8 Huge Lessons From Rene Lacad’s SMM Success That Will Supercharge Your Mind
How he proved everyone wrong. Twice.
There’s nothing worse than being extremely busy, yet extremely unproductive.
Well, it turns out it’s a genuine dilemma many people — in business especially — face every day. The average employee is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes per day. Engaged employees are more productive, resulting in a 21% increase in profits (Source). It’s even more challenging when your business is at stake.
The struggle is real.
We’re caught up doing things we shouldn’t be doing. I’ll be the first one to admit it. After all, we live in an age where distractions rarely cease to invade our lives. So, is it really our fault?
Well, if we’re aware of it and neglecting it, then yeah, it is our fault.
If I give you 24 hours to complete a project, the time pressure forces you to focus on execution, and you have no choice but to do only the bare essentials. If I give you a week to complete the same task, it’s six days of making a mountain out of a molehill. If I give you two months, God forbid, it becomes a mental monster. The end product of a shorter deadline is almost inevitably of equal or higher quality due to greater focus.” — Timothy Ferriss
That’s what’s referred to as Parkinson’s Law in Timothy Ferriss’s famous book, the 4-hour workweek.
To do more in less time. Sounds appealing. It’s even more so when you see it in action: Rene Lacad, a social media marketing (SMM) business owner and entrepreneur, built a successful online business for the second time in just 90 days, and with no money.
Ow and he documented his entire journey. All of it.
This is the story of how he defied the odds and did what nobody else would dare to do: go through the excruciating journey of building another business just to prove that everyone can do it too, proving that the real enemy is our excuses and stories we tell ourselves, not our circumstances.
But first, how did he do it?
Stick to the end to find out how much money he made with this second business.
The power of social media marketing
“99.5 percent of the people that walk around and say they are a social media expert or guru are clowns. We are going to live through a devastating social media bubble.” — Gary Vayncherchuk.
SMM gets a bad rap. These so-called “clowns”, as Gary called them, are making the whole industry look bad, and the truth of the matter is, it’s not. There are genuine SMM businesses out there — like Rene — that are making decent money and helping businesses thrive.
Today, SMM is unstoppable; it’s growing at unprecedented speed and with no signs of slowing down. Because of Covid-19, nearly 100,000 businesses shut down in the U.S alone. Those that took advantage of SMM services and platforms came up on top. Many of these businesses are realizing the value of social media marketing. As a result, SMM agencies are rising to the occasion to meet businesses’ demands.
At least 91% of US businesses (and growing) use social media for marketing purposes (Statista) — and it’s no surprise. Today, we have over 3.5 billion active social media users. Marketers are always looking for freelancers and entrepreneurs to bring their social media marketing expertise. 75% of marketers say that with social media they’ve increased the exposure of their business, and 90% say they’ve increased traffic (Source).
Anyone, regardless of background, can learn to use social media for their business and also build an SMM agency to help others, and that’s what Rene did.
Is owning an SMM agency saturated?
This is nothing new.
SMM has been around for a long time. Does that mean it’s saturated? Nope. One thing that astonished me was how young a lot of SMM entrepreneurs are. For example, Mossab Ballatif, a Moroccan entrepreneur, built a 7-figure e-commerce business in one year. He became a millionaire at 16.
Let that sink in for a second.
Can you imagine making that much money at 16? What would you do with it? At 16, I played video games, watched TV, and wasted time doing foolish things. We all know it takes years before you get any business going. This kid must have worked on his e-commerce business many years before it generated money. Young entrepreneurs are making more money than they knew what to do with.
Age has nothing to do with it.
Billy Wilson built his social media marketing agency (SMMA) and made 6 figures in 12 months at 20 years old. Now, with his $1500 course “6-figure agency” and his SMMA, he’s scaled his business to 7 figures, making over $84,000 per month. Billy is so confident in his course that he’s created a private Facebook group for students who hit the 6 figure mark. At 23, Billy has already achieved his life’s dream goals.
Jordan Lee, a 27-year-old digital marketing agency owner, nets over $15,000 in profit with his social media marketing services alone. He’s started his business in November 2018, and within 9 months, he was already making $6,000 a month. In 2021, his business is booming. He’s on track for a breakout year that’ll net him his 6 figure goal income. In a nutshell, these guys are crushing it.
I can no longer look at myself in the mirror.
Seriously. What have I been doing with my time? If you ask me, it’s the school system that’s saturated. In contrast, these entrepreneurs are changing the education system. Most of the ones I know dropped out of school (or college) and pursued other endeavors — and done so successfully. Gone are the days when we thought school was everything. Self-education — online courses, training, and mentorship programs — is becoming the new norm.
