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I Built 27 Businesses… Here’s What Actually Works
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In this episode, Ken Freire sits down with serial entrepreneur Rob Patz to unpack decades of experience in media, faith-driven business, and what it really takes to grow a company with purpose. Rob shares raw stories from the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, including moments of uncertainty, breakthroughs, and the role faith has played in guiding his decisions. From practical growth strategies to counterintuitive lessons like giving before receiving, this conversation challenges conventional business thinking and offers a refreshing perspective on scaling with integrity.
Timestamps
• 00:00 – Rob’s entrepreneurial roots and early lessons from childhood
• 03:00 – Transitioning from media employee to business owner
• 06:00 – The real reason Rob took the leap into entrepreneurship
• 09:00 – Facing business crisis and trusting God in uncertainty
• 14:00 – The “sowing” strategy: giving value to grow your network
• 19:00 – Balancing generosity with profitability in business
• 25:00 – Work-life balance struggles and intentional living
• 33:00 – Fast Five: marketing trends, AI, and the future of media
• 37:00 – Legacy, faith, and what truly matters in business
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Transcript
Introduction to Rob Patz
00:00:01
Ken Freire
Welcome back to another episode of Solo Scaled. I am your co-host, Ken Freire, and today i am here with Rob Patz, who is a serial entrepreneur who's been doing this for decades, and he's going to drop some wisdom with us.
00:00:15
Ken Freire
So Rob, welcome to the show, my friend.
00:00:17
Rob Patz
I don't know if I like the decade.
00:00:17
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:00:18
Rob Patz
I got to honest with you, buddy. you were You were going strong and then you came back with the whole decades thing. I i think it's the gray now starting in the unshaved beard thing.
00:00:26
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:00:28
Rob Patz
i think that's what...
00:00:28
Ken Freire
to emphasize I had to emphasize the decades, you know, just so people can...
00:00:31
Rob Patz
The decades part, which is, but I'm thankful, you know, that, and it it's neat that you say that about being a serial entrepreneur in my life.
00:00:32
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:00:39
Rob Patz
I grew up, my dad was a pastor and my mom was, had worked as an engineer, as a time study engineer.
00:00:41
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:00:46
Rob Patz
And when I came along, she left working as as a time study engineer. and and stayed at home with me. And my dad was always one of those people that was an entrepreneur besides being a pastor.
00:00:58
Rob Patz
And so I grew up in a home where businesses besides ministry were connected. And i learned early on that ministry and business go hand in hand, that faith in what we're doing
00:01:10
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:01:12
Rob Patz
And it whether you're a pastor or a business leader, your faith and your your business need to be connected. And that was that was what I learned early. I was like five. my Talk about serial entrepreneur. I was six years old and my my mom would work with my dad in several of the companies they had. And so they would go out to eat.
00:01:32
Rob Patz
So I was six years old and every Saturday I would put a card table at the end of our driveway and I would sell all the toys that I got from every restaurant we went to that week to start making money. That was that was my initial business and I did pretty good at it.
Entrepreneurial Beginnings
00:01:51
Ken Freire
I love it. You know, Rob, that reminds me of my kids that every time they want to do a garage sale, they're just looking for stuff around the house. They're like, wait, how can we make more money? What can we do? Because they see that daddy works from home and daddy makes money and daddy makes does businesses and we have real estate and different things. and they're like,
00:02:08
Ken Freire
I want to be able to learn how to do that. So I'm like constantly coaching them, you know, like, this is how you sell. This is how you negotiate with people, you know, like, especially in the, in the garage sale. like, this is how you negotiate the price.
00:02:19
Ken Freire
They're like, I have to do that in front of them right now. i'm like, yeah. I mean, they could hear the conversation, you know, like, uh, so I'm like, they know it's a seven year old trying to learn how to sell at a garage sale, but this is not about my kids.
00:02:24
Rob Patz
Yeah.
00:02:31
Ken Freire
This is about you, Rob. So,
00:02:33
Rob Patz
Well, no, i love that though, because that's a cool story. Cause I'll tell you this, I love that you're teaching them So in first grade, I was asked to draw a picture for Halloween and I, I made a picture and the teacher got such a laugh. She called my mom.
00:02:46
Rob Patz
It had the hours of operation besides the pumpkin. It had the hours of operation for one of our dry cleaners on it. And that's what I did.
00:02:56
Ken Freire
That's awesome. That's awesome. Okay. So that was way back when, when you were younger. Let's talk about
Journey in Media and Business Evolution
00:03:02
Ken Freire
today. What what is it that you're doing today? so as we get into this conversation, people could have some context of what you do.
00:03:10
Rob Patz
Well, yeah I've been very blessed to spend the last 25 years working in television and radio and working with ministries, a lot of ministries, helping them get to television, to national TV. Our company helps create the content for them, helps them with fundraising, helps them in those areas.
