hey I said it for click
phones like four or five weeks ago he's
like I've never logged in since he's
like but I got that t-shirt in the mail
and it's my favorite t-shirt guy went to
bed every single night he's like even
though I don't use click phones don't
long into it he's like I'm a funnel
hacker I don't want to lose that
identity so I'm gonna keep pay my
monthly fees for forever and I had this
lightbulb moment of like oh my gosh like
like people identify with that guys who
they like they big service was a funnel
hacker and so went over like 20,000 new
t-shirts and and booze dandy we've given
away like half a million funnel hacker
t-shirts and it's crazy like people that
are there in Singapore or an Australian
translation
all my friends who send me pictures on
my phone like I'm in a bus in like Asia
and there's like three dudes wearing
funnel hacker t-shirts he's like this is
the craziest thing in the world and um
but it really gives people like an
identity like it's like this is who we
are we are funnel hackers and they
identify with it it's not oh that's the
Russell's company it's like no this is
this is our our company our movement
it's like how do you you try to reverse
engineer that and create that there's a
bunch of ways to do it but that was like
the big aha site if I can make this
words this is our company not Russell's
company then people are bought into it
more than just you know then then when
the the hundreds of different knockoffs
of clickfunnels come they're not gonna
go and leave they just leave again one
of my guys in my inner circle he said he
said every time someone comes out with
next click funnels killer and I see it I
seen in my newsfeed my phone he's like
he's like I paused just long enough to
go ha and I keep scrolling he's like I
don't care how much better they were
even think we're better you I don't care
because I'm a funnel hacker and this is
my company I was like that think that's
that's the goal that's the plan yeah and
I think what it does yeah what you're
doing you're creating like a raving fan
culture a community of people net that's
something that differentiates
clickfunnels than any other one out
there and I it kind of leads me to this
question which is how has marketing
changed how has it evolved from when you
started because when you started I
remember it was you know before there
was there wasn't a lot of video video
wasn't as big there wasn't a lot of
content marketing there wasn't as many
influencers and people putting
themselves out there there wasn't maybe
a brand that wasn't the mindset for
people it's more just like let's just
put out a product trying to make money
from it but I've seen it kind of evolved
now where it's all about building a
brand it's about building a community
it's about creating a movement creating
that identity providing value to people
building the raving fans I just kind of
love to hear just kind of how you've
seen it evolve to this point and what do
you think people need to do today and
moving forward to to be relevant and
kind of riot rise above all that noise
yeah so when I have started there was
basically two schools of thought marking
there was like direct response marketers
and there were brand marketers and they
hated each other like it's like you know
whatever like they just did not get
along at all and I found a group like
the guys like that cognition we're like
the direct response marketers stretch
responses basically every ad you put out
you ask for a response like like the
infomercials worse like
get this free book call this number
that's direct response it was a direct
response right versus branding was just
like McDonald's or coke or it's like
here's a coke you should you know like
here's a coke again here's that you know
and and they were they they they fight
against each other and so I grew up with
Dan Kennedy and Abraham all the hardcore
direct response marketers and so that's
what I kind of learned from it and the
thing I love about direct response is
like is like you only do things that are
profitable right you spend money but you
have to get it back and it makes you
smart it makes you think of the numbers
and the metrics and stuff but back then
it was like that's all it was and so
there was no personality there was no it
was just like whoever the best copy one
and people could say whatever they
wanted because there was no
accountability there's no social media
it was just like you know and so I feel
like for a man for probably half a
decade or so in that window that's when
there were so many scams so many things
coming out because like there was no
accountability it was like yeah you copy
you won and you got the money whether
your product was good or bad and if the
suck nobody had any outlet then fast
forward to you know the last the last
five or six years where social medias
become this big thing and now there's
instant accountability most of the scam
artists that I know of have disappeared
they've gone bankrupt because they sell
crappy product and in five seconds is on
Facebook and every else knows the whole
thing just disappears right I think it's
good for them for business as a whole
like it gives accountability but what's
fascinating is then the social media
thing all flicks like made this branding
thing that used to be like you just
dumped a bunch of money like Coke or
McDonald's or Pepsi and just hope
something happens to Austin now it's
like they're they're intermingled and it
brings these two things together I
really feel like social media has given
it where it's like there's direct
response and there's brandy and those
two things now tie together and so for
me like back in the day it was just me
selling direct response stuff now it's
like I'm still doing that I can click
for most came out we did everything into
direct response but as we were doing
that and don't this amazing brand and
now the brand has power by itself and we
couldn't do that before it was either
one of the other now it's like they both
work simultaneously and I think that's
what's exciting and so I think for
people nowadays we're just kind of
getting into that as understanding you
need to learn these principles like
