How to Build a Business Without Losing the People You Love // Daryl Kelly // Next Level Podcast

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Daryl Kelly, Evelyn, Evelyn Kelly, Running Start
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Evelyn
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Joanna
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Evelyn, Joanna
5. 25:00 – 30:00: Tri City dances
6. 30:00 – 35:00: Miss Washington
7. 35:00 – 40:00: Evelyn, Joanna
8. 40:00 – 45:00: Rich Dad Poor Dad
9. 45:00 – 47:18: Evelyn, Joanna

Notable quotes from "How to Build a Business Without Losing the People You Love // Daryl Kelly // Next Level Podcast"

• Yes, it is. It's the infamous Evelyn Kelly with us. Welcome, Evelyn.

  about Evelyn · at 0:39

• Yeah. There's a program where we live called Running Start where you can the last two years of high school you only take college courses and it makes it able makes you able to graduate with an AA and a high school diploma.

  about Running Start · at 1:34

• I think too if I think I was very clear me and Joanna like we've always had to talk about these when I'm out of town and what's going on and I think she was one she was always supportive. So, I don't think the girls.

  about Joanna · at 13:10

• What could I do? So, this girl who had been putting on these dances, they're called the Tri City dances. So, they're for all the high schools in all the cities where we live.

  about Tri City dances · at 29:09

• And then I did I worked at a physical therapy clinic for 8 months and then I did the social media marketing for Miss Washington for a couple months.

  about Miss Washington · at 32:10

• Doing after high school for a while and then my dad was like here are some books. I think was it like Rich Dad Poor Dad or Yeah. So, I've got a few books. My favorite books to give out to kids. I keep stacks of them in my office, but.

  about Rich Dad Poor Dad · at 44:49

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Evelyn — Person · 8 mentions · first at 0:39
• Daryl — Person · 5 mentions
• Joanna — Person · 4 mentions · first at 13:14
• Daryl Kelly — Person · 2 mentions · first at 0:48
  This is my father, dad, Daryl Kelly.
• Evelyn Kelly — Person · 1 mention · first at 0:39
  Yes, it is. It's the infamous Evelyn Kelly with us. Welcome, Evelyn.

Books & papers

• Rich Dad Poor Dad — Book · 1 mention · first at 44:53

Companies & orgs

• Tri City dances — Company · 1 mention · first at 29:13
• Miss Washington — Company · 1 mention · first at 32:16

Concepts & topics

• Running Start — Concept · 1 mention · first at 1:36

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Being an entrepreneur isn't just about building a business. It's about carrying the weight of providing while trying to be present at home. And honestly, there's a pull between the two. And it's real. This is an honest conversation about what it's like growing up in a house where the drive to build never really turns off. The times I showed up and the times I didn't. This episode is for every parent out there who is trying to chase big goals without losing connection with the people who matter most. And for every kid who's watching the journey up close. Let's dive in.

0:32 Darl, today we've got a extremely special guest. I think maybe even more special to you more than me, huh?

0:39 Yes, it is. It's the infamous Evelyn Kelly with us. Welcome, Evelyn. Thank you,

0:45 Evelyn. How are you related to this idiot right here? This is my father, dad, Daryl Kelly.

0:51 Yes. So, it's interesting. I wanted Evelyn on. She's uh leaving the house soon. So, she's my oldest daughter and she is going to be going to college and Evelyn is a unique individual and so I wanted to have her on because I think there's a lot of things that we can talk about that really apply to, you know, people who are out there raising kids, business owners, and I think she has a good perspective to share.

1:16 Ellen, let's just start at the beginning. Okay. Okay. So, you just graduated high school just a month ago, right?

1:22 Yeah. And what's special about that is you kind of graduated twice. Mhm. In like the same week or something.

1:29 Yeah. You you graduated with a high school degree and an associates degree. Yeah. There's a program where we live called Running Start where you can the last two years of high school you only take college courses and it makes it able makes you able to graduate with an AA and a high school diploma.

1:46 And you just turned 18. I'm still 17. Still 17. You got a college degree and a and a high school degree.

1:54 Yeah. Wow. Mhm. Smart woman. Yeah. Congrats. But the real reason you're here is we want to figure out what it was like for you as a young child growing up with an entrepreneur father. because I think a lot of our listeners can relate where they're starting businesses or even have multiple businesses, but they're trying to figure out this way to balance their their livelihood with their business, but also how that can integrate and affect their personal life. So, at a very young age, were you aware of your father being super entrepreneurial? And if not, when did you start to understand what he was doing? He didn't have just like a job like other dads? Yeah, I would say um before even like thinking about what my dad does for work, he's a very he's the best problem solver I've ever met. He's always he's very innovative and always thinks of ways to solve problems. And I think that's a very entrepreneur mindset

2:53 is to have a business, have problems, and figure out how to solve them. Um so I think before I knew he was an entrepreneur, created these businesses himself, I knew that he was someone that could solve problems quickly. And I think that was my first realization like okay like dad's different he has a different mindset than most.

3:11 How old do you think you were when you understood that when you started to realize that?

3:16 Um I would say probably like 9 or 10 when I kind of started thinking of problems but my dad wouldn't think of it a problem. He think of it as something to solve I think was when I was like okay like he thinks differently. This isn't a problem. It's a it's a time we can find a solution. Did you feel like as a child that your dad was different than other dads? Obviously, you're a little biased, but yeah.

