Write the Most Impactful Letter of your Life feat. Blake Brewer

Blake Brewer00:00:00 - 00:00:06
I am the best father in the world to my fame. They don't have anybody any other option. It's me. So I am the best father.
Wayne Herring00:00:07 - 00:00:56
Welcome to the Business Builder Way podcast, where we help business builders grow leadership skills and wisdom and stay grounded through hero stories. So let's get Hey, business builders. I'm really excited today to be joined by Blake Brewer, and Blake is going to talk to us about his project and dream to help business owning and not just business owning, but all dads, write a letter. So he's gonna tell about the legacy letter challenge. And it's not only dads, lead also now has a now has a program for moms. And Blake and I We're chatting just before we got started here, and I was telling him about all of you. I was telling him about the business owners in our mastermind group as well as people that I coach 1 on 1. And he said, you sound like his kind of people.
Wayne Herring00:00:57 - 00:01:20
So, Blake, it's really great to have you here today. I'm gonna Cut my intro short. You know, the 1st time I talked to you and heard your story and read your story on your website, I was like, wow. This is a really worthwhile thing to do in the world, and I wanna help however I can to to bring your message to others. So, welcome To business builder camp, good to have you today.
Blake Brewer00:01:21 - 00:01:58
Yeah, Wayne. I'm excited to be here, man. I appreciate you. Appreciate what you're about and the The group that you built, like I said, yeah, really, that's where I'm at. I started a business to spend more time to be, you know, successful and impact people, but, I'm thinking of my family here and how I can pro provide for them and give myself more time with my family. And so I'm right in the thick of it, with everybody else. And, it's pretty cool because my business really serves a lot of Business owners and families, and parents who want to connect with their children. And so I know we're gonna get into that, but, Yeah.
Blake Brewer00:01:58 - 00:01:59
This is this is my people.
Wayne Herring00:02:00 - 00:02:07
Great. Yeah. And so your mission is to help 1,000,000 dads write a letter. Right?
Blake Brewer00:02:07 - 00:02:13
Yep. We're at help 1,000,000 dads write at least 1 well written, meaningful, lasting legacy letter to their children.
Wayne Herring00:02:14 - 00:02:21
Yeah. So the I got it. So that's the what. Can you tell us a little bit about your why? Tell tell everybody how you got here and why does this matter to
Blake Brewer00:02:21 - 00:03:12
you, Blake. Well, there's I didn't, just stumble across this one day. I, I've I've I've pinched myself at times. Like, man, how in the world did I get here to get to be the one who helps helps dads and and now moms write this letter, that they're really proud of, and it's it's absolutely because of what, my dad did for me. So let me back up. I know a lot Your listeners know who Terry Bradshaw is. And before Terry Bradshaw has won in 4 Super Bowls with the Steelers, he was at A little college in Louisiana called Louisiana Tech, and he was, making all kinds of records down there. And one of the guys he was thrown to was His tight end and his best friend and roommate, and, I love this man dearly because it was my dad.
Blake Brewer00:03:12 - 00:03:49
And And that's my was my claim to fame growing up. You know, and my dad was Terry Bradshaw's tight end. And while Terry Bradshaw went number 1 of the Steelers, my dad went to the Falcons in, like, 12th round and ended up getting hurt and not playing. But, more than, you know, being a good football player and successful in in business. He was a CEO of a hospital. My dad was my dad, and, he was my hero. And so in May in my family, there's before May 23rd, and there's after May 23, 2003. And so we went on a family vacation to Hawaii.
Blake Brewer00:03:50 - 00:04:21
And the 1st morning that we were there, we were trying to decide what we gonna go do, and we decided to go to Hanauma Bay and go snorkeling. And so we were out in the water looking at all the cool stuff, and We got tired and we came in, and, I remember I laid down on the beach. My sister laid down on the beach. My mom was laying down, And my dad didn't lay down. He said, he said, man, we're in Hawaii. I can't just lay on the beach. I'm going back out there. And he started walking down the beach to go to A new spot.
Blake Brewer00:04:21 - 00:05:13
I remember laying there on the beach and thinking, man, I kinda wanna just lay here, but actually more than that, I I wanna go be with my dad. I just finished my freshman year in college. I'd been away, and I ran and caught up with my dad, and I'll I'll never forget the the look that my dad, gave me. He gave me a big old smile and, Said, oh, look who decided to join me. And my dad did for me as I've reflected on it what he had done hundreds and thousands of times, My dad expressed that he simply just enjoyed being with me. My dad liked me. And, now that I'm a dad and I've got a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a 10 month old, I know that that's one of the best things that I can give my children is to just Put down the phone and give them my attention and just simply enjoy being with them, and that's what my dad Did. We put our masks on.
Blake Brewer00:05:13 - 00:06:04
We went out in the water, and we snorkeled. Further and further out, we ended up in an area that I now know is called Witches Brew, And the water got really treacherous, and I realized I couldn't find my dad. And so I started scanning the water, the waves are really big, and all of a And I saw my dad, and he was trying to get out of the water. And I remember thinking, why is he trying to get out of the water right here and because the waves are just crashing against this rock. And so sure enough, he's halfway up in a way of crashing against my dad, knocked him back down in the water. And so I thought, man, I've gotta get over there to my dad. And so, I swam as fast as I could. And, by the time that I had got to my dad, my dad was underneath the water, and he was unconscious.
Blake Brewer00:06:05 - 00:07:07
And at this point, I'm thinking, wow. Like, I I did not know that it was this serious, and I I put my arms around my dad and did the best that I could to try Try to swim around to the other side of this rock and get my dad to safety. A nearby snorkelers showed up as well as the lifeguards, by the grace of God because I was about to to go under myself. And I wasn't gonna let go of my dad, so I don't know how that was gonna end. But They ended up getting my dad to shore, and they started doing CPR to my dad. And I was on my hands and knees next to my dad as they were doing CPR just looking up at at the sky and just crying out to god. God, would you please save my dad's life? And I just knew that it was gonna be like the movies Where they're doing CPR, the water kinda gurgles out of his mouth, his eyes flicker open, but it never happened. And my mom and sister We're laying down on the beach, and I saw all the commotion, the lifeguards, and they said, that's where dad and Blake were.