00:03:29
Rob Patz
And so that was that was kind of the... the I left working in radio. I'd worked in Christian radio for a while and left that to launch my own company because I really saw it being something that was important, you know, that there was a need for this. And so started by myself in in my in in in a room by myself, just a very small office. I mean, like so small, you could touch the walls.
00:03:53
Rob Patz
And, and God just really has blessed us. And I think he's blessed me and in in a lot of different ways because of being, it's important to be authentic. It's important to in business. And I, and I'm, I'm sure a lot of people that are listening to this are probably entrepreneurs.
00:04:09
Rob Patz
I would guess. And, and they're dealing with, know, the the everyday grind. And at that same time, I want to tell you this, this is the one thing I learned early on is be authentic with the people that work with you is to be, if you don't know the answer, don't make it up.
00:04:26
Rob Patz
I have a couple of failed stories I could tell you about making up the answer to something I really didn't know because I didn't want you deal with that pressure of wanting to sound like you know it all.
00:04:41
Rob Patz
and you don't, you can, it's okay. If you're early on in something, it is perfectly fine to say, i don't know that answer, but I can find out for you.
00:04:55
Ken Freire
Yeah, that and that's where I find, especially at the beginning, a lot of entrepreneurs get stuck because they're trying to show that they're doing well. I mean, even a great question that i ask all the time, and I could tell people are not being super authentic.
00:05:12
Ken Freire
as if they started a business up like, Hey, how's your business going? They're like, Oh, things things are going great. I'm like, are they?
00:05:18
Rob Patz
Yep. Oh.
00:05:18
Ken Freire
Cause I know there's a lot of speed bumps. i know there's like the marketing process. I know there's a sales process. Like, you know, the people who are doing great. Cause they'll throw a dollar amounts. They're like Oh my gosh, I made a $50,000 deal.
00:05:29
Ken Freire
Or I made a hundred, you know, like they're ecstatic when there are struck and the struggle bus, you know, they're like, Oh, they're talking about other things.
00:05:34
Rob Patz
oh
00:05:38
Ken Freire
So, I'm curious, you talked about you stepping away from working in media to start your own business. What made you decide that? Because a lot of people have a hard time making that leap.
00:05:50
Rob Patz
you for me, I think it was in, and it's somehow never, you're going to get the exclusive because it's the first time I've ever talked about this because I usually give a very pat answer here, but I'm goingnna get raw with you for a second.
00:06:02
Rob Patz
to tell you the truth.
00:06:02
Ken Freire
Oh, I love it. Appreciate it.
00:06:03
Rob Patz
I, I, and the people that I'd worked for in radio were fantastic people. I'm still friends with them today. but it had gotten to a point where I went, i can do what I want to do and make a living at it.
00:06:18
Rob Patz
And I don't need to have somebody else tell me what to do. and And I think being an only child, I grew up being very independent. And that was a tough move then because I grew up that way. and and and how he's having to and And I'm not saying because we all answer to somebody. I don't care how big your company is. There is always somebody just, ladies and gentlemen, if you're solo right now and you're going, Yeah, I can't wait. no I'm not going ever answer to anybody.
00:06:43
Rob Patz
Trust me. There are a ton of people, no matter what level of success you're at, that you have to answer to. And so, but but for me, it was it was just really being authentic.
00:06:54
Rob Patz
I remember a story out of that is before I launched my company, I took my mom and dad to dinner. And they were, of course, both entrepreneurs, business people, and they grilled me through the whole meal. So you're going to do this, but how are you going to do this? And what is the process? And they were, I think, shocked because, you know, yeah I had really I had kind of game plan that I kind of figured this is where they were going to with this. So I had practiced several of my answers. Well, this is what's going to happen.
00:07:23
Rob Patz
And for me, it was it was a it was also a calling. I really felt as a Christian and as a person of faith that this is where God was leading me, that this was that next step. and i was And I told people, and actually just recently had a chance to reconnect with one of the people I'd worked with back then.
00:07:42
Rob Patz
And I said, in my spirit, I felt uncomfortable being there. And I loved media. I love media today. I still do. It's almost all the companies I own have holdings in the media world.
00:07:53
Rob Patz
So it's my world, but I was at a place and it, we were very successful at the, at the company I'd worked with, but I was also feeling like this in my heart that there was more, that there was something really neat for me to do.
00:08:05
Ken Freire
And
00:08:08
Rob Patz
And that was kind of where we went. I went, okay, God, I'm going to take this and and move forward.
Faith in Business Challenges
00:08:14
Rob Patz
and and And I'll tell you this, if you're thinking about this, you're watching or listening to this and you're you're thinking of taking that step, find about four or five people besides your pastor and get them praying with you about it.
00:08:27
Rob Patz
Because seriously, this is, and you can you'll agree with me, when you step out on that edge by yourself, you're like, oh, it's a long way down without any net.
00:08:38
Ken Freire
Oh, yeah. the I use the analogy of the roller coaster. I'm like, this is one of the craziest roller coasters of faith that you're going to go through. Because one moment you're you're high, you're excited, you're like, this is awesome. And then when you go down, you're going down fast and you're like, Lord, where's that W2?
