53: From Poverty to 7-Figures with Nitin Choda

In this episode, Dave is excited to welcome Nitin Choda. Nitin came to the US as an immigrant in 2002 with zero savings and zero contacts. Through hard work and hustle he transformed into a successful business owner employing 30+ people all over the world and creating several 7-figure businesses.

Even with his first major success, Nitin delayed gratification, and used the success (and capital) of the first business to start his next few businesses instead of 'going out and buying nice things' with his profits. This allowed his businesses to grow even faster and create more wealth.

Nitin is the author of "Total Activation: The 5 Step Fitness Mantra.” It is a dynamic new approach to weight loss and personal wellness. It is a system modeled in three stages of change: Identity, Compare, Integrate (ICI) which has 5 components: Emotional, Physical, Social, Spiritual and Intellectual (EPSSI).

In connection, Nitin has created a skincare and nutrition line - products that work in synergy to activate the best version of you (www.totalactivation.com). Since its launch in April 2014, the products have been purchased by thousands of customers throughout the world – mostly by word of moutn. The company now provides nutrition and skincare products to customers in 7 countries.

Nitin has been featured on CCN, Forbes, the Huffington Post, and a host of other outlets, but the thing that really stood out to Dave when they first met was how humble Nitin was and how much he appreciated and cherished the opportunities given to him.

www.TotalActivation.com

Nitin has a unique and amazing story. He is an immigrant who fought his way to success. He grew up poor in India, but as he says, he has always had an inherent spirit to succeed and was able to network and meet successful people that could help him and that he could learn from. Nitin’s entrepreneurship started an early age by selling coca cola to his class mates and then getting the glass bottles and selling them to be re-used – making less than a penny per bottle. It was during this time that he learned the very important lesson of entrepreneurship in creating value.

How do you create value?

• You have to do something that is unexpected and personalized
• You have to give before you get (The Law of Reciprocity)

What is it about the immigrant edge and the United States that allows people to come with nothing and become successful?

• The US is the most unique country in the world because regardless of who you are, if you are able to demonstrate that you have what it takes and create value for others, you will get rewarded.
• The structure in the US feeds entrepreneurship compared to other countries
  • It is easy to start a business, get credit, and access potential customers
  • For example, in India, it can take months to open up a business
• The gap between the rich and the power is not so large that you can never fill. In other countries, the disparity between the rich in the poor is so vast that they never even have a chance to do something like own a home or gain wealth.
• Immigrants that come from areas like this see this and the abundant opportunity it provides.

At the 18 min mark, Nitin gives a really good example of the differences between countries using currency inflation as an example which leads to a conversation on overall wealth.

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur in today’s world?

• It is easier than ever to be an entrepreneur because of technology
• Money is also not that hard to get (Nitin used a 0% credit card to fund his first business)
• The barriers are more internal and are in 5 areas, EPSSI

Nitin’s Total Activation EPSSI Formula

• Emotional: Emotionally, are you ready for the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship?
• Physical: Are you prepared physically and with your health?
• Social: Do you have the right people around you to support and help you?
• Spiritual: Do you know what really matters? Do you have a strong why?
• Intellectual: Are you growing yourself and expanding your thinking and knowledge so that you can continuously improve?

At the 28 min mark, Nitin talks about how he built his first 7-Figure business and what he learned that can help entrepreneurs and startups.

• Getting to $100-200,000 is hard work and marketing (as long you have a good product and value)
• Getting to $1 million and above is all about hiring – you must have a good process and way of finding the best people that fir your culture and needs
• Scaling is also depending on SOP’s (standard operating procedures and documentation)

There are 3 types of activities that you can spend your time on as an entrepreneur:

1. Low dollar: Answering phones, emails, paying bills, laundry, groceries, etc. When you reach certain levels and you know the value of your time, you will want to outsource these.
2. High dollar: Leading your people, hiring, focusing on working on your business, etc. Things that really make a large impact.
3. High lifetime value: Networking and learning from people more successful, personal growth, financial/retirement planning, etc. These things are important, but not essentially urgent.

The “low dollar” things are typically most urgent and we have to stop ourselves from getting sucked in and focus on the high dollar and lifetime value areas. Your business cannot grow if you are focused on low dollar. Use the 80/20 rule.

At the 36 min mark, Nitin gives his unique thoughts on hiring talent.

At the 38 mark, Nitin talks about his business and his business setup including how he had made everything virtual and how he markets the products. ​

At the 47 min mark, Nitin gives his philosophy on money.

Book recommendations:

• Influence by Robert Chialdini
• Outrageous Advertising by Bill Glaser
• Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz

 

Best Quote: “Life gives to the givers and takes from the takers…”

 

Nitin's Misfit 3:

Be prepared for the sh$t to hit the fan! Be prepared and accept challenges and failure.

Make sure you build the right networks around you so you always have someone to lean on and depend on.

Always, always focus on hiring the best people. One rockstar employee can do more for your company than 3 average employees and cost you less in the long run.