3:40 What the problem solving was one thing, but how did you know that your dad seemed different than other dads?

3:47 I think uh most kids could come to school and say what their dad does for work, but I don't think I was ever able to do that in elementary school. Um if someone says, "What what does your dad do for work?" I'd be like, "Well, we're talking about this week or next week." It could change depending on the weather. So, I think um that was definitely big is I knew my dad was different from others when my kid my friends could be like, "Oh, like my dad's a doctor or he does this or that." Um but I was like, "I have no idea." And I'd go home and I think it was always changing. But yeah, I would say that was when I realized

4:23 Let's just ask what does your dad do? I don't know. I still don't know. I mean, I'm on a podcast right now, but I still don't know exactly what Daryl Kelly does. So,

4:33 you know, it's interesting as an entrepreneur like you're gone a lot, you're traveling and um you know, I don't know if you realize, I mean, it was a normal thing for you, but um when I was gone a lot, I think the thing that matters most is the relationship between me and my wife because that's really what you guys see um when I am home is like that relationship play out, right? How would you think that's impacted our relationship? Um, I would say that if I were to compare you to not necess not necessarily saying a normal dad, but a father figure that maybe isn't traveling and goes from work to work from like 9 to5 every day and has that like more of a consistent routine compared to how you have with traveling. I would say

5:20 you spent more quality over quantity when it came to time. Um, I think it's easy for anyone to come home and just be done with the day. You've lived your day. But I think a lot of times when the dad comes home is right when the kids ready to live their day and experience things with their dad.

5:39 And I would say that because you would come home and spend that quality time with us. I feel like that really and mom that really showed us like he's here for us, not just for work. And I think a lot of times when you're an entrepreneur, you're just there for work and that's all you can think about. But I definitely feel like you were there for us. Quality over quantity.

5:57 We always talk about the P's and impacting time. It's not about having a balanced amount of time to spend on your physical and economics and associations and spirituality, but making sure that we have an impact amount of time

6:08 in all of those four sections of life. Evelyn, what was it like for you on your dad trying to spend quality time? Like what did that look like for you? like what was he doing to make sure that the time he did spend whether it's 5 minutes or 5 hours

6:24 how was that impactful for you what was he doing yeah I would say something I learned from him was uh when he comes home from work it's almost impossible for anyone in the house to tell you like look at him or talk to him and be like okay today was a terrible day at work or today was the best day he's ever had just because when he comes home his whole focus is family like work is left at the workplace that energy is left there it shifts on the the way back and the whole focus is on his family. And I think that's really big when it comes to spending quality time is like, okay, you could be running around with your kid, but like are you still in the back of your mind thinking about something, which I'm sure he is, but he's never shown it to us. And I think that was a big impact on our family, especially through the times where I'm sure you were struggling, but we would never know because he never showed that to us. Not

7:10 cuz he was trying to keep it a secret, because he wanted to genuinely spend time with us each day. Well, I read a book earlier on um in my career where it talks about a doctor when he show up for work for when he show up from work, he would always in um figuratively take off his jacket and hang it outside of his house. And when he took that off, he would take off all the stress, all the work, everything, and hang it outside of his house. And then when he walked in his house, none of his day would impact him. And so that's always stuck with me.

7:39 And and so you know that and then Tony Robbins teaches a lot about maintaining your state. And so when I walk in the house, I come in with like the most excited energy regardless of how exhausted I am. Cuz truthfully, like being exhausted is a choice. There's always more in the tank. There's always more we can offer. And I really do think we can show up energetically and emotionally for our family right when we walk in the door. And so, you know, like when I come home, like I get hugs from my kids. cuz they're excited to see me cuz they know I'm always going to be excited to see them. I don't come in with like this is exhausting cuz there's a few times where it's like you can't hide it and it sucks and that's just is what it is. But that's pretty rare and most of the time I come in with the most excitement I can um in any given day and I know my kids expect that and so that's been I think that's been a important

8:30 lesson I've learned. I agree. And I think it's funny because when I started working at the physical therapy office, I realized how hard it is to take off that coat. And even just like be like physically active after work. Like you are exhausted. But I think even as like a young kid, I remember like dad comes home, we go outside, we throw a baseball

8:49 or we go ride a dirt bike. Like I can't name many people that have that especially myself have that much energy after work to come home and genuinely want to see your kids have a good time and like use like like physically go hang out with them cuz you could come home any day and just like talk to them at dinner then go to bed but he physically comes talks to us and

9:10 so I have I have four girls so I'm like my girls are going to do whatever they want to do. Um, I like riding dirt bikes, so I'm like, I'll introduce them to dirt bikes, so they ride dirt bikes. But then like the whole, um, throwing the baseball, I'm like, my girls can throw. So, I bought mits and baseball. No, no one plays baseball, but it's just so we could learn to throw.

9:29 Yeah. Or softball. But anyways, yeah, we've, especially Evelyn, there's times where I would just throw the ball to her and she talked to me for like an hour and I don't think I say anything in return, but I just listen.