00:08:55
Rob Patz
yeah I will tell you this, and it and it is a very raw story, and and I've been very blessed, but we one of the companies I own was losing was getting ready to lose a contract, and it was it was a significant contract that was going to affect not only me, but but people that work for me.
00:08:57
Ken Freire
the
00:09:14
Rob Patz
And I will tell you that I walked around my house and had a real moment with God. And it was not a thank you, God, for even though I'm losing this contract, it was a, hey, listen, you put me in this position to be successful. And now you're going to pull the rug out from not only my life, but several people that work for me. And they're going to be affected, too. And I'm like, this is not fair, God.
00:09:38
Rob Patz
This is not the moment that I i signed up for, you know, and that's That's it. When you are an entrepreneur, you're, you're always wanting to be positive. You're always wanting to be, you know, up and, you know, ready for the next thing. But there are times where you get like in the, I was deep in the mud.
00:09:56
Rob Patz
I mean, I'll be honest with you, buddy. Like if, if you would have had to like get on the ground, lay flat against the floor to look at me because that's where I was. And I, I seriously got to point. I said, God, what are you doing?
00:10:09
Rob Patz
you know, what's, what's going on here? how did this How did this happen? And i will tell you this, it was it was freeing at the same time because it felt so good to say, I realized at the end of the day, and when I got up from and I literally, I pace, when I pray and pace.
00:10:26
Rob Patz
I'm one of those people, yes.
00:10:27
Ken Freire
Yeah, I walk around a lot too.
00:10:28
Rob Patz
I will a walk, I'm like walking, I'm doing laps throughout my whole house, every room, touching every room and going, okay, God, you've gotten me here. Now, worry where are we going from here? And and it was it was real. I mean, i will tell you that it was an experienced moment with God that was incredible. And I got up from from really being literally on the floor and said, you got this.
00:10:56
Rob Patz
I can't do any more. which is tough for, for entrepreneurs and for business people. When you, you know, you always think, well, i can fix this or i'm I'm going to be able to fix this. But when you stand up and you realize, Hey, it's out of my control.
00:11:10
Rob Patz
The only one that control this is God. God's got this. And I, I stood up and I will tell you, a I had super peace about it. And I'll also tell you this, this is the cool part. and And I have, cause you have to finish the story is God went, okay, I hear you.
00:11:27
Rob Patz
I feel what your, your pain is next morning, that contract, the, the company emailed us back and said, listen, we reconsidered cause they'd just given us the notice that morning.
00:11:38
Rob Patz
I mean, this was literally the same day.
00:11:38
Ken Freire
Oh, man.
00:11:40
Rob Patz
And I'm like, i was like, I was serious about it. And they literally the next morning emailed me back and said, we thought about this. We reconsidered. We just felt in our spirit that we as a company were praying and have decided that we're going to keep you on for at least another year, possibly longer. They're talking five now since that happened. That was two months ago. And literally, it was not one of my highlights. I was literally, i will tell you, I was on the floor crying because...
00:12:13
Rob Patz
When you have a business, when you're an entrepreneur, when you're, it's your, it's, it's a part of who you are. part of, of your life is that. And, and I think the struggle for me was, and, and this, I'm very candid about this is there was a little bit of pride there.
00:12:29
Rob Patz
There was, you know, there's some, there's just a little bit of pride that, Hey, you did this. How did I mess this up? Or what did we do not to deliver? And if, if it was my fault, then God, I'm sorry, but you know, really save this.
00:12:43
Ken Freire
Yeah. And it's fascinating. Again, we're talking, you know, it's crazy how we got into this place in the conversation, but the reality of one, when it comes to your faith and entrepreneurship, so intertwined, the reality is you're, we're going to have those moments where things just feel so hard that you're like, God,
00:13:01
Ken Freire
what are we doing here? i like You said you you want us to get out of the comfort zone, not in the drowning zone. And I feel like I'm drowning. But Rob, for you, man, you're kind of, i don't want to say used to it, but you're like, okay, you have the trust that God is a good God.
00:13:19
Ken Freire
God is a faithful God. God is a loving God. He's got you. He's working in you, right? Like right now you were talking about the pride. He's like, he's working that pride out of you. Walk us through now, like, because you know the character and nature of God, he's using you.
00:13:33
Ken Freire
How has he used you to grow your business? Like what would have been the biggest things to say, man, I'm talking to uh, what I call an expert led business owner, a coach, consultant, service provider. And they're like, I need help.
00:13:46
Ken Freire
I want to grow this. I want to have the time freedom, the financial freedom. I want to take my company from six figures to seven
Sowing into Others without Expectation
00:13:52
Ken Freire
figures. I want to like, they have all these aspirations, but they're stuck. What have been some good strategies that you've used
00:13:59
Rob Patz
to get unstuck kind of thing, or just to be in life. Here's, here's what I'll tell you to grow your business.
00:14:03
Ken Freire
to grow, to grow their business?
