Every Entrepreneur Is An IP Company, with Kary Oberbrunner and Chad Johnson

Dan Sullivan: Hi, this is Dan Sullivan. I'd like to welcome you to the Multiplier Mindset podcast. Today's episode of Multiplier Mindset is we're actually interviewing the very, very gracious entrepreneurs who are in Strategic Coach who were at our CoachCon, and this was our very first. It's going to be every two years, and entrepreneurs from every level of Strategic Coach Program. Some of the participants are individuals who were in the Program or not in the Program, and they come back. And we did it in Nashville in May at the Music City Center, which is a phenomenal building, phenomenal staff. And Kary Oberbrunner, who's a Free Zone member, at Strategic Coach, has a great company. And I don't know how many Strategic Coach clients have utilized Kary's process and the teamwork that he provides them to write their first book. I know it's in the dozens. We don't have to really keep count. But I find out about them because every one of them who does a book with Kary asks that there be a testimonial from me. And we provide it.
 
Kary's being interviewed, as I mentioned, with Chad Johnson. And Chad's a marvelous human being. When he joined Coach 20 years ago, he had the sort of the huge market. Anytime you get a bottle and it's got printing on the outside, he would do that type of printing. As he went along, he noticed that what he used to do for companies—companies were buying technology that they could do the printing right inside their companies, okay, so they wouldn't have to send the empty bottles to him to print. But Chad is alert, he's curious, he's responsive, and he's resourceful. He was a great entrepreneur, and we have many other entrepreneurs who came from Chad. He's a great bringer-in of new clients for Strategic Coach, but he's a phenomenal coach. Everybody who has Chad as their coach really treasures the quarterly experience when they come to it. So happy that Chad volunteered to actually be an interviewer at CoachCon.
 
Two things I'd like to zero in on the interview that Kary did with Chad Johnson was the book process. My experience, I'm in my fifty-first year now, so I've seen a lot of entrepreneurs, and one of my, I say, dissatisfactions with myself and with our company is that we produce a lot of books, okay? And we have a great process for doing it. I have a great team that helps us do it. And we do one new small book every quarter, and we've done that for 40 quarters now. I'm working on number 41 right now. And my goal is to, in 25 years, to write 100 books. So writing book number 41 is a lot easier than writing book number one. And that's the real problem with entrepreneurs is that they've been thinking for years and years and years that they're going to write a book and on their tombstone said, still working on it, you know.
 
And when Kary came into our life, when he joined the 10x Program, and he showed me what he could do, that was a great new capability for Strategic Coach that they say, here's the person, get in touch with them. And he can handle every part of it, including writing the book. They're your ideas, but he can find you a writer. If you don't want to do the writing, he'll publish it. He'll show you how to market the book. So that was that. That's the first thing with Kary.
 
The second thing with Kary, and I'm a great believer in intellectual property. And right from the beginning in 1989, when we started the workshop program, we were creating thinking tools. And Babs Smith, my partner, was really the one who said, you know, this is property. What we're creating here is property. And I'm innovative. And I say, well, we'll just create innovation. And if people steal this stuff, who knows? And then about six years ago, we had to sue a former Strategic Coach client who was using our material. And he say, I paid $25,000 for this, but I'll give it to you for 695. And that's grounds for suing somebody. So we did. So I went through that, it's not a pleasant experience. It's a costly experience, costs in time, it costs in money, costs in aggravation. And I said, this will never happen to me again. I'll never go through this process. So we really doubled down and making sure that everything we create is a copyright, everything is a trademark. And now within the last year, we've secured almost 50 patents for our tools and we've got hundreds ahead of us.
 
There was a step missing from that, the same way that Kary created that go-to immediate experience for book publishing. Kary has now created a very first step for achieving intellectual property, and he does that with a technological platform called the blockchain. So that the moment you come up with an idea, he has an app, and you just log in your idea, could be a drawing, it could be a sheet of paper, it could be a process that you've created. And then it's secure. And that now gives you ownership of that idea going forward. And then my recommendation, once you've done that, then you go copyright, trademark, and patent as you go up there.
 
