MBA2659 Advice I Wish Someone Gave Me When I Was Broke

Being broke isn’t just hard—it’s confusing. What advice really helps when your resources are at rock bottom and the hustle feels never-ending? In this lesson, Omar shares the hard-earned insights he wishes someone had given him during his toughest times. You’ll hear how to embrace the “broke phase” as part of the journey, choose the right skill to master, upgrade your circle, and make cash flow your top priority. Plus, Omar walks through five key questions that help filter the advice that actually applies to your situation—so you can stop spinning your wheels and start moving forward. If you’re navigating tight circumstances but still dreaming big, hit the play button at the top of this page and soak in the advice Omar wishes he had when he was broke. This might be exactly what you need to shift gears and build momentum. Watch the episodes on YouTube: https://lm.fm/GgRPPHiSUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed

• 0:00Speaker 00

  These days, you can get an answer from the internet, an influencer, or AI in seconds. But when it comes to legal matters for your business or your family, a quick answer is not the same as the right answer. With 25 years of experience, LegalZoom knows how to start you off right. When you need a legal hand, visit LegalZoom. Go to LegalZoom.com to get started. LegalZoom provides access to independent attorneys and its law firm, LZ Legal Services. LegalZoom is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Ever invest in something that seemed incredible at first, but didn't live up to the hype? For example, I really wanted to love the show Mad Men. I really tried to watch it and love it, but it just didn't do anything for me. As a marketer and business person, the show was a little bit of a disappointment. Marketers know that feeling.

• 0:45Speaker 00

  They optimize for the numbers that look great, like impressions. But then we don't see revenue. LinkedIn has a word for that: bullspend. Instead, you can get the highest ROAS of major ad networks with LinkedIn Ads. Cut the bullspend, advertise on LinkedIn. Spend $250 and get a $250 credit. Go to LinkedIn.com/MBAShow. Terms apply.

• 1:10Speaker 00

  Today, I'm sharing the advice I wish somebody gave me when I was broke. Now, let me start by saying that being broke isn't a life sentence, but it is a phase you've got to learn to respect. You've got to learn to know how to navigate. If you're in it right now, this episode is for you. And I'm going to tell you right now, right off the bat, as I was preparing for this episode, this is not easy for me to share because being broke sucks, right? And remembering those days is actually hard for me, but I'm doing it because I know the things I learned along the way could help you.

• 1:52Speaker 00

  Welcome back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host, Omar Zenhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to help you start, grow, and scale your business.

• 2:04Speaker 00

  This isn't fluffy motivational stuff. This is real. This is what I lived. This is what I've learned and what I would do if I had to go back and tell myself something that would help me. So let me start with the first piece of advice, something that you need to hear. Get used to being broke, not in a defeatist way, but in a practical way. Being broke is a part of the process. Okay, you have to start somewhere and right now you are broke. Okay, just admit it. And when you're building something from nothing, you're gonna have some seasons where there's no money, right? It's normal. Stop resisting it. Stop resenting yourself. Stop hating on yourself.

• 2:46Speaker 00

  Start taking pride in spending less, getting scrappy and embracing that grind of being broke. The other reason why I'm saying get used to it, right? Is because getting out of this situation is not gonna happen overnight. You have to have a little patience and I was so impatient when I was in this situation and I feel like I wouldn't suffer as much if I just embraced the fact that, hey, this is my situation. I will get out of it. This may take some time, so just settle in. The best way I can illustrate this is with one of my favorite stories and that's the story of Sylvester Stallone writing the movie Rocky. I've mentioned this story before because it's so impactful, but it's worth repeating.