00:14:06
Rob Patz
And, and I'm going to, I'm going to, for some people are going to, I got to warn you right now, they're going turn you off. I'm sorry. This going to happen though, but this is a God thing. And it worked for me. So about 15, 16 years, it was 16 years ago right now.
00:14:21
Rob Patz
I was in a hotel and in Memphis, Tennessee, and I was going to speak at an event. And I was, we were doing good. we weren't, we were, we were at my company at that time was doing really great.
00:14:33
Rob Patz
And I, but I, you know, being an entrepreneur, being somebody that's very ultra competitive, I was like, God, I want to, I want more. I want to do more. And God said, that's great. And when we had a great conversation, because when I talked to God, it's not just like one way, it's not just, we have a complete on conversation. And, and I was like, yeah, but I want more. i want to do these things. And he says, start sewing.
00:14:54
Rob Patz
Start sewing in, not not money. doesn't have to be money. See, you almost turned it off, but I wasn't saying money. But I want to sew into other people. So I started sewing into like other businesses.
00:15:05
Rob Patz
Like I would call them up and say, hey, listen, I want to help you. How can I help your business? What can I do for you to make your life easier? And I will tell you this, when I started doing that, I started creating a network of people, of of people that were like...
00:15:21
Rob Patz
went, that guy's a cool dude. I mean, he did this for us. There was no money involved. And I would always make it clear. I'd pick up the phone and I'd call somebody and say, Hey, listen, I want to do this. I'm not charging you anything for this. And I believed that I, and I started saying, I want to sow seeds into what you're doing because here's the reality in life. We're going to live so long there. You know, there's only so many years we're going live, but what seeds that we can sow with the business that God has given us to create wealth for other people.
00:15:52
Rob Patz
And there's a word, naughty word that a lot of Christians don't like, but wealth is a real thing. But what the wealth that he's given us and the opportunities he's given and and I look at wealth in a lot of ways.
00:16:02
Rob Patz
I don't just look at wealth as money. I look at wealth as expertise. Like if I can use the wealth I have of saying, hey, listen, I want to help you with how you do marketing. I want to help you create that next level. How do you go from six to seven? Or how do you do this? Sometimes it's taking a step back and saying, okay, I believe in this. I want i want to help somebody else grow. And yeah and I'll tell you the the story about this. it was So about two years into me starting to do this, I called this guy.
00:16:34
Rob Patz
who I didn't really know. And I said, Hey, listen, i want to do something for you. What can I sew into what you're doing? And he starts laughing. he says, I've been praying that somebody would just call, called me. We talked on the phone and and I helped him with this one little problem problem he was having with marketing and we became great friends.
00:16:51
Rob Patz
His, his company doubled in sales the next year because of the one little thing that, and I hate to call them tricks, but they are, there's marketing tricks that you can do that'll help your company grow.
00:17:02
Rob Patz
And he sent me five clients that next year that were more than what he doubled his company. And it was because he went, Hey, this guy's a good dude.
00:17:15
Rob Patz
This is where you want to go. So if you're, whatever it is you're doing is, and and it doesn't have to be to another business person, but so into your community, I'm a wholehearted believer as Christians, we need to be active in our community.
00:17:29
Rob Patz
But those are, those are places that I look at and I tell my staff that, Hey, listen, if we see something and it's funny because one of my, my VPs will call and go, Hey, listen, there's this company. I love what they're doing. They can't afford to use us.
00:17:43
Rob Patz
Can we give them this for free? So it becomes a reset in the company mindset that we're Not everything that we do has to, first of all, relate to money. It relates to the people that we're working with and the money always comes.
00:17:59
Rob Patz
And, and, and I, a friend of mine told me this is don't, don't chase the money, chase your dreams and the money will come.
00:18:08
Ken Freire
And that right there is the counterintuitive part where people are like, oh my gosh, you just gave away your stuff for free. You're giving away time and resources. And and sometimes in a company, it's one thing if you're giving your time, right? You're like, oh, this is my personal time. But when you start putting like your employees time, you're like, I'm paying them to either bring in money or fulfill, you know, product fulfillment. Now it's like, no, they're going to go do that for free.
00:18:35
Ken Freire
I love how you're saying that because you are walking the walk of I'm sowing seeds. I'm networking to bless people, not to be blessed. And when you're blessing those individuals, man, God is like, hey, I'm going God's rewarding you with spiritual blessings.
00:18:44
Rob Patz
Yep.
00:18:50
Ken Freire
But at the same time, there's reciprocity from people. They're like, man, Rob's a great guy. want to do this. So for those who are listening to this, I want you to be mindful. that you can be the same person. Don't have a scarcity mindset where all of a sudden you feel like, oh man, I got to hold this tight or I got to not trust the Lord.
Balancing Giving and Earning as an Entrepreneur
00:19:07
Ken Freire
Now, I do have a question for you, Rob.
00:19:09
Ken Freire
There are some entrepreneurs and some people who might be listening to this. They're like, I'm going to sow seeds. i'm so I'm sowing the whole Amazon rainforest and they give everything for free all the time. At what point do they either shift or have the discernment to say, man, I need to start charging something because I got to feed my family?