But he's, Kary has allowed us to have the capability to actually just say, here's what you do. You go and you get this and you secure it. And the reason why you want to do this is that at a certain point, if you're afraid that other people are going to steal what you create, you stop creating, because you're afraid of having your creativity stolen. So my sense, this isn't a cost, this is a huge investment in your creativity. So in both cases, couldn't say more great things about Kary, but I did say, until you show me proof that you can actually deliver, you can't work with us. And he took me seriously. And I like people who take me seriously. So, great interview with Chad and Kary, and I hope you follow up on what I'm suggesting here.
 
Chad Johnson: Welcome to CoachCon, Kary Oberbrunner.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: It's amazing to be here.
 
Chad Johnson: So fun, isn't it?
 
Kary Oberbrunner: It is. This place is rocking.
 
Chad Johnson: We're having such a good time.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: We are.
 
Chad Johnson: So good. I want to welcome those who are joining us on the podcast here at CoachCon. We are on the main stage here. It's huge. Chris Voss was just here a few moments ago, just crushing it. Nice chairs. Nice chairs. I mean, it's a good spot. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Chad Johnson. I'm your host today. I've been a member of Strategic Coach since 2004. [inaudible] I started 20 years ago in October.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: That is amazing.
 
Chad Johnson: Is that crazy?
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Congratulations.
 
Chad Johnson: Thank you. 34 years old. And Dan just started to transform my thinking, simplify so many things around business. And then I had the opportunity about 10 years ago to jump in as a coach, a Strategic Coach. My business was printing and packaging for many, many years, sold those companies, now in real estate and health and wellness.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Giant Five?
 
Chad Johnson: Giant Five and G5 Summits, putting on high-end events for married couples. So super excited to be here with you, Kary. What's crazy is not only is Kary a dear friend, but how long have you been a coach?
 
Kary Oberbrunner: So 2018. And I was one of these guys who said, you know what? I'm going to try it for one year. Come on. And I'm going to see what I think. And if it's a return on the investment, you always hear ROI, right? And I'm telling you, it wasn't even the first workshop. It was the first hour of the first workshop.
 
Chad Johnson: You're like, come on.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah. Because Dan basically said, okay, new 10x group, you each get one sentence. Introduce yourself. And there's the pressure. And I already felt like an imposter, because I'm walking into the room, former pastor, and I'm in the room with total rock stars. And I had the clarity to say, I help people turn their books into 18 streams of income. And that's it. And then I sat down. Then I sat down.
 
Chad Johnson: And it was like, boom.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Well, I felt this big hand. I felt this big hand on my shoulder. And it was Dan, he said, I like that. I like that.
 
Chad Johnson: You're like, I'm home. I found my place. I found my people.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: It was very soon after that where Dan had some books out. And I said, Dan, we could take those into audiobooks and turn them into 40,000 channels around the world. And then Dan said, write an Impact Filter. And then he said, I'm in. Now you write one for Babs.
 
Chad Johnson: Come on.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And then that turned into early collaboration with Dan.
 
Chad Johnson: You were one of the quickest collaborations of anybody I saw come into Coach. You really did. And it's so interesting, because Dan has his rules.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: He does.
 
Chad Johnson: He does not collaborate. First of all, it's not an exact fit.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Right.
 
Chad Johnson: And you've got to start with an Impact Filter. And you did it, and boom, and again, it resonated.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: It feels like it went fast, but at the time, it was, listen, I like to move fast.
 
Chad Johnson: Yeah, you do.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And so it felt slow, but Kristi Chambers in the background, Shannon Waller, they all saw some cool potential. And they really, I would say, yeah, they steered me. And they basically said, just chill, wait. But that turned into that first one. And then if you're around Dan, I saw books differently. Even though I've been in the industry for 20 years now, he says books are IP. And I was like, oh my gosh, that's so true. And so what it does is it actually raises the value of the author. Because if the author thinks I'm just writing a business card, because that's what the industry teaches.
 