funnels and copywriting and all how to
run ads but same time it's like you
become the brand like people people no
longer connect with you know I've been I
have a company I'm investing that's like
an energy drink thing so I'm watching
the energy drink company right there's
all these brands there's monster these
there's you know 5-hour energy and it's
always like these big brands were built
during the branding days but I look at
companies like Bain what's it called
bang it's the drink right it's called
bang and they are right now passing
everybody what they're doing is they're
just going finding who are the
influencers and they find you and I
don't greet their marketing hundred
percent they find like the cute hot
girls on Instagram and Facebook and they
pay them to walk around holding their
drink but you know this cheesy is that
that marketing is it's like they're
saying like these people all have
millions of little brands and their
doubt co-branding with that and that's
how this companies are blowing up
they're they're surpassing all these
companies that you know hundreds of
million dollars in funding and an
advertising budget and they're passing
them all up by by leveraging that thing
and I think it's it's interesting as you
start understanding like you are the
brand people connect with people
nowadays as opposed to brands and so
it's like if you wanna be successful you
got to kind of come out of that shell
which for me it stuffing I'm super
introverted like people see my camera
like or on stage with my phone okay when
I put the phone away and I'm like I hide
back in my shell because like I'm not by
default that way but if you want people
to connect with you like you have to be
willing to open up and be a little bit
vulnerable because that's what gets
people to come to you we're saying our
mindset a lot of times we have to
posture and be perfect all the time
because so people will respect us but
actually I push these people away and so
as you start selling your products it's
really about like opening yourself up
you're putting yourself on social media
like doing Facebook lives doing
Instagram I'm doing those things because
that's what people are craving today
more than anything in our big social
world people are craving connection and
those who are willing to open up and
like share that's the connection comes
in and then they'll buy the products the
services you have but they're looking
for the person first moreso than the
product first which is the big shift I
think that's happening right now
yeah and one thing I really respect
about you is just how authentic you are
you know you always just come across
very genuine very humble and authentic
and I think people connect with that too
and I think people are craving that you
know in every niche every market out
there people want to connect with
someone that's just like them you know
not that person that's the expert or the
Guru or way up on a pedestal that they
can't relate to they want you know one
thing that you said on the live training
the other day with Tony and Dean was
just being one step ahead of people you
know you don't have to have everything
figure it out or be perfect but just
being someone that's also on that same
sure
as they are in that same nature market
but just one step ahead and you just
being transparent and sharing and
authentic and wanting to help them and
that that's what people connect with
yeah for sure it's interesting because I
think a lot of you do you think wait to
be perfect or have to be like when I
know everything then I'll go and start
teaching it like if I would have found a
way to tell you everything to start
teaching funnels the world I had to
still be like in the learning phase
right which soon sounds like my first
squeeze page I ever made I got leave I
was like oh this is amazing everyone you
need a squeeze please like I'm reeling
it from the rooftops and you know time
no one's listening I'm so excited that I
had to share it you know and it's like
Oh first time I sold something you know
it's just it's it's getting excited
about what you're learning discovery and
then not being scared to share it and as
you share it that's when people start
coming to you and it's funny because a
lot of times like well oh you know
so-and-so knows better than me or like
this person's got a PhD or whatever and
it's like the thing is like people
aren't connected to do the PhD or
someone else like there's some people
who love tony robbins will connect with
tony but there's some people who like
tony turns them off and then you got
like say brandon Bouchard over here it's
like you know they don't like tony but
they plug into Brendon or maybe it's
like me late someone loves me and they
plug in or they make like I don't like
Bruce Lee talks too fast he blurs his
words I don't hang out so so it's like
all of us God's given us these unique
abilities and those those abilities he's
given us I believe so we can connect
with other people and so just because
someone may know more doesn't matter you
know like because you are you like
that's what gets people attracted to you
as soon as you're willing to share that
which is the scariest part but it's the
most important part I love it so if you
were to start over today okay knowing
you know just in the world we live in
today there's so many opportunities that
people have whether that's selling on
Amazon you know you've published your
own books you've created and sold your
own information products software
there's affiliate marketing
there's doing your own events and
masterminds like where do you think you
would start if you were to start all
over today that's a good question
cuz you guys I've had a chance to tip my
dick might own a lot of things you did
supplements we've done yeah some good
things you know for me it's interesting
because I think a lot of times what we
think of as markers like what product
would we sell that's the first one we go
to but I think for me it would be more
like I probably step to take a step back
and
I've been kind of obsessed with with
movie Avengers lately because endgame
just came out it was insane but like I
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