The rise of online education has been rapidly rising in popularity thanks to the success of thousands of online learners, especially during the pandemic.
I’ve been on all sides of the spectrum: I’m a teacher and entrepreneur, and I was once a student of the educational system. So, it’s important for me to say this: I owe everything to the education system. I wouldn’t be who I am without it, but let’s be honest, it’s flawed, and against the rise of online education, it doesn’t stand a chance.
Those who got in early on social media made a killing. Learning and getting training from a person who’s dominating this space should be a top priority. The real potential to make the big bucks — 5, 6, 7 figures a month, sometimes more — is in getting the right training and mentor.
Someone like Rene Lacad.
So who is he and how did he become successful?
Rene Lacad’s journey to a million dollars
The moment Rene stepped foot in his community college in Mont Sac, he knew this wasn’t the life he wanted. “Everyone seemed drained,” he said. “There was no energy, no hope for the world.” His mum — a single mother and immigrant from the Philipines who has the greatest appreciation for education — later kicked him out of the house for skipping a whole class semester. He broke the news that he wanted to drop out of college and pursue “other things”.
Eventually, Rene’s mum came around and welcomed him back to the house on the condition that he pay rent and get a job — which he did. He washed dishes for $8/hour. Rene disliked the job but loved the freedom that came with it. With the time on his hands, he could search for a more fulfilling job. That’s where he stumbled upon car sales.
He started off as a car washer and made $12/hour. After 6 months of doing that, things picked up when Rene made a request to get into sales. It was a great opportunity to learn about the art of selling, which, unbeknownst to Rene, contributed to his future success as a business owner.
After a year of dabbling in sales, Rene became the top seller in the store. He had the first taste of financial freedom, making around $5000 to $7000 a month. He took his girlfriend to exotic places, had cool vacations, bought a brand new car, and moved out of his mum’s house.
What Rene Lacad did next changed the trajectory of his life
Rene’s journey didn’t stop there. Despite his success as a car seller, Rene wasn’t satisfied just yet. He refused to settle for average, so he spent the majority of his time looking for the next best thing. His focus was more geared towards investments, stocks, real estate, and other ways to make money. Subsequently, this bled into his career, causing him to get fired from his job.
Once again, Rene became jobless. He quickly bounced back and got another car dealership job. But he kept doing what got him fired in the first place: looking for a big break.
Rene’s life took a turn for the better when he saw a commercial on YouTube by Tai Lopez — a marketing genius — whose company was hiring. Rene quickly seized the opportunity. It was a customer service position, so Rene quit his other job knowing full well he was taking a risk, but he was okay with it. The entrepreneur voice inside of him was growing tired of mediocrity.
Turns out, it was the best decision he’s ever made in his life.
The gift of mentorship
Being in a healthy, productive environment helped Rene feel more energized and motivated. For the first time, he was confident he was in the right place. Although he was rarely in contact with Tai Lopez, his mentor, he was right in the center of the lion’s den, where he had access to marketing programs and lessons.
A while later, Rene worked his way up into sales, and then came another major turning point: Tai Lopez called him in the middle of the night and asked him if he wanted to learn marketing.
Rene Lacad joined the big leagues.
He was now working behind the scenes of Tai Lopez’s multi-million dollar company, absorbing and internalizing the secrets of marketing and business: Facebook ads, Google ads, content creation, psychological biases, etc.
How to be a successful failure
Rene’s first business, a social media marketing agency, failed.
Despite his knowledge and experience, it was obvious he had so much more to learn. He refused to quit, so he continued working for Lopez while building a dropshipping business on the side. He was burning the candle at both ends. Luckily, his side business was a success, but the profit he made was inadequate, and thus he felt obliged to close it.
I think we’ve all been there. Sometimes, no matter how hard we work, nothing seems to pan out. Everything we do goes down the drain, and it’s here when we have to remember to lift our heads up and not be rattled by the deafening sound of failure.
Myself, I’ve taken many courses, read many books, and worked long hours, just to see results — any results would’ve been fine. But in the business world, you have to be prepared for the worst. Things always get worse before they get better. That’s just how things go. It’s a long-term game, and it takes one win for things to change. So, I don’t know who needs to hear this, but wherever you’re at your business, don’t be discouraged or defeated. Keep grinding. You got this!
If it weren’t for the risks Rene took and the failures he endured, he would not be the millionaire we know today. Plain and simple. Because the next step he took was a game-changer.