Chad Johnson: Yeah, and what do you do with business cards? You throw them away.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: You throw them away. So already we said, no, your book is not a business card, it's a book. But then Dan helped me realize, no, book's IP.
 
Chad Johnson: So it's from here to here.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah, because the S&P 500, you know this. The S&P 500, 90% of the value is in the IP of all S&P 500 companies. And now it's more like 96%. So literally, an Apple phone is not in the parts and pieces, the value, it's the IP. So here we are at CoachCon, and everybody needs to think of themselves as an IP company.
 
Chad Johnson: So good. So good.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And so that's where then Dan helped me realize, you know what? We publish intellectual property, and we promote it with the 18 streams of income. But then I started to be around movers and shakers talking about blockchain. And I said, wait, I don't know what, but there's something here.
 
Chad Johnson: Something here.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And so I'll never forget the time where I went to Dan and said, look, I think I'm going to create this IP protection thing. And you know what? He gave me seven reasons why it was a no. He did. That was the deal. This is a story. Have you ever heard this one?
 
Chad Johnson: Please go on. I did. I did. Share it, though.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: So he sends this video. He sends this video back. And my wife was in the next room. But she's kind of curious. So she heard this voice. So she comes and listens. And it's Dan being super straight up.
 
Chad Johnson: Oh, yeah. Which is the only way he knows.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah. And he's like, Kary, we don't collaborate with people who aren't proven with this technology. Here's the seven reasons why I'm not going to partner with you. And then he ended it with, and listen, I don't want to ever hear this again until you join Free Zone.
 
Chad Johnson: That was his caveat. I hadn't heard that part.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah. That's true.
 
Chad Johnson: Until you joined Free Zone.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: So then I'm like, listen, as an entrepreneur, you got to dig deep. And so Dan teaches all the obstacles that you see are actually the raw material for your dream. So I took those seven and I said, I'm doing that. I'm doing that. I'm doing that. I'm doing that. And that became my roadmap. So then after, a lot of time and a lot of money, we started that company. And we proved the technology. We partnered with Keegan Caldwell and Katie Rubino. I'm not against patents. That was the one idea that I said, we got to patent this thing because this is so big. We finally got our patent after like two and a half years. And now, get this, I'll be in London in two weeks speaking to 12,000 entrepreneurs presenting EZIP.
 
Chad Johnson: Yes. And I was glad you mentioned the name just now because it is called EZIP. And for those, again, you're using blockchain technology to take an idea and immediately …
 
Kary Oberbrunner: You go from smartphone to smart contract.
 
Chad Johnson: So one move.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: One move. You can literally be at a restaurant, at a business meeting, and you have this idea, and you're like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. We've got to protect that. You open up your smartphone. You either take a photo, you talk in the text, or you upload a file. It goes to our team, and in 24 hours, it's protected. It creates that timestamp that says we were the first ones. And that's what all IP is based on, timing.
 
Chad Johnson: It's tracking the timing.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah.
 
Chad Johnson: So cool.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Isn't that crazy?
 
Chad Johnson: That's so cool. So you, again, married this great innovative way of elevating the IP with your current business, which is the Igniting Souls publishing. And I'm curious, do you know how many off the top Coach clients that you've helped? It's over 100.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: I was going to say, it's got to be. Yeah, I think it's over 100. Prior to Coach, we had 1,000. But I mean, we've actually shut down our other certain type of clients. A few years ago, we were the DIY. You'd come to us, and we'd kind of partner with you and kind of show you how to do it. And being around Coach, you know, it taught me who's your right fit client. And we know that there's a lot of other people out there that will partner with you and you do it with them, but we are the done for you. So we have people come to us and say, look, even like a Peter Diamandis, who's a two-time New York Times bestseller. And he's like, I want Igniting Souls because number one, they're faster. I control my IP. I get all my profits. And you know what? Why not? Because the old way, you don't need them anymore. The traditional publisher would give you an advance, and then it would take 85% to 90% of your profits forever.
 
Chad Johnson: And so for a guy like Peter, it makes no sense.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Absolutely.
 