Blake Brewer00:07:07 - 00:07:33
And so they ran down where we were, and I'll just never forget my mom running up to me. It was my dad. I'm still doing CPR to my dad and said, mom, it doesn't look good. I don't know if he's gonna And they loaded my dad, in the email. It's my mom. I'm with him and then got to the hospital and pronounced my dad dead. In a matter of moments, like, was literally having one of the best best moments in my life, and now my my dad is gone. And it's gone to one of the worst moments.
Blake Brewer00:07:35 - 00:08:12
The story continues, though. We were back in the condo that afternoon. I had just As the oldest son, I I called my dad's parents. They were devastated. They never thought that their son would die before them. I called my dad's work, called church, Called dad's friends, and I was just he was just so surreal. I I go to the back bedroom of of this bedroom, and I'm sitting there, And I'm just trying to take it all in, like, what the heck just happened? And I was I was really talking to god. Like, god, where were you? And, my mom appears in the doorway, and she says, hey.
Blake Brewer00:08:12 - 00:09:12
I was going through your dad's briefcase, and I found something that he was gonna give you on this trip. And I had no idea what she was talking about, but she walked across the room and and put some sheets of paper in my hand. And at the top, it said, dear, Blake, Natalie, and Marcus, my sister and brother's name, and she said said for the last couple months, your dad has been writing a letter to you guys, and he was gonna give you your copy on this trip. And so I I can't even Imagine I mean, I can't even describe how I I felt in that moment. The fact that my dad would spend a couple month months of his life writing down how we felt about us and give us some some life guidance in this letter. And so it absolutely changed my life because it got me through that time in my life. And then To this day, 18 years later, those words are still guiding me. I'm taping on new meaning even as I've become got married, have kids, Starting a career.
Blake Brewer00:09:13 - 00:09:44
So it was when I was, had young kid. My kids were born, and I was like, okay. I've gotta write a letter to to my children. My dad did this for me. I see, you know, all the issues that my children are gonna be facing, And they're gonna have more voices, more people speaking into their life than ever before in history with social media. Mhmm. And I've gotta get my voice into their life. I've gotta write a letter the way my dad did for me, and I saw how difficult it was to write this letter and to organize your thoughts and feelings.
Blake Brewer00:09:45 - 00:09:50
And so through a series of events, I was like, I gotta help dad to write this letter, and that's how we got started.
Wayne Herring00:09:52 - 00:10:37
Nice. Thanks for that. Now I've read your story before, and we've talked a couple times, and it's still It's really impactful to to be with you as you share it. And I know you've shared it a bunch, but I, appreciate your I don't I don't know what the right word is. Is it bravery or pushing through? It can't be a fun it it can't be exactly fun to, like, go back through that and see it, however that Process is for you. So I think it's just a really, it's a gift that you're giving to people to go through that Emotional process. So I appreciate you doing that.
Blake Brewer00:10:38 - 00:10:50
Thank you. It's it's not easy to share. It is therapeutic a little bit, and so I appreciate you letting me share, and then every time I get to share, I get to honor my dad's legacy. So I do appreciate you letting me do that.
Wayne Herring00:10:51 - 00:11:30
Yeah. You and I, tried to do this call once before, and then we ended up talking about your work and what you were doing. And we didn't end up recording it, which was fine because then I got an extra conversation with you, Blake. But yeah. You know? And then, of course, listening to you, and this is why I thought it was important to share with, business builders in my world who are entrepreneurs, business owners, and that that Starting a business takes a lot of dedication and a lot of time and a lot of work and a lot of effort. And sometimes we can think about, Oh, I'm doing this for my family. I certainly have had those thoughts. I'm I'm doing all this for my family.
Wayne Herring00:11:30 - 00:12:32
I'm sitting on my laptop at night for my family and not, Like, you know, really exactly being present with them. So, you know, what a, like, boom, like, Reminder, slap, if you will, to say, it's we never know. None of us know the day or the time or the hour your dad certainly didn't know. So I always appreciate, like, that that wake up call. So the letter itself so I I I was wondering about this if he had written it to you collectively and then what you recommend, Dads and moms do as as far as do they do they write it collectively to to every I guess any letter that I would write it's probably good. Right? And then there's like, I hear in what your dad did, there was and and in what you do, in the process you take people through, There's this very, trying to touch a bunch of different areas that I might not think of on my own. So is that do do you recommend that people write it Collectively to their kids.
Blake Brewer00:12:32 - 00:13:13
Yeah. Yeah. I have dad. I mean, I get this question asked all the time, and my dad did write us our letter, to all of us. And there's some parents and dads that I help do that for, and then, usually, what ends up happening is You kinda write 1 to 1 kid, and then, like, the next letter is very similar to that one. And maybe it's, like, 75% the same words, But then you customize different sections based on their personality, based on their experience, based on the memories that you have with them. But I you know, I say just start with 1 because you it can get overwhelming thinking, oh, man. I gotta write 3 letters or 4 letters.
Blake Brewer00:13:13 - 00:13:38
And then what I see is dads end up never Not getting started, which is the whole reason I created the course and the things that I do. It's like, no. We've gotta get just 1 written, and it doesn't have to be this Masterpiece of writing. It's just like but you just we're gonna share your heart and your thoughts because that's all your children wanna hear. They're not trying to look this, you know, this, you know, amazing work of literature. They're just looking to hear your heart and it'd be on paper where it's lasting.
Wayne Herring00:13:39 - 00:14:20
When you're an authority in in what like, in essence, like, for me, I don't know exactly what my children would wanna hear. Right? Or do I have to do a purr there's a billboard. I kinda think it's, like, for big brother. Maybe it's fuss big brother's big sister. Maybe it's for foster parents, but it goes I I just saw it the other day, and there's, A question that's asked, and there's 3 possible responses on the billboard, a, b, and c. And 1 is go ask your mom, and one is, sure. Why not? And the point of the billboard is, like, parent in parenting, there there is no perfect answer, but kids need parents. So, I think that's a a good word.