9:42 Remember that? Yeah. He has it's a lot of girls so it's a lot of listening but but it always it always it helps to have someone listen but yeah and I mean like even like later in life just like those little things like throwing the baseball like the other day I was throwing a football and I was like who am I like I perfect spiral I was like throwing it over our house I was like I have never like what is going on but just like those little moments that he hangs out like hangs out and talks to us really make an impact in like 5 years randomly throwing a football

10:14 and it's official. My girls can all throw a football better than me. I know I can throw a spiral.

10:18 You damn damn sure can't. Hey guys, it's Chris. If you're finding value in what you're hearing, go ahead and like and subscribe. That way, people just like you can find this content for free here on YouTube. Now, let's dive back in the show.

10:31 Was there was there ever a time that you felt his presence gone? Uh, not necessarily. I think one time you did go to Rhode Island when we needed some money and you were gone for like a month, I think.

10:44 Y um that was hard just cuz our youngest sister was just born, but I think that was the only time just because Mary was so little that it was like, wo, that was the craziest month of my life. I literally felt like I had given birth to a baby, too, cuz you were gone. I was like, I'm I'm bringing this baby to bed. Like, it was that was crazy

11:03 because you you had a lot to burn. You're the oldest child of all of your siblings correct?

11:07 Yeah. And so your dad's gone for x amount of time and maybe you don't even know how much time he's actually going to be gone.

11:14 What are you experiencing in real time? Like take me back. Like if I could be there with you. I'm your younger sister. I'm Jane and I see you kind of also helping taking care of your youngest sister now just recently born. Like what am I seeing? What am I feeling?

11:30 Yeah. I would say uh I think that honestly helped me in a way like I am the oldest so I do have a lot of like leadership like roles that I take on in the family and especially with my dad being gone I think I like really took that on which is funny now because my dad is home more than he was I feel like at that stage. So now it's like all these leaders in the family like figuring out how to work with each other. But uh I guess in Jane's eyes she'd see like I me and Mary literally shared a bed. Like her crib was 3 ft away from mine until she was I think 4 months old. And so I was the one here's a pacifier here's a bottle. So I think that was a very interesting experience.

12:08 But it was like the best way I could help my mom at that stage. Did you I want you to be super honest because I think your story can relate to a lot of entrepreneurs that are listening to this that might have kids that could be in your shoes right now of when you were taking care of your siblings as almost like a secondary parent stepping up.

12:28 Did you ever have any angst or or anger or resentment towards your dad during that time? Obviously now it's much different, but in real time are you experiencing those feelings?

12:39 Um I don't think I I think I felt like bad for my mom at certain times, but I never felt anything. I knew my dad was doing what he was supposed to and he was providing for our family. So, I didn't really bring up any like hard feelings because I knew he was trying his best to do what he could, but at the same time, quality over quantity. When I did see him, it was very valuable time where he'd tell me he loved me or he would write me notes or he'd send me something. So, I think knowing that I just knew my dad was doing his best.

13:10 I think too if um I think I was very clear me and Joanna like we've always had to talk about these these when I'm out of town and what's going on and I think she was one she was always supportive. So, I don't think the girls ever heard anything negative from her about me. I'm sure she would get stressed out and there'd be a lot of work or or just she'd want a break and so they would feel that. But I don't think they ever heard negativity directed at me. And so I think that was also a huge thing because I I know when I'd come home I'd never experience or hear like those things being said. And I think that was

13:47 pretty pretty important. I agree. And I think that's a huge role played by mom at that point is something my mom's always told me. She's like, "Even if I'm with all my best friends in like a room," she's like, "I'll never talk bad about your dad, even if I'm mad at him." Cuz it's like, at the end of the day, if I have a conversation with your dad, we're going to figure it out and it's going to be fine. So, why throw that negativity everywhere when it's like not worth your time? So, I agree. I think mom had a big role in like not throwing any negative shade at you or anything. And also kind of what you brought up is there were times where my parents would sit me down and be like, "Okay, dad's going to be gone for a couple weeks." And so I think that helped too is knowing kind of like what the plan was. So my dad never just left.

14:30 I was always like aware of the plan, the situation even at a young age. And I feel like that helped.

14:35 How how what you as a child and your parents would sit you down like, "Hey, dad's going to be gone for a couple weeks. It's going to be hard." What what did you hear? Like what is what are they saying to you at least from your perspective? Yeah, I think they obviously told me the situation. Um, I didn't know like everything, but I think with Rhode Island, he just told me like he's going to be gone. I think it was the winter, so winter season.

15:02 And the biggest thing was just like understanding like we'll just need you to help mom with the kids. But I don't know, I never felt like I needed like a whole explanation. I just kind of like understood like that's just how we are. Like we just have to help each other out in the family. So, I don't think there was ever like a, oh, this is happening, this is happening, like you have to help in this way. I feel like I just knew like that was just what we were supposed to do.

15:24 I want to I want to bring this up because I think it's important what you two just highlighted like the support you and Joanna, your wife, have for each other, you know, like I'll never say something bad about my spouse, even around my friends or or things like that. I think sometimes we get caught up though in withholding information to give to our spouse in fear of like ah like things are actually not great in the business right now or things are tough can't figure out in order to try to protect that person

15:54 Evelyn did you ever experience as a child because your guys' story is crazy like you guys went through a lot of hardship and adversity did you ever feel like things were struggling like that things were bad, at least from your perspective as a child.