00:19:29
Rob Patz
Well, and and I don't want to, yeah, please please don't take it that you give everything away. But be be in prayer and discernment because, like you said, you have to but you have to make a living. and And that is always the uncomfortable statement that you have to make with people is, and the Bible talks about it, that you're worth something for whatever it is you're doing.
00:19:52
Rob Patz
And, and being a pastor kid, I just totally mangled that, but you look it up. It's in the Bible somewhere. but you know, it, you, you still have to, and, and we were very mindful.
00:20:02
Rob Patz
So we, we don't do like, I mean, I'm just, just so that a hundred people don't immediately email me and go, Hey, listen, I'd like you to help me with this. We are very mindful and we pray over the companies we work with and do that and give that to them.
00:20:15
Rob Patz
And you have to do the same, but
00:20:17
Ken Freire
Thank you.
00:20:17
Rob Patz
If God starts nudging you and you hear that voice, you got to do it. Even when it feels uncomfortable. And like you said, there are times where for us, it's investing not just my time, it's investing my team's time into it. And that's where it can get stressful. And you can go, huh.
00:20:35
Rob Patz
and And it's not always going to be perfect. And you can't go into this. and and And I think this just like tithing, there are so many people that, well, I gave $100 to God last week and and I didn't get $1,000 back.
00:20:46
Rob Patz
Well, that's not that's not even realistic. Sometimes you're going to do in this same token you're going to give to somebody and you may not get something back right away.
00:20:56
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:20:56
Rob Patz
it And it may it may come indirectly. You may never know that the gift that you gave to somebody else becomes the gift to you through us a complete different network or through their network and that you may never know.
00:21:13
Rob Patz
So I think it has you have to be very careful. Don't give everything away. I'm a firm believer in getting paid. i started when I was six. but you also have to, you know, and and I think for everyone and you and I are just having this great conversation for everyone. It's, it's their level of comfort on that.
00:21:30
Rob Patz
It has to be, hey, listen, I want to do, and especially as pastor's kids, we do, i seriously, I could be at church seven days a week volunteering for something. So you have to be careful and mindful.
00:21:40
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:21:41
Rob Patz
and And I got married later in life. So I've been mindful of the fact that now I have a wife and I have to say, you know, there's there's those responsibilities and you have all of these things. So you got to be mindful and you still, like you said, you got to put a page there.
00:21:56
Rob Patz
unfortunately and and i'll tell you this and it's always funny as i say unfortunately my credit card company still wants me to pay them even if i give stuff away uh the electric company they they they don't go wow rob you're such a cool dude for doing all that neat stuff so we'll waive your bill this month you know and they don't so you've got to still have that mentality and that's
00:22:14
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:22:18
Rob Patz
But I think, and especially as Christians and entrepreneurs, we we live this lifestyle of it's a grind. You know, that that was such the cliche statement of the last 10 years. oh I'm just grinding. What are you grinding? I want to know what, the but you've got to be able to balance.
00:22:38
Rob Patz
Everything has to be a balance. And I want to say this because I am, I'm a serial entrepreneur. I can work till midnight every night.
00:22:44
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:22:45
Rob Patz
It's not healthy. it It isn't a good thing. Don't, don't take that as my flex because my staff realizes now they can get emails at two o'clock in the morning. I'll be laying in bed going,
00:22:58
Rob Patz
Hey guys, we need to find out about this, you know, and, and it's not good. So you got to figure the life balance out. And, and that I think kind of comes back to a balance with this. If you see a company or, and we start, when we started, we took one company every month and we would call on them or they would, A lot of times they would call on us and say, you know, in in and working in a faith based world like we do, you hear it and you can tell it right away. You go, OK, I know they can't afford their budgets, not in our in our league as far as what we charge.
00:23:31
Rob Patz
but just have discernment and it doesn't it doesn't have to be anything big like i told you about this one gentleman i gave him a nugget it took 10 minutes it was not like heavy lifting i went if you do this with your social and which social media was a lot younger in 2011 uh if you do this with your social media you'll increase your mailing list you'll increase all of these things that's all you have to do it was a 10 minute conversation
00:23:34
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:23:56
Rob Patz
We literally did it. I was, this is when I lived in Seattle. We did it at a Starbucks. We sat across from each other. i showed him the, the idea and the principle of how to do it. He had staff, he had a great team and, and he did it and he accomplished it. And I'll tell you this.
00:24:12
Rob Patz
last time I saw him, he was with his wife. We were at a grocery store and he bragged to his wife that we doubled his business in a year. with that one little trick. So it doesn't have to be like, you know, I don't want you to sign up for like 20 hours of fractional CEO for some company for free. Don't do that.
00:24:30
Rob Patz
But, but where you see your, your need go there.
00:24:31
Ken Freire
so
00:24:34
Ken Freire
Yeah. So for you you, you talked about work-life balance and knowing that you're like, I need a little bit more of that. What are the things that you're working on to try to get work-life balance?