Josh Weber, a film director and one of Rene’s friends, wanted someone to handle the marketing for his wife’s new business. Because of his past failures, Rene didn’t want to do it at first. He thought long and hard until eventually, Josh talked him into it.
And, lo-and-behold, Rene’s SMMA was born and became a massive hit.
Rene made $2,500. More money started rolling in after picking up more and more clients. Rene then left his job with Tai Lopez and became independent. Fast forward to today: he generated over $25 million dollars in sales for his clients. He learned to diversify into other businesses: a service-based business, a physical product business, a personal brand, Amazon shares, and stocks. His assets added up and made him a millionaire.
Now, Rene is his own boss, lives life on his own terms, runs multiple businesses, has dozens of employees, takes care of his mum and family, and is the epitome of a self-made entrepreneur.
8 lessons I learned from Rene’s 90-day challenge
If you were drowning in money and living the dream life, would you ever start from scratch and do it all over again?
Rene did just that.
Now we’re getting to the nitty-gritty of Rene’s journey to a million dollars, and how he applied Parkinson’s Law to manage his time and increase productivity. To make matters harder, Rene deprived himself of sex and alcohol. Also, he spent only $5 a day to prove to his fans and followers (himself as well) that anyone can do the same.
And boy, did he live up to his promises.
Here are all the lessons I learned for building a successful online business:
1. You don’t need money to start a business
“Everyone thinks you need money to start. No more excuses. Start doing research.” — Rene
Unlike many other so-called “social media marketing gurus”, Rene is a person who talks the talk AND walks the walk. In this challenge, he didn’t spend a dime on building a second business, and he still grew it and made sales. The thing is, most people believe that to start a business, you need to be rich, have rich friends, or have money stored before investing it.
Well, it’s all bullshit.
Money CAN help but isn’t obligatory.
Rene spent $5 a day on food, which he was adamant about. He spent no money on ads or other promotional strategies. Rather, he used email marketing, reached out to influencers, DMed them, and followed up with them; some liked the product he sent and thus did the selling and marketing for him. Every strategy he relied on was free of use. No money needed.
2. Manifest anything you want, make a plan, and take action
“The reason most people fail is lack of preparation or not setting the proper foundation. To avoid that, I made a spreadsheet to keep track of everything and give me a clear picture of my daily progress. Side note: I hate spreadsheets.” — Rene
If you’re like me and you enjoy reading personal development books, chances are you know full well about the power of manifestation. However, reading about it is one thing, and observing people do it is another. In theory, it’s one of those things that seems like a joke. It gets a bad rap because most people do it wrong.
Manifestation without goal-setting and execution is as useless as pouring water on sand. Throughout the challenge, I saw Rene plan everything with the utmost accuracy and detail, and this was where Parkinson’s law came in handy. Rene focused on executing the bare essentials, the most important tasks: he created spreadsheets, wrote his strategies on his board, and kept up with emails and DMs with influencers, and those are just the things he revealed on his YouTube channel and TikTok videos.
Planning things to the tee — and allotting time to specific things until completion — shows that you mean business, and you’re not here to play. If you want to grow an online business, you’ve got to treat it like one.
3. The great college rip-off
“I’m a college dropout. I didn’t have a plan and my life turned out great. Pick what you would like to do and build a business around that.” — Rene
Many successful people, including Rene, are big advocates of self-education and online learning. Don’t get it twisted, though. Basic education is still important and nobody is saying you should drop out or quit your job. It’s just that nowadays there are better options.
Think about this: the average college tuition and fees range between $10,000 and $50,000 a year. Business schools, especially, are so expensive that you end up mortgaging your life to pay for the price of admission. Heck, even Google has a plan to disrupt the college degree. According to student loan hero, among the Class of 2019, 69% of college students took out student loans, and they graduated with an average debt of $29,900, including both private and federal debt.
Business schools and college education are sold as one-way tickets to a permanently prosperous and comfortable life. Let’s not fall for that anymore, shall we?
It’s time to normalize learning from people who have real-life experience in a specific industry. And, let’s not forget, the cost of most online courses and programs is ten times cheaper than college tuition and fees, and they usually include refunds and payment plans — something that colleges don’t offer.
4. Content is king
“I don’t know how much I can stress this, but content is king. No matter what you do, producing good content will always be a good investment. The more you have out there, the more eyeballs are on it, and where attention goes, money follows.” — Rene
Don’t you hate it when you post content — videos, articles, SMM posts — and it lands straight at its face? No traction. No likes. No shares. Nothing. I should know, it’s the worst feeling in the world. We’ve all been there, and it’s very common. Yet, the best way to flip that around is to post consistently.