Wayne Herring00:14:20 - 00:14:30
I would that's a that would be a fair mind. Like, am I doing it right? Am I doing it perfect? You're saying as a person who's experienced it, it wasn't all that in that moment, I guess, was it?
Blake Brewer00:14:30 - 00:15:20
Yeah. And and people ask me, well, when should I write, Miller? When should I give it to my children? And I my answer is the best day to write this letter to your children, the first one, is the day that they're born, and then the 2nd best day is now. Because of what we said earlier, we don't know when our last day is. My dad did not know that he was gonna pass on May 23, 2003, And I am so glad that he got some things written down, going into that weekend. And so I help dads write a letter to their unborn child, which is pretty cool to think about that their their son or daughter for the rest of their life is gonna know that their dad wrote him a letter about how much he loves them And how proud he is of him even before they were born. Like, man, do they have a dad that loves him? Yeah. They do. And then it it does something to the dad's heart too when you Write this letter.
Blake Brewer00:15:21 - 00:15:45
And, but then I have grandparents, like like older moms and dads writing this letter as well. And, obviously, the letters, Like, my structure that I provide goes for both, but, obviously, there's gonna be a little bit more to it The older your children are and you understand their personalities better and Sure. So, I mean, the letters are definitely different, but you gotta get at least 1 written.
Wayne Herring00:15:46 - 00:16:09
So probably other people ask you this too. Like, I I get it. Like, the to have the letter around if something happens to me. And what do you recommend as far as, Let's assume that I I'm not killed by their 18th birthday or or whatever. Like like, how do how do people in your community what are you doing as far as, like, proactively getting letters.
Blake Brewer00:16:10 - 00:16:51
I got a text a few months ago from Tim Delaney. He's the vice president of the Arizona Cardinals, and we just him write his letters. He got a 12 year old daughter and a 9 year old daughter. And he, had written a letter to his 12 year old daughter, and he knew that, with her going into her teenage years, so he was writing this letter to give to her for her 13th birthday. And she's gonna, You you know, in middle school, you have you know, the whole world is trying to tell you, how you should be, and she's gonna be Facing all these insecurities and looking at her friends, and he knew that she needed to hear from her dad. And who does her dad say she is. And so he sends me this text. I just I just gave her the letter.
Blake Brewer00:16:52 - 00:17:33
And she took the letter, went straight into her room, and sat on the edge of her bed and started reading it, and he could see through the crack in the door. And then she came back out and gave her dad a big old hug and said, dad, thank you so much this for this letter. And he started crying. I started crying just reading the text. And so, you know, every every situation is different, But I do I tell dads, like, take them to dinner. You know, maybe it's a Christmas gift, a birthday gift, like, you know, you've taken a good amount of time to this letter. This isn't the type of letter, like, on Valentine's Day, Wayne. I know you've never done this, but where you go to the grocery store and you buy a card real and sit down in the driveway and scribble some stuff down.
Blake Brewer00:17:34 - 00:17:54
No. This isn't that type of like, we spent some time writing our, you know, some really good thoughts down. And so I I tell Tell parents, like, no. Like, let them know that you you spent a lot of time on this letter, and it's okay to tell them that you Signed up for a program or for a course and got some help. I mean, we signed up for all kinds of other programs and courses in our business.
Wayne Herring00:17:54 - 00:17:54
Sure.
Blake Brewer00:17:54 - 00:18:12
And so we're not Cheating by that, we're actually sending this message like, hey. I care about you so much. And these words I was gonna share with you, I I spent money on a program to help me communicate it Really, like True. I mean, you as you send a strong signal when you say that. Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:18:13 - 00:19:05
I wanna ask you about your program and how help. Before that, the thought that occurs to me is so I hear you give this I hear your story. Hear about you and your dad and your siblings, and I think and and, literally, you and I have talked. And I now I have written to my children. I'll say that. We have some letter writing exercise we do as a family that I learned from another coach. And, I have a daughter who had had been in the hospital, and then Work together on how much I appreciate a mowing lawn and some things that happen in my life. So, I do fairly well with this.
Wayne Herring00:19:05 - 00:19:30
And then and yet, nonetheless, I've not started the letter as even though I read about read your story several months ago. So so it would be easy to say, you know what? Thanks for the info, Blake. That's all the, like, wake up call I need To hear what happened with you and your dad, now I'm gonna go do it. What do you think gets like, what gets in the way of people starting and just writing a letter like this?
Blake Brewer00:19:32 - 00:20:14
Well, life happens, and so, I mean, we're full of good intentions of things that we wanna do, and then it's actually Getting them done, I you know, people have not written a letter, like this. And so the idea of writing this letter sounds amazing, but then when you actually sit down with that piece a paper and phone interview and a pen. You're like, okay. Well, yeah. How am I gonna write this letter? And so I've I've helped a lot of dads who you know, I felt dads on both end of the spectrum. Like, dads who've never written before and then dads who are like, I've written my kids a a ton of different letters. And both Both of them say I would not have written a letter like this this good without you helping me. And so, you know, you're a coach.
Blake Brewer00:20:14 - 00:20:51
You know. It's valuable to have other people in your life, like, just helping you think through things that you you don't know what you don't know. And so that's really what we've tried to do is Guide a mom or a dad and help them think through some things. And so part of it is is What I used to call drawing the letter you already have a letter in your heart, so we're gonna draw that letter out of your heart into your mind and then onto a piece of paper. And then I do know I I I do know as I've done research and everything, I know what children need to hear from their parents. And so some of that stuff you don't even realize don't know. And so you it's like, hey. We're gonna make sure that's in the letter because I know your children will be better in life.
Blake Brewer00:20:51 - 00:20:56