Work-Life Balance Strategies
00:24:48
Rob Patz
It is a struggle. It is it is a real struggle. My wife and I are are both... both very driven. And so it's it's very funny. But what we've done is become intentional now with our time, with with what she does for a living and what I do.
00:25:05
Rob Patz
We now block off Friday afternoon. So Friday afternoons, we go together and are intentional together and have fun. Now, our big thing is we love to travel.
00:25:17
Rob Patz
So we'll travel like we went to Savannah. We go to different places throughout the year. And and we do that where it's intentional that we are going there not to work, which is super funny because we also own a Christian television network.
00:25:32
Rob Patz
And so we go to like Savannah and we shoot television. And so it's still work, but we justified it's not our real work. It's kind of our, our secondary work, but it's still work.
00:25:42
Ken Freire
It's your fun hobby.
00:25:43
Rob Patz
It it's yeah, it's, it's an expensive hobby. So, but yeah, it's, you have to be intentional and especially if you're married because
00:25:48
Ken Freire
Oh, that's,
00:25:54
Rob Patz
you can't lose focus. It's great. Every company, and I'll tell you, like, like he said, i've I'm a serial entrepreneur. I've probably, i was thinking when you said that I've probably owned 27, 28 companies at different times in my life that I've flipped and sold and, you know, rebooted.
00:26:13
Rob Patz
But you have to also realize that something much more, there there are two things that I find much more valuable. My walk in my time with God, and my wife.
00:26:23
Rob Patz
And it is in that order. You've got if you as a Christian and an entrepreneur, you are going to feel more attacked. You're going to feel it strips you of everything. If you do not have good self-esteem,
00:26:37
Rob Patz
you better start praying now because you're going to get hit in the face like almost every week. And the nose hurt.
00:26:42
Ken Freire
Thank you.
00:26:43
Rob Patz
I'm I'll tell you that the nose still hurt. I'm like, and you're like, you get to a point where you're like that. No, you think it's a yes. And now I've i've stopped doing this. i used to tell my wife in the bag.
00:26:56
Rob Patz
I don't in the bag anymore. Cause it's not, cause you'll, they'll come back the next week and go, no. And you're like, how could that be a no That was so good. it was like in the, in the energy in the room was amazing and you got it, but you do, you have to really understand that, business is tough.
00:27:13
Rob Patz
It will make you stronger. now in And I'll tell you this for me, my journey as an entrepreneur has made me stronger in my faith.
00:27:24
Rob Patz
And people, people usually say it's the other way around, but I'll tell you this, it's true that I have seen God move so much in my business that how can I doubt what he's done?
00:27:35
Rob Patz
How, you know, in, in everything, cause you know, his hand is upon it. and And I'll tell you this because people go, well, that's easy when you're successful. Yeah. God's hand. No, I've seen when I've really seen God's hand is when we were going, huh,
00:27:52
Rob Patz
We got to pay the power bill. We've got insurance for the building. We have this happening. That's when God really showed up. It wasn't when it was successful or when things were successful. It was when we were in the, in the,
00:28:05
Ken Freire
In the red.
00:28:06
Rob Patz
nitty gritty part of the business.
00:28:07
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:28:08
Rob Patz
That's when he was there. And when you knew it was nothing you could do, i don't care how smart you think you are. I don't care how clever your plan is. i don't how, if you have the million dollar pitch deck, none of those things matter.
00:28:22
Rob Patz
It is the true hand of God upon what you're doing, because I am not that smart. I will tell you, I, you can ask any of my teachers during school. It was like, he has abilities and talents, but he just really doesn't pay attention. I don't.
00:28:39
Rob Patz
and And it's, it's funny that, that, that happens, but don't,
00:28:42
Ken Freire
I think you'd tell me I'd be too busy talking.
00:28:44
Rob Patz
Yes, I was always, the he's a he's, and it it was funny because he'd be like, he's going to make a great communicator.
00:28:44
Ken Freire
but
00:28:50
Rob Patz
And I was like, yeah, that's exactly, which is super funny because you look back then after that, when I went to school, I went to school, originally I was going to get an international finance degree.
00:29:01
Rob Patz
That was where I was going because I wanted to work in the banking world. And guy went, no, that's not it. You're going to be a broadcast journalist major. And that's what you're going to do. And you're going to communicate on that level.
00:29:11
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:29:11
Rob Patz
and And that's it
00:29:13
Ken Freire
And it's it's fascinating how God has used you, Rob, in so many different ways. And the one thing I want people to take away from all those stories before we wrap up and do the fast five here is how you thought you were going to go one direction, but there's been a through line throughout this whole conversation I don't want people to miss is that you have been trying to be as obedient as possible.
00:29:36
Ken Freire
to the audience of one. you know Earlier you were like, we all have an audience. We all have someone that we report to. And for Christians, we report to God.