• 3:29Speaker 00

  Sylvester Stallone is writing the script to Rocky. At the time, he is dead broke. He could barely survive. He's late on his rent. He has basically no money. He's so poor that he even had to sell his dog at a corner liquor store for $50 to survive. He finally writes a script to Rocky, presents it to production studios. They love the script, but his whole goal of writing Rocky is so that he could create a role that he could star in and be an actor. And the studio didn't want him to be Rocky. They wanted to cast another known actor. And Sylvester Stallone's like, no, I need to be Rocky. It's my only contingency. I will sell you my script. And they're like,

• 4:13Speaker 00

  No, we don't want you to be Rocky. We'll buy your script for, I think it was like $120,000. He refuses because he's not Rocky. He's not going to be the main actor. He's not going to be the lead role or the leading man. Mind you, this guy can't pay his rent. He's literally living on nothing. $120,000 would change his life forever, but he refuses because his whole goal was to get himself a role. And he says in that moment that it was easy for him to refuse because he got used to being broke, right? He was comfortable with that situation to the point where he's willing to suffer a little bit more if it means that it would make

• 4:53Speaker 00

  the biggest difference in his life. Eventually, the studio offered him up to $300,000 for the script, but he could not be Rocky. They would refuse to make him the leading man. And he refused that offer, said, nope, I have to be Rocky. I know that's a lot of money, but the reason why I wrote this story is so that I can create a story that would be perfect for me to star in. Eventually, the studio came around and offered him the role as Rocky, but they paid him $35,000 for the script. And they said, hey, we're not going to give you a big budget. They had less than a million dollars to make the movie. And they're like, hey, you're on your own, man. You are refusing to allow us to put in, you know, a no name actor. Go for it, but we're only going to pay you $35,000.

• 5:38Speaker 00

  He agrees. First thing he does is go back to that liquor store and try to buy back his dog. And eventually he does. And Rocky becomes a hit. It wins an Oscar and the rest is history. His career was built on that sacrifice, unwilling to grind it out and be broke for a little bit more in order for him to make the right decision for his career. That kind of belief, that kind of resilience is what builds legacies. And this is not a made up story. This is a real story. You could look it up yourself. And this is why I have so much respect for Sylvester Stallone. Second piece of advice is build a skill and be consistent with it. If I could go back, I would

• 6:20Speaker 00

  tell myself to pick one skill and go all in and do it every single day. I eventually realized that and started doing that. But I wasted a lot of time in the beginning while trying to speed things up. When I started making videos, I didn't realize I was actually building presentation skills, communication skills, and building an audience in the process. I was stacking skills without even knowing it. So don't try to chase the next shiny object, the next passive income dream, or whatever you're looking for to make a quick buck. Chase skills that become your income in the long term. Can you edit videos? Can you build a website? Can you manage ads? Can you write emails?

• 7:03Speaker 00

  Learn if you don't know how to do any of these things or anything else, and get really good at it. Put the time into it and be consistent. Every day, work on your craft. That's what a superpower is. That's how you craft a superpower. It's not luck, it's consistency over time. The holidays are the season business owners get pulled in six directions. More calls, more requests, more chances for things to slip through the cracks. Hoping you catch it all isn't a plan. That's why today's episode is brought to you by QUO, spelt Q-U-O, the business phone built so you never miss a call or a customer. Ever have a lead call or text at 10:00 PM? QUO's AI agent handles both 24/7. It answers questions, gets to the details,

• 7:47Speaker 00

  and can text them a link to book an appointment. By morning, you've got the summary and can jump right in. And nobody should have to ask customers to repeat themselves. In QUO, every call, text, and voicemail lives in one thread, so anyone on the team can jump in already knowing the whole story. If you have a business where your customers call or text you, this is a no-brainer. You must have QUO. Money is on the line. Always say hello with QUO. Try QUO for free plus get 20% off your first six months when you go to quo.com/mba. That's Q-U-O.com/mba. Today's episode is sponsored by Upwork. I don't need a script to tell you how much Upwork has helped my business. I've been using Upwork for over a decade,

• 8:32Speaker 00

  and it's the easiest way to find top talent to grow your business. From software development to AI implementation to marketing, design, and business operations, you can browse profiles, review past work, and get help Scoping the role so you can hire with confidence and get started quickly. With Business Plus, you can access the top 1% of talent on Upwork. With over 170,000 freelancers holding five-star ratings, you can hire with the confidence that comes from hiring someone with a verified track record. I've hired engineers, customer service agents, marketers, copywriters, all on Upwork that helped grow my business from the moment they got hired. The best thing is, it's free to sign up and posting a job is easy.