16:09 Mhm. Um I look back and I'm like, "Wow." Like I wouldn't say things were ever bad, but they were definitely different. Uh I would say one time you were thinking about investing in a bee farm and we went and we lived in a I would say shack pretty close to like

16:27 No, it's a farmhouse. No, it was not. It was not. No, let me tell you when I tell you I had like it was not a farmhouse. It was okay. In my seven-year-old mind, I didn't think it was a farmhouse. We had moved from like this city, this townhouse to this like farmhouse where I wore boots everywhere. Like just not like it was I don't know. It was really different for me. But also that was like the best part of my childhood. Like I never saw it as like a oh like things are bad. Like I don't know. I thought it it was like the funnest thing I ever did. I like woke up, fed goats, went to bed, woke up, fed chickens. like it was like the funnest little like 10 months of my life. Um, but I would say like I don't think you ever came up to us any of your kids and was like things are bad by the way. Like I don't think that was ever like told to us. I think it was always like how can it get better than this but nothing was

17:19 ever oh it's bad. Like and I think that's important like to keep your kids mindset of like it'll always get better. It's good or this is like the best thing ever.

17:28 Yeah. Well, I feel like uh you know, I already know what my worst case scenario is and so like I never felt like things were bad. It was always about just figuring out how to make it better.

17:37 Yeah. Worst case scenario, I'm living in the basement of my in-laws. And I mean, being sevenyear-old and living in the basement of your grandma's house, probably the best situation to happen to you. So,

17:49 yeah. I mean, you would say that you're like, well, worst case scenario, we live at grandma's.

17:53 What's a seven-year-old going to say? No. Like, yeah, of course. Let's do it. I think once I understood my worst case scenario, I was like, "All right, let's let's make let's make something great happen."

18:03 Um, so let's let's kind of go into you and how you've developed. I think one of the most important things is is a lot of people sacrifice family for success

18:14 and uh what are some of the things you feel like contributed to your uh just who you are today? like how have how has um either me or your mom like influenced you to be who you are or what are some external things that have helped you?

18:31 Um I would say that something that you've taught me when it comes to like success that I feel like a lot of people aren't taught is success isn't just one thing, it's a million things combined. And so I think something that like as I get older when I'm like, "Okay, I want to be successful." It's like, no, like I don't want to just like make a bunch of money, as great as that sounds. Like, I want to make money. I want to get married. I want to have kids. I want to grow my relationship with God and my spouse. Like, I think um I want to be the best like physically I can be. And I think something that you and mom have taught me is like the success in that is way more than any other success by like one thing, you know? It's like a bunch of things put together.

19:15 You're saying instead of choosing your success, it's success is how you live your whole life. 100%. Yeah. I don't think a lot of times people think this one thing is like, okay, if I just get this, sell this business for x amount of money, like I'm successful,

19:28 but you could sell a business for this amount of money and like not be your best physical self, if that makes sense. And I feel like becoming the best version of yourself would be success to me.

19:38 Um, you know, something that Alex has told me that really stuck out when he met you was you made the comment that you love your body. Um, has that always been the case?

19:52 Uh, well, backstory. I'm 6'2 and taller than Daryl for all the viewers wondering. Okay. He's actually 61 and 3/4 and made me think I was 63 for like 3 years, but I'm 6'2 and um I think growing up that's very uncommon. And especially in like like sports was very interesting. And I think uh I for some reason have always like I don't know obviously it's like an insecurity of mine, but I think as I've gotten older it's become more of a superpower of mine. And yeah, I don't know. I just like have learned to like love my body through working out and like becoming as fit as I can with the body that I have.

20:38 I guess I think the reason that's important is is how many times have I heard you frustrated about

20:43 right your body or height all those things. So, I know there's I know that's something that a lot of kids go through is where they like are really frustrated about their body, whether they're too short or too tall or too fat or too skinny or not strong enough or

20:57 um how do you get to that point? I would say I definitely had a turning point when I felt that my body was I was really skinny my sophomore year. I want to say it was my sophomore year. And I was like, "Okay, like I play volleyball. Like I'm active, but I'm not like physically in the best um shape." And I needed to like put on some weight. So I started training and I had this amazing trainer and he I think I gained like at the end of everything I think I gained like 30 to 40 lbs, which was crazy. But I was like skin and bones beforehand. And because I like worked up to like fitting into my body, I feel like once I was at the peak of that, I was like, "Okay, like I love my body."

21:48 Like I fit into it. I felt like strong. I didn't just feel like weak and tall. So I felt like I kind of saw my body and I was like, "Okay, what can I do with this?" And then I just worked really really hard. I worked out three days a week and I became very confident in the body that I helped like become the best version of I would say.

22:06 So what what drives you? uh like in what makes you a driven person? I know you're you've worked I know your trainer told me like you work harder than a lot of the top athletes he works with. Um I know you've had three jobs at one point. I know you're you know you're you're doing a college, you're doing school, you're doing a lot of different things.

