Kerry McNally: Use Excitement and Persistence to Chase Down Your Dreams and Succeed

This week’s guest is Kerry McNally. Kerry is the founder & CEO of Siesta Key Films, two-time Emmy award winning journalist, writer/producer, freelance voiceover artist, and occasional legit stand-up comedian. Kerry is the epitome of possibility thinking, creativity, and constant entrepreneurship. SPONSOR: Secure Startup (www.securestartup.com) - securely manage all the documents between startup founders and investors.

Shownotes:

2:50 - Kerry makes a toast with drink in hand to kick off the show - and especially to our first responders and health care workers in this COVID-19 situation we are in.

5:15 - Why were companies like Disney, Uber, and Apple started in a recession? Kerry talks about the beneficial atmosphere of the economy and how this may lead to success in business

9:15 - This is our moment. Ten years from now we'll look back at the companies that were started during this recession and it’s not going to be Disney or Uber. It’s going to either be what you create, or what the person next to you that took action created.

15:35 - SPONSOR: Secure Startup (www.securestartup.com)

20:45 - Allen introduces Kerry, which includes Kerry showing off the hardware he won from his two Emmy Awards in journalism. Kerry then describes his unusual path from marine corps to working in broadcasting with CBS broadcaster Paul Lockwood.

27:30 - Kerry tells the story of how he became a comedian by utilizing his knowledge of sales to land a job at The Comic Strip, a NYC famous comedy club which gave rise to Jerry Sinfield, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler and many more.

31:40 - What really gets you excited? Such a simple question but this is what Kerry used and recommends to those trying to figure out what type of business to start

33:40 - Steps to figure out your business idea: 1. Figure out what makes you happy/excited. 2. Find people that have been able to make a living out of it and follow them. 3. Assess your skill level. Are you good enough or can you get good enough to make a living doing this? 4. Seek advice from those already doing your desired career/business

37:00 - How do you overcome fear of failure associated with entrepreneurship? Kerry shares his stories of rejection in broadcasting/TV and how he worked through hundreds of rejections to land his gigs.

44:15 - Allen talks about how there is only one path to freedom both financially and of your time and that is entrepreneurship. No matter how high you rise in the ranks of your corporation you do not find freedom and your lifestyle catches up with your income. Entrepreneurship is the only way.

52:15 - Carl Lucchi guest appears and discusses the true definition of a job (Just Over Broke) and the importance of your mindset around failure. If you truly love what you are doing and are 100% in on the business, one rejection doesn’t matter because you know you are willing to weather the storm of rejections until you succeed

56:45 - You don’t always have to love your side gig. If you don't love the product/industry but it is able to fund your true passion and free up your time then it makes the side gig worth it.

59:30 - Surround yourself with people that believe in you as much as you believe in yourself. Kerry talks about how he surrounds himself with those that will encourage him and embrace his passions and that helped him teach himself how to write a screenplay which is now completed and in the process of being financed.

1:13:00 - Coco from Coco & Dash, a Dallas based interior design studio, joins the live podcast to describe how she risked everything to start her business as well as how COVID-19 is affecting her business currently.

1:17:45 - “We will be fine when this is over, we just may not have a store, but we will evolve, and Coco & Dash will continue in some way, shape, or form.” - Coco’s perspective on how COVID-19 is affecting her business. While she cannot control what this does for her company she understands that she is still in control of her life.

1:24:10 - Kerry was a waiter in NYC to chase his dream of comedy but he didn’t care because he had his vision in mind. A job is just a job, but chasing a dream is something else entirely and that’s what’s so special about entrepreneurship.

1:29:15 - Kerry wraps up the show by describing the premise of the TV show he is currently creating a pilot for “TV Shop TV” centered around television's worst shopping network that is trying to stay relevant in this digital age that is transitioning away from cable TV.

Kerry McNally: http://www.kerrymcnally.com

Allen's new book Quit to Start: http://www.quittostart.com