• 9:17Speaker 00

  Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That is upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's U.P.W.R.K. com, upwork.com.

• 9:31Speaker 00

  Number three, who you hang out with matters more than you think. I mentioned this several times in recent episodes, so you know that it's important. I would have changed my environment sooner if I can go back in time. When I quit my teaching career and became an entrepreneur, I had to let go of almost all my friends. They were good people, but they weren't going where I wanted to go. And as Jim Rohn says, "You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with." And if you want to win in business, you've got to hang out with people that are winning in business. That's simple. And I started going to conferences, started going to coworking spaces, started going to meetups. And at first, it felt like I didn't belong. It felt a little awkward. But then I became one of them and I started to change my standards

• 10:16Speaker 00

  because the people around me were achieving things that I weren't achieving. And I felt like, okay, this is normal. I should be able to achieve these things. I should be able to do these things. I should be living this life. And then it just became normal. And then I was surpassing the goals that I was setting myself up with or setting for myself. I started going to conferences, started going to coworking spaces and meetups. And at first, I'll be honest, I felt like I didn't belong. I felt like I was kind of forcing it and felt a little uncomfortable. But then eventually, I became one of them, right? I started to achieve the goals that I set out for myself, actually surpassed them because the people around me were surpassing them as well. They were setting a new bar for me. It just becomes normal when everybody around you is doing something or achieving great things. It's just normal for you to achieve great things.

• 11:01Speaker 00

  So as soon as possible, change the people around you and everything else kind of becomes easier because this becomes the norm. Excellence, greatness becomes the norm. Number four, make money to make money. Okay, here's the reality. Here's just the raw truth. When you're broke, you need cash flow. You need money. It doesn't matter if it's not sexy. It doesn't matter if it's not creative. You need a surplus, money left over after your basic expenses so that you can take that surplus and invest it in yourself and invest it in your business. So I tell myself, do whatever it takes, whether it's doing small services like editing videos or building websites, or learn how to do those things and then charge for them.

• 11:43Speaker 00

  Even if you have to drive Uber because you'll make some extra cash that you wouldn't have otherwise. You need capital to build a business and you can't invest in a product, in a brand, in yourself, without money. Okay, that's just the reality of the world. So don't obsess over, is this activity I'm doing scalable? Am I able to scale this later on? Because right now, you don't need to worry about that. Okay, it's about momentum. It's about making some cash. And right now, you gotta do it in any means possible that's, you know, ethical and legal and aligned with your values. Don't worry about like, oh, if I exchange my time for money, it's not really scalable.

• 12:27Speaker 00

  Right now, you're not in the position to have it all, right? You're in the position right now to just make as much money in the best way possible as you can, even if that means exchanging time for money. Number five, time is your ally if you stay in the game long enough. I wish somebody told me this earlier when I was struggling in the early days. Success takes time. It's not overnight. It's over years. But most people tap out way too early. Here's the thing, you can't lose if you don't quit. That's the secret no one actually tells you. By the way, this applies to everything. If you want to get fit, the only way to lose is to stop going to the gym and stop eating

• 13:10Speaker 00

  healthy. If you want to get better at anything, at the piano, at playing a new sport or a new game, the only way that you lose is if you don't work at it, if you don't stay consistent. Keep your outputs consistent, one thing per day, one tiny improvement. It all compounds over time. And this is why time is your friend. The longer you do something, the more likelihood you'll be successful at it, right? You increase your chances of success with time. Why? Because this is a very known fact in game theory, in sports, in competition, that over time, you kind of weed out variance, or you kind of weed out the variable of luck. Because