Chad Johnson: So cool. So tell me this: In the ministry, you're a pastor, jumped into entrepreneurship, have really grown a lot in your entrepreneurial journey. What do you think have been maybe two or three of the key mindsets, shifts, where you're like, okay, that's my accelerant, right? What would you say?
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Number one, who do you want to be a hero to? So the reason why that's good is because, listen, when I first joined Coach, honestly, it was about me. Because I had written the books. It was really the carryover runner brand, meaning I'm the writer. I'm the speaker. I got the 18 streams of income. And you know what? I chased that for a few years, and it wasn't as fulfilling. Because, I don't know, I get bored of me. Just being real. You see me light up. You just connected me with some young lady named Erin today. And I'm like, we can help her. And I'm fired up. So to be a hero is actually more fulfilling than to be the messenger.
 
Chad Johnson: So interesting. So interesting.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah, I still write my books. I mean, you know I'm putting out about a book a year.
 
Chad Johnson: Yes.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: It's interesting, and I like to write a book, but I really like to form a collaboration.
 
Chad Johnson: Well, and when you said, you know, Dan, phrase that kind of, who do you want to be a hero to? And then you talk a lot about Dan Miller's story brand, and that we're the guide to help these heroes. And it, in a sense, isn't the guide our hero, because he's getting us to the point, right? But ultimately, we're helping them be this hero. And there's nothing greater. I mean, what's interesting, you can only help yourself be a hero so much. You can help thousands of people be heroes to a bunch of other people. It's just such an exponential.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: You're a faith guy. It's almost like a John the Baptist type of guy, where John the Baptist, you know, wasn't the man. He was just supposed to bring in the man Jesus.
 
Chad Johnson: Yeah.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: I kind of like to be the second guy.
 
Chad Johnson: It's beautiful. You're doing a masterful job of it. Kary Oberbrunner: Thank you. And I got a great team.
 
Chad Johnson: You do.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: That's something else that Coach taught me was you cannot do it yourself. You need a Self-Managing Company. Sarah Grandstaff, my integrator, she had 20 years at Scholastic, the little kids’ publisher. She just started hearing this compelling vision. She realized that traditional publishing wasn't going to make it. And so she said, I want to be an entrepreneurial company. We work so well together. In fact, Kristi and all the people, Stephanie, they all say, you guys are a good match because of your different Kolbes. And now we're publishing Kolbe's book.
 
Chad Johnson: Are you really? You're working with David Mill? Come on. Well, you know what? Again, this community is so generous and so collaborative. And it feels like everybody's trying to help everybody.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Where do you ever find that? Dan talks about the competitors becoming collaborators. Everyone has their Unique Ability. And they're like, here's how I can help you.
 
Chad Johnson: That's it.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: It's amazing.
 
Chad Johnson: It is amazing I love your mindsets around, again, what kind of has helped get you here. What do you see as some of the dangers, entrepreneurs—because you work with a lot of them—what do you see their biggest dangers or things that they're having to overcome right now?
 
Kary Oberbrunner: I'm a Galvanizer Tenacity. You know, we took that Genius thing.
 
Chad Johnson: Oh, widget, baby.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: You know what I'm saying?
 
Chad Johnson: Yeah.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And I do think that I see certain visionaries that just have massive ideas.
 
Chad Johnson: And no T.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: No team.
 
Chad Johnson: No team. Well, I said no T. No tenacity. No tenacity. No enablement. It just falls off.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: That's true. And so actually, the type of visionary that doesn't have someone who's going to take what our team teaches them and implement it is actually frustrating to me.
 
Chad Johnson: I can imagine. Yeah, you're teeing up so much potential.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah, like the other day I told somebody, a visionary, because I had told them three times to do a certain marketing thing. I said, you know what? Let's just call your marketing people right now and bring them on the call. We brought them on. And then I told them.
 
Chad Johnson: You got it done.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah. Because I want to be a hero to the visionary. They don't need their brain full of all kinds of to-dos.
 