They'll have more confidence. They'll have more emotional intelligence if you communicate x y z to them.
Wayne Herring00:20:57 - 00:21:43
Got it. So what so so tell us a bit. Tell tell all of us about I know you have a online course and then but you also have a a group coaching sometimes or even saw on your website, you'll you'll do a letter 1 on 1. And that as a coach, as you said, I can imagine how spending time with you 1 on 1 to write a letter you said it causes a change in the dad or mom that's writing the letter too, and that that 100% makes sense to me also that as I would search through that with another human like you, It would help me look inside, get it out. But so so what are those different what are those different programs you offer?
Blake Brewer00:21:44 - 00:22:39
Well so most people do go through, like, the self guided course, but a lot of times what happens is is, a business will buy For their employees or, like, a financial adviser or someone who sells insurance will buy my program. I have special rates and special Packages in this situation, when they buy for their clients. And so, it's pretty cool because they get to give this as a gift, and so their clients or their employees, you know, get to log in for free. But a lot of times, what'll end up happening is is part of that package is the owner, or the adviser, whoever will Want me to coach them 1 on 1, which I'm very happy to do it, or they'll invite their friends, which is really fun. Like, we helped a a group. I we just finished, and, this dad, he he invited, like, 10 other guys. And these 10 guys All knew him, but, they all didn't know each other. So he had, like, his pastor on there.
Blake Brewer00:22:39 - 00:23:08
He had his NFL agent. In this case, he's playing NFL NFL agent on there. And this guy, he's a motivational speaker. And so this other guy does stuff, and it was, like, his neighbor. His cousin was on there, and he was loving it. And these guys are just like, man, like, you so much that you bought this, and I get to be a part of it because they never, of course, been a part of a group coaching about anything to do with fatherhood. So it was it was kind of like a cool 4 week experience that, you know, we had together.
Wayne Herring00:23:09 - 00:23:20
Got it. So the course is people who can get on there and watch videos and then do some templates and things like that. And that that's the self Peace thing. I take it.
Blake Brewer00:23:20 - 00:23:51
Oh, yeah. And, yeah, you're in a community. So, you know, if anyone ever had a question, there's, like, in my online community. Like, there's other dads in there that can help you, and I'm I'm there. I do a live office hours in there, and so there's a lot of help in there as well. But there's 10 videos, Ten lessons. And, 4 of the lessons are to help get your heart and mind in the right spot even before you write the letter. And, man, some of those lessons, I've gotten great feedback on those that those are Really good.
Blake Brewer00:23:51 - 00:23:52
I'll just say that.
Wayne Herring00:23:53 - 00:24:02
Yeah. Well, it's it's not a bragging thing, Blake. It's you're clearly Serving and helping. So you can totally say the feedback is really good.
Blake Brewer00:24:02 - 00:24:23
Yeah. Yeah. And and we talk about our own fathers And some of those lessons and, the impact that our fathers had on us because whether you had a great father, a a father that wasn't around, an average Father, like, your father absolutely impacted you. And the more that you understand that, the more that you will positively impact your own children.
Wayne Herring00:24:24 - 00:24:49
Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. So you said that you do have kind of some resources to get started, which might lead somebody to then, of course, purchase the package to get on the course. And, I'll make a Link available to everybody to, whatever resources you provide. Is it that's the case. Right? Like, there's Yeah.
Blake Brewer00:24:49 - 00:25:07
You can go to legacy letter challenge And then, we've got a a thing there. It's 3 secret ingredients of every legacy letter. And, So I I really wanna help, you know, that mom or the dad, you know, know what goes knows what goes into a legacy letter. So It's a great resource.
Wayne Herring00:25:07 - 00:25:37
Got it. So everybody can go grab those those 3 chunks. Nice. Yep. So What what what else, like, comes to mind? Because I was telling you about I just wanna, like, give a little bit of, like, here I am leading with questions. But to be open, I told you about the men and women that are in business builder camp and some of the businesses that they run. And like I said, the bulk of them are parents. What else would you wanna share, with everybody about this work?
Blake Brewer00:25:37 - 00:26:24
Yeah. Well, I think, You know, one of the things that I'm personally convicted about is I spend a lot of time coming up with a sales page and a or a pitch and, you know, A lot of things on my bit on my my mission and my pitch and just, you know, all these different things to say the right words, Craig, and connect with people. And then I start to think, okay. How much work am I doing to connect with my children and to like, the the whole reason I'm doing business is for my family and my children. But do I spend the same amount of time or even close to the same amount of time? I don't. And that's one of the and most business owners, don't. And that is one of the things I get excited about is I'm helping business owners because you can rest easy that after this program, hey. You can say, no.
Blake Brewer00:26:24 - 00:26:41
I've I've spent a lot of time trying to through the process of writing this letter, connect with my children the same way I try Connect with my customers or employees or or whoever it is in your life. So and no one has ever regretted writing their legacy letter. Like, no one will ever regret that.
Wayne Herring00:26:41 - 00:27:43
In in in business builder camp, we did a strength challenge. Pete Koch is a strength coach, and we got a small group together. And we we did a 12 week, program together where we met The 4 times with Pete, and we we did some baseline fitness measures in the beginning. And then at the end, we repeated those baseline Fitness measures, burpees, and push ups, and, weight if for those who wanted to reduce weight and all all those things. And it was a it was, Definitely, not not the whole the whole group didn't stick with it, but those who did had measurable results and had shifts in thinking in the way that they understood Good. Thanks. So it it makes total sense to me that when people do the letter challenge with you, that that they're going to, have better results and have a shared experience. So we are gonna figure out a way to do that, for business builder camp, and I'm looking Forward to it.
Blake Brewer00:27:44 - 00:27:44
Great.
Wayne Herring00:27:46 - 00:28:53