• 13:53Speaker 00

  over a longer period of time, you start to just get better and have more chances of success. The great thing about business is that you only need to be right once. You only need to hit something successful, do something right once, and that business can take you to new heights and be able to build that wealth and build that goals that you have, not only in business, but in life as well. Number six, focus on what you can control. When you're broke, it feels like everything's out of your hands. But here's what you can control, right? You can control how you spend your time. Everybody in the world, from Warren Buffett, to the president of your country,

• 14:34Speaker 00

  to the most successful, you know, recording artist that you love, to the most powerful people in the world, they all have 24 hours in the day. We all have 24 hours in the day. So you can control how you spend your time. You can also control who you spend your time with, like we mentioned, the people that you surround yourself with. You can also control your physical and mental health. Doesn't matter how much money you have, you can always go for a jog, you can always do some pushups and situps, and do some yoga, or take some online class for free on YouTube. You can always spend time in nature to, you know, settle yourself in and be conscious of your mental health. You can make better choices with your diet. Focus on what you can control. These three things, how you spend your time, who you spend your time with,

• 15:19Speaker 00

  and your physical and mental health. Everything else starts to shift. Trust me, been there and I could tell you for a fact. It's not easy. It's not easy to do those three things. But those are in your total control and you can do it. And you're going to see a shift sooner than you think. And within days, you start to see a shift. You start seeing some peaks of light coming through. Number seven, and this one will probably move the needle the most if you implement it. And that's 80% signal, 20% noise. Steve Jobs was known for this. Everybody that has worked with him have shared stories about this. 80% of his time was dealing with the most important things that will move his business forward. This is the signal. This is the clear things you need to do.

• 16:02Speaker 00

  The most important things are critical things, the things that actually matter, right, things that actually make you money, the things that actually build a better product, better business, that build a brand, right? And then he understood that there was going to be noise. There will be distractions 20% of your time. You get a phone call from a family member. You're dealing with maybe a little crisis in your life, like a flat tire. You are distracted by something that happens on your phone to get a message from a friend. But never let the ratio skew any less than that. So 80% to 20%, 80% signal, meaning things that actually matter, that help your business move forward and 20% noise. Takes discipline, takes focus, okay? And when you're starting from zero, you have to be more brutal about this

• 16:46Speaker 00

  because you have no margin for error. You have no time to waste because you don't have anything else working in your favor in terms of finances. So forget about this idea of like, I'm too busy to be focused. No, focus is going to help free you up. Focus on signal, sales, customers, product. That's it. And lastly, number eight, believe in yourself because no one else will. This is a big one. If you're waiting for others to believe in you, you're going to be waiting forever. Okay? Everybody's worried about themselves. You need at least one ally in your life, and that has to be you when you're getting started. I've seen people with less talent, with less skill, with less experience,

• 17:30Speaker 00

  win really big in life and business because they believed they could. That's the only difference. They believed in themselves. So if you're broke, let me just say this very clearly. You're not broken. You're just early in the journey. You're in the phase where most people give up. Don't give up. You're not most people. You are the exception. Keep working hard. Get through it. And be proud of the fact that you are going to get out of this situation. You're going to come from the bottom and move up in life. I went through it. It's not fun. It's not great. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's not, okay? But it's what I'm most proud of, of where I came from, and the fact that I was able to change my life for the better.

• 18:15Speaker 00

  If you're in the grind, I see you. I've been you, okay? And remember this. Your current situation is not your final destination. Every dollar you earn, every skill you build, every sacrifice you make, it all adds up. It all matters. Take pride in the struggle. One day, it's going to be your story. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow, and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast. Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically, and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free, and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business.

• 19:00Speaker 00

  And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.

• 19:10Speaker 01

  Introducing Fidelity Trader Plus, the next generation of advanced trading from Fidelity. Customize your tools and charts and access them seamlessly across desktop, web, and mobile for faster trades anywhere you go. Try the all-new Fidelity Trader Plus. Learn more about our most powerful trading platform yet at fidelity.com/traderplus. Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC, member NYSE, SIPC.