Guidance and Success: A Mother's Advice
00:29:43
Ken Freire
we sub submit We're submissive under God. And i think about that for you and just like, you have been so submissive under him and saying, God, what is it that you want me to do next? You want me to do this? You want me to discern, should I give money to this person? You want me to discern if I should sow into this business? What is it that you want me to do? And for many of you who are listening to this, sometimes you just need to stop.
00:30:05
Ken Freire
slow down, ask the Holy Spirit, and just be obedient. Like it could be that simple, but simplicity is also really difficult, is what I'm hearing you say.
00:30:17
Rob Patz
Oh, that is so difficult to, to slow down. and and for, and I think especially like when I started, going to be really honest with you. When I started, i worked so hard because it just, I wanted this to succeed. And it was, and there were times and my mom who was very successful entrepreneur herself,
00:30:39
Rob Patz
she took me to lunch about three years into my company. So I was in my, my mid twenties, late, late, late to mid twenties. And she sat me down and she said, Rob, you got to stop focusing on the success part and focusing on the God part.
00:30:54
Rob Patz
And I went, huh? And she said, What does God want you to do when when you're doing this? Are you praying that God gives you direction? and and then when you're praying that, are you listening?
00:31:05
Rob Patz
And when you're, you because it's always easy to say, God bless my business, God grow my business. But are you listening to what he's saying to grow your business? And so that one that was the the simple, it is hard for me to slow down. And I'll be very honest with you.
00:31:19
Rob Patz
i am still in in in that's a hard place. I will, my wife will laugh. We'll be out to dinner. And all of a sudden she'll see me peeking at the email on my phone and she'll go, you just can't, you can't stop. And I'm like, I can't stop, man There's a possibility.
00:31:35
Rob Patz
There's a, this could be a good contract. And I'm over there, you know, we're ordering bread and I'm like, just give me some, you know, so, but you,
00:31:42
Ken Freire
You're like, one more minute, one more minute.
00:31:43
Rob Patz
yeah i just yeah or Or my big thing now is voice text, which you can't do in a fancy restaurant. Just so you know, if you're listening or watching, just a note from me to you, save you a minute. If it's a really fancy restaurant, don't whip out the voice text on your phone because that thing makes the loudest noise. And I'm saying this from experience, especially if you have an Apple product, when it goes boop, boop like that, that in a room that is very quiet and all you hear is clinking dishes is going to sound like a beacon.
00:32:14
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:32:14
Rob Patz
siren going off in the middle of the, and you're like, and my wife's looking at me like, what did you do? I'm like, sorry, I was going to voice text that.
Business Trends and Legacy
00:32:23
Ken Freire
Well, Rob, you and i I, think, could talk for hours on business and and and scaling and listening to the Holy Spirit. But I want to transition to our fast five. As I told you right before the recording, I'm doing this expert-led business trend report.
00:32:36
Ken Freire
And I'm asking everyone this. And my goal is to interview 110 businesses, business owners on what's working, what's not working for them. So here are the five questions that I want to ask you.
00:32:47
Ken Freire
Question number one and quick, quick answers, like 20 seconds, right?
00:32:50
Rob Patz
Okay.
00:32:52
Ken Freire
What's something in your business you're experimenting with right now?
00:32:55
Rob Patz
We are currently working harder to develop our text sales. How, how, when people get text messages, how are they opening them?
00:33:02
Ken Freire
Okay.
00:33:05
Rob Patz
Because it's still one of the great areas that you can market to. And so we're looking at trends and how people open their, our, our text messages. That's, that's really it.
00:33:17
Ken Freire
Love it. Okay. Question number two, what part of your business feels the most influx or like, you're like, this is a weak area that I need to keep working on.
00:33:25
Rob Patz
Oh, that's a great question. For me, letting go. For me personally, letting go in business and letting my team who are great people run, i think for a business in general is really look, the thing that I want people to see more of is transparency.
00:33:45
Rob Patz
I want people to see in our business, a real transparency of, Hey, these are the good things.
00:33:45
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:33:50
Rob Patz
Like you said, you know, instead of saying business is good, i want people to say, listen, this is what Rob did. These are the things that, that that company has done.
00:34:00
Rob Patz
It's not just a blanket. So transparency, I would say as a, as a business.
00:34:05
Ken Freire
Okay, question number three. What's a goal you're building toward this year that you're really excited about?
00:34:12
Rob Patz
We are in the process of doing some products that will be our own inside of apps. And that's our big thing. We're working to really create some programming that not only would be good for us as a company, but that we can then sell to others.
00:34:32
Rob Patz
And so that's, that's the one area that we've been working in and and really, you know, everybody, The world as we know it is going app driven. Everything is going to be app driven. So we're hoping this technology helps ministries and media companies.
00:34:47
Ken Freire
Praise God. All right. Question number four. Where do you see the media industry shifting and how are you preparing for it?
00:34:54
Rob Patz
It's shifting. It's dramatically shifting over the 25 years I've been a part of it. We are going to see more and more creators, more and more people starting their own thing, their own podcast, their own television shows, their own radio shows, their own any anything in that world.