22:24 Like where do you get your drive from? Like what what are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to overcompensate for something? Do you feel like you have this vision you're following? Like what is it that drives you? Um, I would say I would say one of like my worst fears is having a period in my life where I feel like I don't accomplish anything. I feel like I just have to like, okay, what's the next thing we're going to accomplish? What's the next thing that's going to like the next step? Uh, I would say if you're not doing it 100%, why do it at all? Because 100% is going to get you way further than anyone just going 90. And I think that's something that's really pushed me is seeing athletes come in and then their reps, I don't know, they have like three sets of 15 and they only do like two sets or something. And I'm like, is it going to kill you to do 15 more reps?

23:15 No. And and so I think going 100 has definitely like been a big thing. I also think though is I don't think I would have done that unless you taught me. One of my favorite things you ever said to me was, "You don't have to do it perfect. You just have to get it done. And I feel like there's been a lot of times in my life where it's like, okay, it's not going to be perfect, but it'll get done. And that I mean has goes across everything like sports, working out, business, school. And so I think that's a big thing that I've learned. M

23:46 when have kind of pivoting a little bit you guys over you guys have dealt with a lot since you've been born dealt with a lot of adversity and over the last probably five six years you guys have been able to finally at least from my perspective outside in

24:02 start to what on paper people would say looks like success like yeah the house the boat you know you know having a rich ass dad

24:11 you know let's just be real okay rich ass that how much have you seen with the effort that you know that your father has put in over the last you know 17 years that you've been alive and now being able to experience life on paper through a new lens but I imagine your dad hasn't changed for you.

24:30 Yeah, I would say I remember like a couple years back I was like wow like I wish I was like I have three little sisters and I was like if I was like one of them like I would live this like my whole childhood would be like this. like that would be crazy. But then I remember telling him I was like, "No, like it's honestly incredible that I was with you through the whole journey and like saw all like the ups and downs." I think that was really really interesting to me. And I think wouldn't I wouldn't have become the person I am today if I wouldn't have seen all the lows and all the highs.

25:02 And now today, you know, you've seen your father become this awesome entrepreneur. Now you're kind of stepping into this entrepreneurial role yourself. Are you doing that because you feel like you have to follow in your dad's footsteps or do you feel or has he pushed you in a way or are you making this choice and decision to go through this lifestyle for yourself?

25:24 Mhm. I would say that I'm very money driven and I think like even from a young age I remember we did a a fundraiser. It's like my first money-making like um opportunity I'd say. I think I was like six. No, I think I was in first grade and it was a school fundraiser where you go door to door and you knock. And my dad told me he's like, "Okay, just like go for it. Like I'll stand behind you. We'll go to the neighbor's house." And I'd knock on the neighbor's house. And I would say, "Hey, I'm doing a fundraiser. If you have any money, we could we can use it for the fun."

26:01 Something like that. Like just I can tell you what you said. So go ahead. It was

26:04 you first went to our to your to your your first customer. She paid you 20 bucks, which was a lot.

26:09 Mhm. And then you went to every other person. You said, "Hey, um, I'm doing a fundraiser. So and so paid $20. Um, you can pay whatever you'd like." And because of that, you got more and more people paying 20 bucks. So you kind of

26:22 and it was a pretty straightforward like Yeah. I just remember I would ask the question, but without them saying anything, I would hand them the board and I'd be like,

26:31 "Soft close." She was closing hard. I was like, "Here you go. You can have this." But yeah, I'd say ever. Did you experience that? This I think this is actually really cool.

26:41 Okay. Did you experience that? Like handing the clipboard and asking the question the way that you did is that internal from you or are you getting that from your dad? Like is your dad in your ear like, "Hey, here's a playbyplay. We're going to run this and we're going to do or where is that coming from from you?"

26:58 I think it's internal. I think I've always Yeah. I I think me and my dad have talked about this like a lot of my sisters like are well like are like the coolest ever but like just not as money driven as me. I feel like I've always been like okay what's a little side hustle we can think of right now. So I think it's the best having his support but I would say that I really do have like that drive.

27:23 So I can remember going on vacation to Cabo and when she saw bartering she fell in love. She's like I want to barter. So, I remember spending like two hours at the marketplace with $100 in ones and just letting her barter. We had nothing to buy. She was just wanting to barter things and she loved the process. And so, I think for her, she's just I don't know what it is internally that drives her that way. But my other daughters don't have that, at least in the same way she does. And I think it's for for a parent, it's like identifying what really drives your kid and then just supporting them in that because I don't want my other kids to have to act like she is,

28:02 but I also want her to like really learn and grow and with with where she's driven.

28:06 Yeah. And I I think also I what's interesting is out of all the siblings I think I would be the least to be entrepreneurous like have the entrepreneur like outlook just because I've seen how many lows there's been you know like throughout my childhood. But in another way I think that's like the best thing cuz I'm like it's inconsistent but I almost love that it's inconsistent.

28:30 Well now you you're not even you're done with high school. you even have a huge head start on college, but you haven't waited to start your entrepreneurial journey. Like, you've already started and it's been cool. I've been able to watch you grow up and you've built one of the coolest side hustles I've ever seen.

28:45 Mhm. And I think you know what I'm talking about. Share quickly 30 seconds the problem that you were solving, what you did, and how you made money off of this.