Good. Well, Blake, so thanks for the, everything on on writing a letter. What I said to you that would also be great was you're now you're part of you're part of our world. You're doing this interview, and we I wanna maintain our relationship over and see where you go over the next, you know, who knows how many years. It would be great to understand a little bit about this business that you're building both from the point of view So so perhaps somebody could help you and help get the word out. And also just so in this moment, since my thing is is coaching, if there's if there's anything that's holding you up that we might find, some ways around it for you. So Can you can you tell us share share a little bit about the the business part of what you do? Because you do have to if you're gonna get a a mission like this out to the world, and then I I hear your children in the background. It money and profit are important and are not bad things at all Because it helps magnify what you have.
Wayne Herring00:28:53 - 00:28:57
So what is what is your business world look like?
Blake Brewer00:28:58 - 00:29:05
Yeah. Absolutely. And I I was in the nonprofit world a while, and I was asking people for donations for, like, the in my previous job.
Wayne Herring00:29:05 - 00:29:05
Yep.
Blake Brewer00:29:05 - 00:29:34
And so then, you know, a lot of people went into there. You know, as I started this, like, oh, they just Assume that this was gonna be a nonprofit. And from the beginning, I said, no. I'm I'm gonna create a for profit because I wanna create a product people are wanting to purchase. And if I can't create a good enough product that people are wanting to purchase, then I'll just pack up my bags and go home. And, and I knew that if I relied on donors you know, obviously, there's a lot of organizations that have donors, and it's a great thing.
Wayne Herring00:29:34 - 00:29:35
Sure.
Blake Brewer00:29:35 - 00:30:44
But then I would be spending all my effort in keeping my donors happy, not my potential customers happy. And so, I started off, thinking that I would just have individuals, either sign up for the group and or for my my course. And I thought that that's where all the my revenue would come from. And then, probably about 3 or 4 months in, a dad came to me who was an insurance agent, said, I wanna buy this as a as a gift for my clients for Christmas. And so we put together a package for him, and I thought, man, I have a business coach, and so I think we're on to something here. And, that was probably about, 30 businesses ago, and who have now either bought Bought it for their clients or, bought it for their employees. And so, I've been the keynote speaker at a Financial adviser conference, and, the vice president of this company, of all these financial advisers said, hey. If you wanna be a good financial adviser, you buy Things like this for your clients to show them that you you care more about just their money.
Blake Brewer00:30:44 - 00:31:24
You care about their family. So I've been doing a lot of stuff with that particular company, and then continuing to grow from there. So I don't know if that shares. So one of the things that I haven't done yet is the the Facebook ads. I do think that there'll be a day when, we're spending $10,000 on Facebook ads, marketing to dads, and Dads are signing up for the course that way or moms, but we're just not there yet. And I'm I'm not I'm not an expert in that. And so One day, I'll hire someone to help me do that.
Wayne Herring00:31:25 - 00:31:36
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My experience has definitely been in messing around with Some of those things is it's not really something very good to mess around
Blake Brewer00:31:37 - 00:31:38
with. Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:31:38 - 00:32:45
Because not only Can and have I spent money in that arena that didn't yield a lot of results, but probably one of the, Bigger impacts was energy and feeling of, Both hope that something like that was gonna work out like magic in some way and then disappointment when it didn't and then questioning what does that mean about me and my message. And then just the fact of, like, hitting refresh, hitting refresh, almost, you know, almost like a slot machine or something to look at numbers that I didn't even completely Understand on my own. So, yeah, I think a lot of people have experiences with marketing, Chinese marketing like a a silver bullet before it's time to hire somebody to do marketing and advertising like that. And you've got such a great story. So to be able to just relay relay that story to more people and then have it cascade out through those messengers, like Financial advisers. That makes a lot of sense for me.
Blake Brewer00:32:46 - 00:33:30
Well and, you know, one of the things that I've also learned because most of my business right now has come from, someone that I knew connecting me to someone else, And and so I I've just been playing that game. I I try I got on LinkedIn, and I was kinda doing some cold, You know, marketing. And I know that works for people, and that's why I was trying it. But what I realized what the best thing for me to do was to just get on the phone with somebody and talked to him and just not not a sales pitch at all. I just told him what was going on. Hey. How are you doing? Get an update on their life. I share it with them and update on my life and, and talk about who I was doing business with.
Blake Brewer00:33:30 - 00:33:55
And all of a sudden, it's like a light bulb would go off in their head and think, oh, you know who you need to talk So you need to talk to this person. Next thing you know, they're connecting me. And then I would talk to that person. And I don't know if you've experienced But early on, it was like, hey. Alright. I just need all my friends to buy this thing, and then none of your friends are buying it. And it's like, hey. Why aren't my friends buying the thing? And it's, I've got some advice that, hey.
Blake Brewer00:33:55 - 00:34:15
Your friends aren't gonna be the ones who buy like, don't try to Count on them. Not to say that my friends aren't for me. Sure. I have had some friends sign up, but it's really the people that Came in in other doors, that have really just, like, man, they're excited for me, and they're helping me and connecting me to this person or that person.
Wayne Herring00:34:16 - 00:35:00
Wow. Yeah. So that that makes total sense that you would have, raving fans, which, of course, is Title of a book that you would have raving fans or, like, evangelists who would really latch on to what you're doing and then would be able they would be the ones in their little circle of influence where they would be able to go out and influence others to follow suit. When we were farming, we had our organic farm. It was certainly like that where you would find a a mom oftentimes who really cared about what they were feeding their children, and they would end up, Like, bringing other people in and Yeah. How you really need to come see this. You need to come think about what you're feeding your children. And they already have trust with those in their circles.
Wayne Herring00:35:00 - 00:35:19
So they'd, it was a great place to start out. What is, What what what is is there anything like, what does it feel like is is holding you back right now? Or what's the next thing what's the next thing that rolls through your head Constantly, like, there's this something.