00:35:15
Rob Patz
and And what we're also seeing at the same time is the decrease in what we call, you know, old style television, which is terrestrial based TV, TV in general, cable, same thing. You're seeing the lowest numbers in history for cable television in the last two years, they have dramatically gone down. And what used to be considered,
00:35:42
Rob Patz
bad numbers are now considered good numbers. And so you're going to see everyone have some, if it's a desire in your heart to create, to be a creator, you're going to have a time and being a creator, they, they, and whoever they are, I don't know them.
00:35:45
Ken Freire
Hmm.
00:36:00
Rob Patz
They say that in the next five years, more millionaires will be created people. you know, creating podcasts and doing those things because the world is open to it.
00:36:14
Rob Patz
It's, it's what we used to call on when I worked in radio was called on-demand audio. That's how old that was.
00:36:21
Ken Freire
yeah
00:36:21
Rob Patz
was long time ago. Look that up, ladies and gentlemen, circa 2005. completely.
00:36:26
Ken Freire
Yeah. Well, let me add this. I typically don't, don't add this, but I think with the age of ai it's going to exponentially grow the creator economy as well.
00:36:35
Rob Patz
oh complete
00:36:36
Ken Freire
Like, and the ease of it. I mean, even for like our clients where we do, we do a lot of podcasting and we talk about being AI driven podcast, something that used to take a team two weeks to do.
00:36:47
Ken Freire
We now could from pre-production to post-production, get a podcast up in an hour and a half, you know?
00:36:52
Rob Patz
Oh, completely. Yeah. You're, we used to per for program that we worked on for television. It used to take seven people and now takes two.
00:37:02
Ken Freire
Yeah, that's incredible that's that's incredible to think about. Okay, last question.
00:37:06
Rob Patz
Yeah.
00:37:07
Ken Freire
What's the legacy that you want to leave behind?
00:37:10
Rob Patz
Oh, that's a great one. I love that question. and what I really want, i what I want people to say about me is that I was first and foremost, a man of faith. a man who loved God so much that all the other stuff just kind of faded into the background.
00:37:24
Rob Patz
But two, I want to leave the legacy of being a giver in business.
00:37:31
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:37:32
Rob Patz
So many people in business are takers. Very few people are givers. And I want to be known as a giver in business. And I want to be known as a good friend. I think that we have...
00:37:43
Rob Patz
we have as a society forgotten what it's like to have a community. There's nothing more important in life than having a community of people that you can call on or that you can cut up with or that you can just be yourself with that kind of centers you and especially faith driven people like you and I It's good to have that godly guy that you can call and say, hey, listen, I'm struggling with this. This is this is what's happening.
00:38:10
Rob Patz
Or even, hey, listen, this is what I've got coming up. How would you do this? And can you pray with me about this? So those are the things I do. I want i want i want people not not as much about the legacy of my media stuff that I've done, but I want them to be that that I really had an amazing faith and that my faith drove what my business did.
00:38:32
Ken Freire
Amen. Amen. Thank you, Rob, so much for that. As people listen to this, what's the best way for them to connect with you? if They're like, man, I really appreciate what Rob does. And they might have a Christian company and they're like, I need someone to run media for me.
00:38:48
Ken Freire
What's the best way to contact you?
00:38:49
Rob Patz
Easiest way and the best way to get me is on LinkedIn. Just find me Rob Pat's on LinkedIn.
00:38:52
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:38:54
Rob Patz
I'm there all the time. I live on there. That's that's where where I was sending the voice text to. And had I had a had a guy reach out to me and I was like, I got to take care of this. Yes, this is an expensive dinner.
00:39:05
Rob Patz
yeah I was like, it was justifying. I was like, Hey, listen, if this guy signs up for the first month, I pay him for this dinner and everybody else's dinner around here. So I, you know, but no, the easiest way to get me is on LinkedIn. i check it every couple of minutes. This is probably the longest today. i have not checked my LinkedIn.
00:39:23
Rob Patz
So check, you can find me on LinkedIn. I'm always there. And that's, it's the best way to get in touch with me.
00:39:30
Ken Freire
I love it. i was like Rob, thank you so much for your years of wisdom from an entrepreneur who has been through all the stages and just to just ground us again on biblical truth of just like, hey, sometimes we've got to listen. Sometimes we've got to be obedient. We've got to be giving. Like it's almost like the foundations. So I appreciate that. i appreciate what you're doing. And for those of you who are listening, go reach out to Rob. It's Rob P-A-T-Z,
00:39:58
Ken Freire
And you can find him on LinkedIn and Facebook. I mean, I'm pretty sure as a media company, you're all over the place. Go reach out to him. That stuff will be on the show notes and then Abundant TV will be there as well.
00:40:09
Rob Patz
Awesome. Thank you, sir. This has been an honor.
00:40:11
Ken Freire
Yeah. Thank you, man. Thank you for being here. And for those of you who are listening, I hope you guys have a great day and God bless.