28:55 Yeah. So, I was going to my senior year and I hadn't had a job at all through high school. It was just mainly volleyball for me. And I was like, "All right, like got a lot of money to make for college." So, I was like, "What's the fastest way I could make money or what what what could I do?" So, this girl who had been putting on these dances, they're called the Tri City dances. So, they're for all the high schools in all the cities where we live. And she puts on one big dance. She does homecoming, tollo, winter formal, and prom. and all the and it it's nice cuz everyone from all the high schools here I'd say are pretty close so everyone can come. All your friends are there. She rents out a venue, a DJ. And so I uh I'd seen that she had done it. And I was like I know she makes a lot of money. I should do this. But I didn't have the following that she did. So I was like maybe I'll just like DM her and like

29:49 just like ask. Which is funny because Levi actually I remember there was one day where Levi was like I kept saying it for like a month or two and then Levi was like like just do it. Like he literally was like you need to do this right now. Like DM her right now. And so that was a big push. So I DM'd her and it was just like worked out perfectly. She's like yes perfect. I kind of like negotiated with her because she had the following that I didn't. So I was like if I can use your following I'll give you some money from the dances that I make. and she just like kind of passed on her business to me because she had graduated. So, she was in college at this point. And then I did those dances my senior year. So, that's kind of what the business looked like.

30:27 And, you know, just to flex on everybody in here, why don't you just flex a little bit? How many on you? You you did four dances on average, how much total money are these dances bringing in?

30:37 I would say like on average from all the dances, I would say like like that I make or just like

30:42 No, the whole the whole dance, how many, you know, tickets are you selling? How much money for

30:46 I would say we we sold um every dance we'd sell about 500 tickets and most of the dances we were able to sell out which was nice but I'd say we'd bring in like anywhere from like our biggest one was 20 grand and I think our smallest one was like eight. So that was a big

31:07 I don't know if you guys are processing that. She did that four times as like a 16, 17year-old girl in high school and you're making more than somebody who would work full-time minimum wage. You did that by being the coolest kid by hosting the coolest parties and making a ton of money off it.

31:21 Yeah. Yeah. So, I think what's also interesting, was that your only job at this time?

31:25 No, I remember end of my senior year I had three jobs and um I remember I so I had that job and uh which is really funny. What's funny about just like a little off topic is a lot of kids I've never like said those numbers out loud cuz a lot of kids are like how much do you make? How much do you make? But if you would look at the flyer and you would see that 500 tickets are sold out you would times it by how much it is. It's like you can do the math. That's the funniest thing to me. And it's they always ask me I'm like well you could do the math and they're like oh we yeah I don't know. I think that that's funny. But um obviously I don't tell them how much like I personally make. Okay but back to the other jobs. Um, I so I did the dances and then I did I worked at a physical therapy clinic for 8 months and then I did the social media marketing for Miss Washington for a couple months.

32:20 So, what did you learn or what was your experience working at the physical therapy?

32:24 Um, I think physical therapy was really interesting because being a physical therapist I would never choose to do. like it was not like really a path that I was planning on taking or do now. But I think like it was very like God-given. Like I think I learned a lot about just loving people and loving everyone from all the different like backgrounds people can come from. And so I think that was just really interesting to meet all the people that I did at physical therapy. And something I didn't realize about physical therapy is these patients come in three times a week every week.

32:57 It's not like, oh, come for an eye appointment once every six months. So, you really did build good relationships with these people and get to know them. So, I really enjoyed that.

33:06 Cool. Why did you do that job? I didn't want to work at fast food and I didn't want to work at a retail store. So, I kind of was thinking more medical. And so, I my friend had worked there and so obviously I knew she had the boss's number. She had worked there. So, I was like, "Hey, can you slide me the number? I'll text him." And I walked I just walked in one day, gave him my resume, walked out, and then I got the job like a week later.

33:36 But you're making money on dances. Why did you need a second job? Um, clothes. Just kidding. I don't know.

33:44 You greedy ass. I don't know. I just love I literally just love making money. And um I think it was good for me to work a job like that and realize like yeah like I this is not I respect everyone like in that work field obviously but I realized like my way of making money is the entrepreneurship way of making money.

34:03 What what is it about making money cuz I for as long as I've known you haven't been you're not like a materialistic person

34:10 I would say like you like things obviously but I wouldn't consider you materialistic. What is it about your drive to make money that you love?

34:21 Um, I would say I mean I wouldn't say I'm very materialistic, but I think that's kind of like like I don't know. Like I remember I just never want to be like I can't get that. Which sounds weird, but I just remember like I talked to my sister Jane the other day. She's like, "Oh, I really want these jeans." And I was like, "Well, I can't get them." She's like, "Well, I don't have any money." And I was like, "What? What do you mean?" And she just told me, she's like, "I don't have any money." And I was like, whoa. And I just like literally the first thing that came to mind is like, okay, what are the things she could do? She could babysit this weekend. She could walk she could maybe like go walk dogs in the neighborhood.

34:51 Like I just I feel like for me it's like almost a thing like I just want to be able to um have whatever like be open, have like whatever I guess. Yeah. Choices like keep my choices open, options open.

35:06 So did you point at your sister and be like, "Haha, you're so poor." No. like, "Wow, that sucks."