Blake Brewer00:35:21 - 00:35:52
Like any business owner, there's Things and tasks that I do not enjoy doing, and, there's things that I know that I'm as my business grows, like, I will not have to do those. And so it's like, oh, man. I don't have an executive assistant right now. It's like, oh, man. I need an executive assistant. And I know that's one of my next Things to do. And I don't know and so it's it's like, okay. It just it feels scary to hire someone, like, Hire anybody, really.
Blake Brewer00:35:53 - 00:36:10
I have a team now in India that's helped me build some of my landing pages and do some things. But, honestly, that seemed been hard to set up. Because of them, because of me. Like, trying to think through my systems and write down my systems. Okay. Now you do this. Now you do that. Because I'm so much, like, like, on the fly.
Blake Brewer00:36:10 - 00:36:44
Like, I you know? Like, oh, you know what? I'm gonna do it this week. Or the next week, I'm you know, I'm I'm making my product better each week. And so To stop and say, tell someone else, no. This is exactly how we do this part of the business. And now it's now you go do when it's changed, like, 4 times in the last month. Sure. So, but I am getting to that spot where I really wanna get some things off my plate so that I can do things like this, like the interviews and and coaching more dads groups. Because anytime I coach a dads group, That's only good things come from that.
Blake Brewer00:36:45 - 00:36:46
So
Wayne Herring00:36:47 - 00:37:10
Right. Yeah. I think that's really common that People struggle with that first step. And then on the other hand, that's another one of those things where it's really easy to hire an assistant early and end up spending money on it and frustrating that other person because we're not giving them proper instruction, and not even quite sure what it is we want them to do.
Blake Brewer00:37:10 - 00:37:32
I've been there. Yeah. And it was frustrating for I was kinda thinking, okay. Now I you know, this is gonna solve all my problems. And then, she was a virtual assistant. She lived down in Houston, and she was great. It's just that I didn't know what to tell her of what to do. And she was trying, and I kinda just thought, you know, she's gonna step into my business as if an as if she was an owner.
Blake Brewer00:37:32 - 00:37:34
Well, she's not an owner. I'm the owner.
Wayne Herring00:37:34 - 00:37:34
Mhmm.
Blake Brewer00:37:34 - 00:37:47
And so I can't expect her to to, you know, think about my business that way. So, Yeah. I I have done that before, and I wasted a little bit of money doing that.
Wayne Herring00:37:47 - 00:37:55
Yeah. Sure. I think that's part of the path, though, too. Like and we can't, make it wrong for for what happened in the past. Right.
Blake Brewer00:37:55 - 00:37:56
Oh, yeah.
Wayne Herring00:37:56 - 00:38:03
You know what yeah. You know what you know now because of Things like that because of packaging. You know?
Blake Brewer00:38:03 - 00:38:17
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And I think that's why I'm, I don't know if hesitant is the right word, but I just make sure I'm ready to jump into it because I know what it takes to when you hire someone to make sure that they that you're serving them well so they can serve you well.
Wayne Herring00:38:17 - 00:38:25
Yeah. So 1,000,000 letters. What's the what's the estimated what's the estimated count, Blake?
Blake Brewer00:38:27 - 00:38:54
We're still less than a1000. Mhmm. So we've been going at it, for a year. So it's one of those things, I think, you know, it's been I mean, we're ahead of where I thought we'd be, but then at the same time, like, I think it'll start experiencing exponential growth, once we start going. So we'll we'll see what happens. Some cool things are in the works, with some higher profile people
Wayne Herring00:38:54 - 00:38:55
Sure.
Blake Brewer00:38:55 - 00:39:33
Putting together. There's a group of Major League Baseball dads this fall. Some former, some current, some future hall of fame pitcher in the group. And, so we'll see what happens. The The Today Show, I did a pre interview with them last week, and, they would come out to my house and Awesome. Do a a story on us, so it's like, you never really know when something like that just really makes it spread. Couple weeks ago, I'm actually pretty proud of this. So I don't know how much you've been following the NCAA stuff on, like, the NILs.
Wayne Herring00:39:35 - 00:39:37
Not a good sports fan, I have no idea.
Blake Brewer00:39:37 - 00:40:04
Okay. Well, as of July 1st, college athletes, for the first time ever in history, could get paid for their name, image, and likeness. And so there's a lot of stories out there About who they signed with, well, we signed a guy to my alma mater moderns Arkansas Razorbacks. There's a dad there. He's got a 2 year old son. Dad actually was Keith Jackson who played for the Eagles, and he also played for the Packers as a tight end. But But his son plays with razor bags. I signed him to a sponsorship.
Blake Brewer00:40:04 - 00:40:22
So I signed the 1st ever NIL sponsorship that supports fatherhood. So I'm pretty proud to say that and excited to say that. So we got our my 1st ever press release out there, and we got some good media, and we're on the news for it. So it's Way to go, Blake. Kinda fun. Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:40:22 - 00:40:40
Yeah. You know, sometimes when I work with people like you and and, actually, I remember our first conversation, and I I remember saying, oh, you should talk to this podcast. So, oh, let me introduce you to this other person. I was on their podcast. So I was I was pushing a bit in that direction. Like, Oh, think bigger. Talk to these people. Like, you're awesome.
Wayne Herring00:40:40 - 00:41:06
This is great. It sounds like, you really are Comfortable now with the idea that you belong in conversations with Major League Baseball or, college college sports, whatever the sport may be. So that's great. It's so good to hear that you're just Reaching out. The the TV show, good for you. Like, why not? Why not you?
Blake Brewer00:41:06 - 00:41:44
Yeah. Oh, I've I've come a long ways in that. Because a year ago, when we started on this mission, it's like, okay. I believe in this mission, but still, it was hard for me to put myself out there. I did my 1st webinar, and, like, I was like, man, I was like, I don't wanna be the face of this thing, but it's like, who else? Like, of course, who else is gonna be talk about it? But the more you talk about it And you're gaining confidence, and then you start helping these dads write their letter, and you see all the good that came from it. And you're just like, man, I gotta keep going. So for me, whenever I start to feel those insecurities, I just go back to, you know, this is not about you. This is about the mission.
Blake Brewer00:41:44 - 00:41:46
This is about the mission Helping a 1000000 dads write their letter.
Wayne Herring00:41:47 - 00:42:02
