Doin' The Thing w/ Dillan Taylor

Pro Bono Clients & Messy Beginnings - Behind Grindstone #1 | 059

Episode 1 of "Behind Grindstone."Dillan (CEO of Grindstone) and Colby (Head Coach of Grindstone) sit down and have their first-ever recorded debriefing of how they started the company. The goal is to track their journey, remember the hard times, and share all the mistakes and lessons as they try to scale Grindstone.They discuss: the origin story of Grindstone, why accountability coaching works, starting with pro bono clients, learning to work as a team, celebrating small wins, handling problems as growth opportunities, why building a business is like eating glass, and much more.•••0:00 intro2:24 why Dillan & Colby recorded this4:27 defining a business through its problems6:28 the idea for Grindstone17:07 the power of accountability19:40 benefits of having a team21:40 getting your first clients (Alex Hormozi style)32:18 first paid clients39:26 entrepreneurship is “eating glass”46:06 first $197 client moment51:33 reflections and what’s next

Interviewing the CEO of the Stoke Twins (w/ Mario Joos) | 058

Dillan interviews Mario Joos.Mario is the CEO of the Stokes Twins and founder of Brightrock, a research and consulting company helping creators grow strategically. He previously worked on the MrBeast team and now helps creators scale through data, systems, and hiring.They discuss: the controversy around the Stokes Twins, how creators should think about copying versus inspiration, building a team to scale faster, how the YouTube algorithm actually works, outsourcing and hiring globally, the future of AI in content, and much more.Mario's links...Website: https://brightrock.com/index.htmlTwitter / X: https://x.com/MarioJoossYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mariojoos/•••Follow Dillan on the interwebs...Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletterApply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/ •••0:00 intro1:13 why Mario became CEO of the Stokes Twins2:25 Stokes Twins controversy12:23 how to survive controversy15:31 growth, mistakes, and creator redemption20:23 running 2 companies at once24:26 10x is easier than 2x32:06 advice for creators hiring for the first time37:17 on paying less for overseas work41:37 the "algorithm" explained53:20 Mario's YouTube homepage55:40 new rules for AI & YouTube monetization1:00:12 music & sound effects1:02:22 changing your niche1:13:07 hooks1:15:25 outros1:18:00 stakes & storytelling1:21:45 attention span1:26:36 what's getting easier / harder?1:29:28 Mario's hottest take1:33:38 Mario's favorite creator1:34:56 what he sacrifices1:36:16 Mario's #1 piece of advice1:38:23 bye bye bye

How He Turned a Layoff Into a Full-Time Creator Career (w/ Josh Cirre) | 057

Dillan interviews Josh Cirre.Josh is a software developer, content creator, and former actor who blends his creative background with his technical skills to help others navigate web development and creator life. His YouTube channel shares developer insights, Laravel tutorials, and his journey balancing creativity, fatherhood, and a full-time job.They discuss: combining creativity with tech, getting fired and starting a YouTube channel, building an audience around Laravel, how to balance ambition with reality, why repeatability matters more than perfection, niching too early, and much more.Josh's links...Website: https://www.joshcirre.com/Twitter / X: https://x.com/joshcirre/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joshcirre•••Follow Dillan on the interwebs...Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletterApply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/ •••0:00 intro0:53 what "keep creating" means4:32 the start of Josh's creative career6:51 how tech entered his life9:27 figuring out what to do16:50 getting laid off with 2 kids26:04 Josh's first YouTube video36:00 asking for $139:59 what is work to others, but play to you?45:33 ambition vs. what is repeatable?56:05 to niche down or not to niche down?1:07:59 how Dillan & Josh met1:09:30 what's getting easier, what's getting harder?1:16:53 #1 lesson Josh learned the hard way1:19:09 a belief Josh has that most disagree with1:25:11 Josh's favorite creator1:27:37 what Josh has sacrificed & not sacrificed1:30:03 bye bye bye

Building a $100k/Month Business Working 3 Hours a Day (w/ Bryan Ng) | 056

Dillan interviews Bryan Ng.Bryan is the founder of Viral Bangers, a YouTube scriptwriting agency helping education creators make content that actually gets watched. His videos and newsletter break down viewer psychology, storytelling, ideal video structure, and virality.They discuss: how video games train you to win in business, building a life of total freedom, the mindset behind Bryan’s viral scriptwriting course, how to create content people trust, why good AI writing is still mid, and much more.Bryan's links...Website: https://www.viralbangers.com/Twitter / X: https://x.com/boomerrbryanYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@boomerrbryan•••Follow Dillan on the interwebs...Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletterApply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/ •••0:00 Intro0:50 How video games teach business6:09 Designing a business for autonomy16:19 The downside of solo travel26:38 Can you get freedom without grinding?34:49 Writing vs idea generation38:20 AI can’t write great scripts42:59 The YouTube course that changed his life50:13 Advice for educators building a free course53:40 You only need 1,000 true fans56:22 How YouTube changed his business1:02:24 Good selling vs bad selling1:08:55 Breaking down Bryan's business1:13:41 Rapid-fire questions1:23:14 Bye bye bye

Making Food Videos in New York City Changed His Life (w/ Jon Barr) | 055

Dillan interviews Jon Barr.Jon is a travel and food content creator with nearly 600k subscribers on YouTube. His channel began as "Here Be Barr"—focused on New York guides—but has evolved into a personal brand built around food, storytelling, and high-quality production.They discuss: the transition from niche to personal brand, how he revamped his thumbnails, focus, and team, the revenue breakdown of his content business, why short-form sponsorships are outperforming long-form, how creators can stay present while filming, his advice for creators who want to pivot their content, and much more.•••Jon's links...YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HereBeBarrInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/here.be.barr/•••Follow Dillan on the interwebs...Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletterApply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/ •••0:00 Intro0:51 Why Jon changed his channel name3:53 How Jon's branding has improved7:02 Behind-the-scenes of Jon’s workflow13:30 How to pivot content successfully18:01 Getting comfortable on camera24:00 The power of telling your story27:10 Jon’s revenue breakdown38:07 Rapid fire Q&A48:21 Bye bye bye