35:11 But I did tell her, I was like, "You could probably think of a way to make that money in a week." But

35:16 okay, so now you you know, you've you've hustled, right? You've had three jobs. One of them like you started from the ground up pretty much, and you've also worked a couple jobs, and now you're still going off to college. And I think

35:27 there is like two tropes out there. You've got people who are entrepreneurs that are like, "Screw the school system.

35:34 You know, it's a scam. You're in the matrix." Then you have the other side of the coin like, "No, I like consistency. I'm going to go to school. Well, I'm going to do the traditional route, XYZ, but somehow you're you're kind of blending both.

35:44 Yeah. Why? What is your intention with going to school and what are you trying to do?

35:49 I would say if I hadn't gotten my AA already, I think that would have been kind of messy for me, just because school does take quite a few years to finish. Um, but I'm going in to marketing and I think that I just kind of want to learn like the um I don't know like what's the dictionary of marketing like let's learn all the vocab term like I think what's hard about school is a lot of times like what you're saying is people are like okay well you can just learn that in a real life situation which is true and that's how entrepreneurship is too. You can teach entrepreneurship but the best way to do it is do it. And so I think I'm going to school to network and to meet people and to understand different people. Um but I think knowing that I also only have two years of school is very like okay like we can get through this. But um yeah, I think that for me is kind of why it's like I'm going down

36:46 to Utah. Utah is huge and there's lots of people you can meet and get to know. So I think networking is a really big pull for me. If you could say what you're proud of the most from your dad,

37:01 what would you say? I would say I'm proud of how like close our family has been together. Our um our house especially has been something what did you call it that one time? um you're like our house is like a sanctuary and I feel like we really have been able to create a family where if you come in you feel like loved and connected and I think that's really important to just our families to feel connected to each other and like live in a place that we all feel loved by. So

37:35 what have you seen from Evelyn Daryl that you are the most proud of that you want to share to the people and Evelyn? Um, I think I've seen Evelyn come go through a lot of struggles. I've seen her have to endure some challenging times and what's been so impressive about her is just her ability to stand up and speak for herself. This was something where like I was there at any point to step in, but she was always willing to take the lead. And so I was more of a supporting role than I was trying to direct her and push her. Um, it's the same reason why she hasn't worked for me because I rather her be herself than like her try to fit underneath me or fit into what I'm doing. Um, so I would just say like I think the proudest thing is like she just is driven. She has clarity and vision around who she wants to be. And that's why like at this point she's leaving in a few weeks. I'm super excited for her to leave. Like I am so

38:32 excited for her to leave. I would never want her to stay any longer because she's ready to go be someone who she wants to become and there's just no kind of breaks the ties of who she has to be because she grew up in our house and now she can just be who she wants to be.

38:46 Well, I can say this from an outside perspective. I've seen I've known you guys for I don't know eight years now or something like that

38:54 and I I've told Daryl this privately. I think I've even told you, Evelyn, like I'm so inspired by your guys' family, with how you guys interact with each other and how you guys talk to each other and how you've been able to grow as a family. But the money, the, you know, the successful exit and all this cool stuff that people see as success to me isn't really what has made you guys successful as a family. It's how grounded you guys have been and stuck to your principles. And Darl, you've taught me that money is just an enhancer. Mhm.

39:25 All it has done for you guys over the last couple of years is enhanced your guys' capabilities to spend more time with your family, be more impactful, help other people. And when we host our masterminds from our our our experiences that we create every quarter, one of the things we do is we go actually spend time at your house. And what's cool is a lot of people I think they're like, "Hey, let's go let's go to our house. I'll host it at my house and it's about the pool. It's about this and showing off." But what Daryl is always, I've noticed, is most proud of is showing off his kids and his wife Joanna. And he takes everybody, you'll see him pull people to the side and be like, "Hey, this is my daughter. Hey, this is my wife or this is what my my kiddo does or this is so cool." It's never like, "Hey, come look at my Porsche in my garage."

40:11 It's like, "Hey, come not it's not look at my Paragon boat that's sick as hell in my garage or whatever it might be." It's always look at my family, what I've been able to create. And some of the best feedback we always get from our experience, the outcome is, "Wow, that time I had with Daryl and his kids and his wife was so impactful. It was so cool because yes, we can teach you all the systems, all the things, all the formulas to go and make more money in your business. But at the end of the day, as entrepreneurs, your identity is also tied with who you're coming home to."

40:46 It's true. I think, and you hit on a on a strong point. I I don't think I've ever verbalized that, but like the reason I want people to be at my house is to see that I'm not chasing money, but I'm I'm building a family. And that's that's my drive. That's that's the why. And I think I grew up with uh you know, I had my family. There was eight siblings. Um and you know, my dad was really driven. He worked on a farm. My mom was driven to like build a family. But outside that, we had no uncles or aunts or grandparents that really like cared that much about family. I didn't really have good examples of like what a family should look like outside of like our crazy family that we had. And so for me, it's like I want other people to see like, man, like I really love my daughters. I really love my wife. I see I get so much joy from it. And I want others to realize like that's the possibility for

41:40 them too. And so that that drives me a lot. Like my my goal is to, you know, when when we have entrepreneurs come in to build their business that actually I can help them or inspire them to to build their families in ways that they they find a ton of joy and happiness in. If you were to give if entrepreneurs that are watching this are showing their kids this interview. Yeah.