When you get to when you get to the million mark, right, or maybe as you like, I I have to imagine that At the the curve, Blake, is, like, flat flat flat flat. And then at some point, it starts to slope up. Right?
Blake Brewer00:42:02 - 00:42:03
Like some hockey stick, hopefully.
Wayne Herring00:42:03 - 00:42:07
Yeah. You You can and you can believe that. Like, you're okay with that that could happen.
Blake Brewer00:42:08 - 00:42:08
Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:42:09 - 00:42:14
Yeah? I hate Zoom because I can't I I love Zoom. Don't hate it, but I'm trying to look at you, and it's if you
Blake Brewer00:42:14 - 00:42:24
I think I I believe that's gonna happen. And I think there's things out there that Could expedite that, but I'm really not in any hurry. Like, in my mind, I already see that happening.
Wayne Herring00:42:24 - 00:42:24
For sure.
Blake Brewer00:42:24 - 00:42:29
So whether it happens now or 6 months or years from now, it's like, it doesn't matter. It's gonna happen.
Wayne Herring00:42:29 - 00:43:14
So so when you get on that, like, it's steep curve, exponential, or hockey stick, and And that's what's gonna take you to a1000000. You're you're gonna be headed there, and you shared that the getting the assistant is, you know, it's, like, The next thing, but it's like, when do I make the leap? So my my when my question is, I guess, when you when you get in that Herb, how many letters do you think will be getting finished, or or how many new dads and moms will be Coming into your world, I don't know, on a monthly basis, if you had to think of, like, a rate. When is it starting to, like, wow, now it's going. How many letters could you imagine? How many new people could you imagine serving on a monthly basis?
Blake Brewer00:43:16 - 00:43:59
That's a good question. I haven't even thought about it in those terms. And it's hard to it's it's hard because I don't know what I don't know. Like, so is it a1000? Is it 2,000? Because then there's also an element too because I'm partnering with so many people. So right now, we just, you know, we have we've had a lot of good revenue in the month of August. And if I continued at this pace of revenue of how much we brought in this month, Man, I could definitely afford to go ahead and bring that person on, but I say that to say, I did I didn't have, like, that many more people sign up to write their letter. And the reason is because they signed up the partnership started this month. And then over the next 3 months is when they'll be rolling it out to their clients.
Wayne Herring00:44:00 - 00:44:06
Right? And you start trying to make sure that they maximize their Yeah. The take the uptake of the Right.
Blake Brewer00:44:06 - 00:44:12
Exactly. Right. Okay. They bought this for everyone. Now I've gotta help Then market it to the people in their life that they bought it for.
Wayne Herring00:44:12 - 00:45:10
So so we're not gonna have time because I I know you have to go, But the you haven't thought of it that way, and the fun exercise for you would be to think of it that way. Right? Like, think of it where you have, I don't know, a 1000 people a month or a 1000 letters a month. And who will you be? What what will be going on in your world? Like because exactly what you're saying. Like, alright. Thousand letters a month are happening or a 1000 people are coming into the world into my world, and I'll be doing more speaking. And, I wonder who will be supporting me. Right? Like, because you're going to be a It's it's like you're like a micro celebrity, in your world, and that that's just in service To the the imagine, like, the dads and the and the Oh. Kids who have served.
Wayne Herring00:45:10 - 00:45:10
Right?
Blake Brewer00:45:10 - 00:45:16
The the person I look up to, and I don't wanna be this person, but Dave Ramsey.
Wayne Herring00:45:16 - 00:45:16
Yeah.
Blake Brewer00:45:16 - 00:45:32
So Dave Ramsey you know, there's nonprofits that do what Dave Ramsey does, like help people with financials, but he he he's a for profit, And people pay him money, and he's got an online program that he does now. He does some speaking, but he's got, like, 900 and something employees.
Wayne Herring00:45:32 - 00:46:07
Right. And and somewhere somewhere along the curve, like, that's where if you can go back and and think of what it would be like to run your operation, sure You're not Dave. You're Blake. You can think of what what you'll be doing and what you'll be like, and Then, you know, that's a thinking exercise to go somewhere to just kinda think through that, visualize, And then the next question becomes, what if if that's who I'm gonna be, how could I be more like that today? And how could I bring that into the present? So
Blake Brewer00:46:07 - 00:46:23
Yeah. Absolutely. Like Yeah. Like, what would the best I because I'll ask this. Sometime some days I'm like, okay. What am I gonna do today? Which it's not it's not like I don't have thing. I got a 1000000 things do. But, like, what am I going to do today? And I I try to imagine, okay.
Blake Brewer00:46:23 - 00:46:40
What would the best CEO in the world, what would he do in my business today? And then I'll try to act accordingly from what that. But then I also do this with my family. And so I actually have a notification in my phone. Right? And at 5 o'clock. It goes off. Say, what would the best father in the world
Wayne Herring00:46:40 - 00:46:41
That's awesome.
Blake Brewer00:46:41 - 00:46:51
Do right now in your family? Yeah. Because that's a reminder, because that's who I am. I am the best Father in the world to my they don't have anybody any other option. It's me. So I am the best father.
Wayne Herring00:46:51 - 00:46:51
Yeah.
Blake Brewer00:46:51 - 00:47:15
And so that's an identity thing because you act in your identity. So I try to act out that identity. You know? And I try to help dads understand this because it's so easy as a dad to think, oh, yeah. I need to make sure I get these things off the list to be a good dad. It's like, well, if you are a good dad and you and that is your identity even before your business or before your work, Like like, you will just be a good dad. Like, that's who you are.
Wayne Herring00:47:15 - 00:47:25
Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, Blake, we're gonna wrap it up you can get on to your next appointment, but, legacy letter challenge .com. Right?
Blake Brewer00:47:26 - 00:47:26
Oh, yeah.
Wayne Herring00:47:26 - 00:47:39
Everyone go there. It's been great working with you. Thanks being part of my life, and I know this will serve the people who listen to it. And, we'll be in touch. And, I'll get my letter written with your help.
Blake Brewer00:47:39 - 00:47:41
Absolutely. Can't wait to help you.
Wayne Herring00:47:41 - 00:47:59
Okay. Good deal. Thanks, Blake. Thank you for tuning in to the Business Builderway podcast. If this episode spoke to you, Click that subscribe button and share it with a friend. That's how this message gets out into the world. If it is helpful for us to have a short conversation, I'd love to do that. Send me an email at wayne@businessbuildercamp.com.