Good content in quantity, compounded over time, brings quality, and the more of it you publish, the more chances you’ll have to get one of your content viral. For that to happen, consistency is the name of the game.
The screenshots above show what 2 years of consistency, hard work, and patience can do.
5. Find a mentor
If you have a mentor who’s making 6 figures, you’ll be lucky if you make 6 figures. If you learn from a guy who’s making millions of dollars, don’t be surprised if in 2 or 3 years you’re making 6 figures. If your mentor is making $100 million, don’t be surprised if you’re making $10 million. Whatever you surround yourself with, that’s always what you’re going to turn into. It’s learning by osmosis.” — Rene
Without Warren Buffett, we wouldn’t have Bill Gates. Without Maya Angelou, we wouldn’t have Oprah Winfrey. Without Tai Lopez, we wouldn’t have Rene Lacad.
He not only found the perfect mentor, but he also spent time with him, learned everything he needed, and absorbed enough knowledge and experience to become a mentor himself.
Find a mentor. Learn from them, follow in their footsteps, and copy/paste everything they did. If you can, get on their radar and be genuinely supportive. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll actually take notice.
6. Businesses are front-loaded
“Businesses are front-loaded. You don’t see results in the beginning, but you have cascading results in the end. They’re like a snowball. You’re running the business up the hill. It’s moving slowly, and then as you push it up the hill, the snowball gets bigger and bigger and bigger, until you hit a tipping point where you push the snowball off and it goes down super fast.”
Usually, when you start a business, things move slowly, which is why many people get frustrated and give up. In the beginning, what happens is you have to work really hard and accept making little to no money. Unless you’re extremely lucky or have valuable resources nobody else has, the chances of making money are slim.
Rene’s second business/brand is less than 2 months old. As of day 51 of the challenge, Rene had been making $2,000 a day with organic traffic. Rene could bring an end to the challenge because he has already proven that you can make money with the internet, a laptop, and a strong burning desire.
Business is a game of chess. All you need is that one breakthrough: the ultimate checkmate.
7. Focus on what you can control
“In order to succeed, you have to embrace yourself completely — your flaws and all. Instead of looking at them as imperfections, you look at them as marks of your wholeness. You don’t have to change who you are. You just have to play the cards you dealt to the best of your ability.” — Rene
In business, when things aren’t going your way, get creative. I saw Rene do this repeatedly. Sometimes, the pressure got to him and he thought about quitting. We’re all humans, after all, but these are the times that count the most. They either make you or break you.
You’ll constantly find unexpected obstacles standing in the way. Rene experienced everything from website bugs, haters depleting his motivation, marketing not converting, to having his Instagram banned for no apparent reason.
Time wasted on trivial matters is detrimental to progress. Play your cards right and only focus on what you can control.
8. Circumstances don’t matter
“People always say stuff like, “Oh take it easy. Don’t work so hard,” but they don’t realize what human beings are capable of. The human mind is the most powerful thing on the planet, and when you push it to the point where it wants to quit, it shows you another level it can go to.” — Rene
No matter what online business you want to start — SMMA, copywriting, Amazon FBA, e-commerce — being an expert is unimportant. You don’t need to be tech or business savvy. You don’t need to be good at computers, nor do you have to be an extrovert to get started (you can grow a business without ever showing your face).
All that is learnable.
Rene admitted he was terrible with computers. Yet, that didn’t stop him to learn and keep growing. Consistency, time, and practice always pay off. When money rolls in, you can hire people and delegate tasks you find overwhelming. That saves you time and allows you to focus on things you’re good at.
What’s standing between you and the life you want is yourself. Circumstances don’t matter. There’s no shame in starting from scratch.
What can you do in the next 90 days?
Rene Lacad became a millionaire with his SMMA and other businesses, and I’ll bet you a million dollars he is going to do it again. I don’t care what anybody says anymore, but he’s done it not once, but twice.
Now, If Rene can generate thousands of dollars a day with a new business he built from the ground up, what’s your excuse? Building a business in less than 365 days sounds reasonable now, doesn’t it?
So how much did Rene make in the 90-day challenge with a new personal brand?
Drumroll, please…!
It’s not a million dollars, but that sure is a lot of cash to make in a short time. Imagine how your life could change with 90 days of extreme focus and hustle.
Can you learn about how to build an SMM business? Can you learn new business skills? Can you become the next 6-figure SMM entrepreneur? Of course you can. If there is one thing I learned from Rene, it’s this: anyone — regardless of circumstances, background, or financial situation — can accomplish whatever they want if they set their minds right.