Chad Johnson: So interesting, right? Because again, I think prior to Coach, I was a massively frustrated visionary. I think most entrepreneurs come to Coach frustrated visionaries because we're thinking, how did we do all this? We're trying to increase our own capabilities rather than relying on teamwork and all the other things. And maybe not even honestly giving ourselves permission to do the thing that we're gifted at, really called to do. So you see that. And again, it frustrates their entrepreneurial vision.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah. They can't be a hero to their clients.
 
Chad Johnson: That's it.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Because they're getting caught up in the minutia.
 
Chad Johnson: They're getting in the way.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: This is where EOS and Abundance and Genius, this whole ethos, yeah, it's powerful.
 
Chad Johnson: It all synergistically works to free them up. And when it fires, it fires well, and it fires right.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: I almost feel that if someone says they're part of Coach, it's like, all right, there was the filter. They're in.
 
Chad Johnson: They're going to speak the language. They're going to understand the expectations. They're now a right fit.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: We can talk Who Not How.
 
Chad Johnson: Yeah, all of it.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah, we can talk Free Days, the whole thing.
 
Chad Johnson: All of it. Yeah. Well, it's so funny. They immediately respect your time schedule. They respect your team. They respect your need to be. That's beautiful. What a great framework, right?
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Listen, I think this Coach Con thing is amazing. We go to these workshops, and they're big. But 50 people, I mean, to be in a room of 400 people, it's a totally different level.
 
Chad Johnson: Isn't it?
 
Kary Oberbrunner: I'm happy for Coach.
 
Chad Johnson: You know what's so fun? I was at the EOS conference for the first time earlier this month. I've been there. First time.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Wow, first time.
 
Chad Johnson: I'd never been. It was like 2,500 people. And they were telling me just seven years ago it was 200 or so.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: That's crazy.
 
Chad Johnson: But I was going, this has been a phenomenal kickoff.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: I think that the world needs entrepreneurs. We were in that meeting, you did a great job leading that last meeting, but Laura talked about entrepreneurs are the biggest givers. And I think our world would be so much better if entrepreneurs were on fire, unleashed, and that's why I think Coach, I recommend it. My sisters joined, my integrators joined, my Strategic Assistants joined, my son came to Free Zone, he's part of EDGE.
 
Chad Johnson: I'm a big fan. Yeah. I'm the same, as you know.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah, you are.
 
Chad Johnson: This has just been, again, such a special world.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And I got to put a little plug in for your book.
 
Chad Johnson: My book? Come on.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Because, you know, listen, we got to publish your book, How to Win a Heart. How cool was that to tell your story of you courting your wife?
 
Chad Johnson: You know what? You were such a gift. I was one of these authors that would have never gotten it done. I would have never gotten it done. I mean, I had the idea. I wrote and wrote and wrote, right? But then I had this great big mess of words, and it was beautiful in my heart. But yeah, it wasn't so much. And you came in with the key. I mean it, Kary. It was such a gift. And you wouldn't let my perfectionism stand in the way of execution. You got it published. You got it out. And I'm so grateful.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And now young men are reading it.
 
Chad Johnson: It's the only love story that men love to read.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Wow.
 
Chad Johnson: It's the only love story men love to read.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: So yeah. You fill my tank.
 
Chad Johnson: Well, it's what you're doing for a lot of people. So again, Kary, right now, I meant to even ask, you kind of segued in really quick. Give me Igniting Souls, what you do.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: So we say this: We're the only transformational publisher who helps growth-minded, abundant entrepreneurs publish, protect, and promote their IP and turn it into 18 streams of income. That's pretty clear.
 
Chad Johnson: That's really clear.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And I'll tell you what it's done. It's freed us up to say, just the other day, I was on a phone call, and I'm like, you know, you're not the right fit, but I know someone who is. And I said it in a nicer way.
 
Chad Johnson: Absolutely. No.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: You get the point.
 
Chad Johnson: That's it.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: Yeah.
 
Chad Johnson: Which, again, we know that not all money is good money. Not all clients are good clients.
 
Kary Oberbrunner: And the freedom to say no. I heard a quote the other day. It said something like, you wouldn't believe how much money I saved from the deals I didn't do.