42:03 And you could speak directly to the kids of entrepreneurs right now. Mhm. and you can compile everything that you've experienced in your life with with being with your dad and your family and seeing what's unfolded and your experience.

42:18 What would you compress into 30 seconds of advice? Wow. Okay. Um, I would say yeah, I would say definitely support your dads in any way you can. I think that support is like definitely what brings our family together. And like I said before, success isn't just defined by money or what you have, but it's about what you're able to make and what you're able what you're able to believe in. And I think if you're able to believe and make a happy and like successful and a family that loves each other, I think that's like one of the biggest successes you can have.

42:54 For entrepreneurs out there that are struggling to connect and even just talk to their teenage daughters, what advice would you give them? I would say as a teenager, one of your biggest like things in high school is like your friends. And I think getting to know your daughter's friends or just like I think um a lot of my friends will come over and they're like, "Oh, is Daryl going to be there? Like is he going to come play a game with us?" He's constantly like trying to like like get to know them or like be a part of their lives, which I think is cool. I feel like a lot of dads like there's always like that meme that you see on TikTok where it's like oh like I've been best friends with your daughter for 10 years and your dad doesn't even know my name or you don't even know my name or whatever. But I was like that could be the exact opposite for my dad. And I think being a part of your kids' lives

43:42 means like really getting to know like who their friend is, what's the drama, who's the boy. And

43:48 what does it what does that look like though? I would say like in what aspect? I would say like you if I have friends over like I know you're going to like call him by name and come hang out with them or you're going to like tell he loves to tell people like the most recent thing he's learned. I'd say that's a big thing. Like he'll sit us down. He'll have a chat. And I used to be annoyed by it. I'd be like, "Dad, like another like business or whatever chat." But then I realized like the way I'm parented is very different and vastly different from most kids. And so a lot of kids like eat it up and like like to learn about it.

44:23 And I think that that's something that I now like enjoy is like give an example because I think

44:29 okay um like uh a couple months ago some of my friends came over and the boys they came over and were asking my dad some questions about his business cuz they saw like he was successful and like saw our house and they like we were just like on the dining room table talking about like business like what we're doing after high school for a while and then my dad was like here Here are some books. I think was it like Rich Dad Poor Dad or

44:56 Yeah. So, I've got a few few books. My favorite books to give out to kids. I keep stacks of them in my office, but like Rich Dad Poor Dad's a great one.

45:03 Um, Rhythm of Life is a great one. Life. Um, there's a few others, but for me, it's like if a kid's really interested, the best way to know is like give them a book. Sometimes I'll say, "Hey, if there's enough of them, I'll say, "Hey, if you guys read this book, I'll pay you a hundred bucks or 50 bucks to get them started." because most kids don't want to read a book. So, give them another motivation. In order to pay them, they have to come back and tell me about the book. But if I can get a kid to do that, usually our conversations continue on and we usually have better and better conversations. The flip side of that though too is if enough kids are like interested in those things, my daughters are more interested in as well.

45:40 And so, it kind of opens up the conversation not only with her friends, but with my daughters. And uh and I I stumbled across that as like a parenting hack of like influence their friends in ways you want to influence your daughter.

45:52 Yeah. Um I'd say the same thing. You taught my church class for a while and that was kind of the same thing. Like we'd have like separate meetings talking about what we learned in church class because everyone was so invested in it. I was like, "Oh, like if they think my dad's cool, like I guess I'll think he's cool, too." You know, like you're just like, "Okay, yeah, like he is pretty cool." And so I think getting to really know like your kid's life is really important. and who they hanging out with.

46:15 My wife and I talk about all the time how we are so inspired by you guys and want to design our family dynamic with when we have children exactly like yours. We love your daughters. We love you and Joanna. And I encourage you guys, I invite you guys if you're not already in the community, you and you're struggling with trying to figure out how to balance this relationship with building this business and trying to grow and scale it, but you're also interested in growing and scaling your relationship with your spouse and your children and want to learn how to design a life that really impacts the world.

46:49 All I do is invite you to join a strategy session with one of us and we'll chat with you guys and see if you guys can come to one of our experiences. We're hosting our next one in September 3rd and fourth and they are so much fun. But not only will you learn everything you need to know about business and how to grow and scale, but also how to grow and scale your relationship with your with your family. So, thanks for joining us, Evelyn and Daryl.

47:13 Thanks. And until next time.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "How to Build a Business Without Losing the People You Love // Daryl Kelly // Next Level Podcast"?

In order: 0:00 Daryl Kelly, Evelyn, Evelyn Kelly, Running Start; 5:00 Evelyn; 10:00 Joanna; 15:00 Evelyn, Joanna; 25:00 Tri City dances; 30:00 Miss Washington; 35:00 Evelyn, Joanna; 40:00 Rich Dad Poor Dad; 45:00 Evelyn, Joanna.

What is mentioned in this Next Level Pros episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Evelyn, Daryl, Joanna, Daryl Kelly, Evelyn Kelly, Running Start. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "How to Build a Business Without Losing the People You Love // Daryl Kelly // Next Level Podcast"?

The episode runs 47 min; the transcript is about 9,953 words in 136 timestamped sections.

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