00:00 Podcast: Business Builder Way, leadership growth, legacy.

06:05 Rescued father from drowning, CPR failed, prayed.

08:12 Dad's letter brings lifelong impact and guidance.

11:30 Being present for family, time is limited.

14:30 Write letter to children, don't wait.

20:14 Helping parents and children by drawing out thoughts.

21:44 Businesses and advisers buy special packages, coach.

26:41 Strength challenge led to measurable results, group shift.

29:35 Business expanded from individual to corporate clients.

31:38 Spent money on ineffective marketing, seeking impact.

36:10 Improving product, delegating tasks, coaching dads groups.

41:06 Overcoming insecurity to pursue a mission.

44:12 Consider impact of 1000 people/letters monthly.

45:32 Consider future self and implement changes now.

1. How does the podcast guest, Blake Brewer, tie his personal experiences with his father's impactful letter into his mission of helping parents write legacy letters to their children?
2. What are the key elements of the Legacy Letter Challenge program, and how do these elements contribute to aiding individuals in writing meaningful letters to their children?
3. How does Blake Brewer emphasize the emotional impact of writing and receiving legacy letters, and why is it especially important to start this process as soon as possible?
4. What strategies has Blake Brewer employed for marketing his business, and how has focusing on personal connections and word-of-mouth referrals contributed to the growth of his business?
5. How does Blake Brewer anticipate the further growth of his project and the potential impact of collaborations with higher-profile individuals and media outlets like The Today Show?
6. What insights did Wayne Herring and Blake Brewer share about the challenges and considerations involved in hiring and serving an executive assistant to support future business growth?
7. How does the concept of emulating and visualizing the behaviors of successful individuals, discussed in the podcast, extend to the practice of writing meaningful legacy letters to children?
8. How does the episode highlight the emotional significance of legacy letters, connecting personal and professional relationships, and emotional well-being to the practice of legacy letter writing?
9. What specific outcomes and experiences have individuals shared after participating in the Legacy Letter Challenge program, and how have these experiences impacted their relationships with their children?
10. In what ways does the podcast guest, Blake Brewer, communicate his vision for the future growth and impact of his project, and how does he intend to support a larger audience in writing lasting legacy letters to their children?