IAM476- Co-founder and Financial Advisor Teaches on The Stock Market

Co-founder of Stock Sharks – Education, Alerts, and Coaching program. Just recently launched Stock Sharks News www.stocksharksnews.com which is a media website for business news. Future projects include Never Benched: Sports Gambling Social Media platform on the blockchain.

• CEO Hack: Reading a lot of books and listening to podcasts
• CEO Nugget: Know when to cut your losses and move on
• CEO Defined: Leadership and building rapport

Website: http://www.stocksharksalerts.com/

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/StockSharks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stocksharks/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/neverbenchedsports/

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I am CEO podcast I have a very special guest on the show today Sherez Ali of Stock Sharks sure as it's awesome to have you on the show.

Sherez Ali 0:38

It's awesome to be here. Thanks, Gresham. I appreciate your time taking the time out to do this podcast with me.

Gresham Harkless 0:43

No problem. Appreciate you for having us on the show and for taking some time for us. What I wanted to do was read a little bit more about Sherez so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. He's the co-founder of Stock Sharks, which is an education alerts and coaching program just recently launched Stock Sharks News, which is at stocksharksnews.com, which is a news media site for business news. Future projects include never-bench sports, gambling, and social media platforms on the blockchain. Sherez, it's awesome to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Sherez Ali 1:15

Yeah, I am. Let's do this. Let's make it happen.

Gresham Harkless 1:18

So just start everything off. I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. When did you get started with the business?

Sherez Ali 1:24

Sounds good. Actually, I've been in business since I was 16 years old, 16 years in my 20s, I was involved heavily with nightclub restaurants, and sports lounges in those 20s, I had my ups and I had a really rough down and decided to get into a business without much counts payables high leases, got into real estate, got back on my feet with real estate and then started getting back into other businesses. That's where I came up with Stock Sharks. Stock Sharks came about was I was actually looking at financial advising to invest my money.

So I was meeting a lot of financial advisors across Canada. One thing I realized is my response was a little bit higher. But I realized talking to financial advisors, that they knew how to take your money, but they didn't know how to manage your money, they would put it in these systems and have other analyses kind of manage your money in these random portfolios, what we called mutual funds, which in the States is more like ETFs. It wasn't something that was exciting. It wasn't something I was 26. And I wanted to really learn about the stock market. What happened was I met a guy named Jr Sylvester, and he's my partner in Stock Sharks.

We realized, right, he taught me about the stock market, the really nitty gritty about the stock market stuff you don't actually learn in school. What happened was it just kind of by fluke, we were making trades of obviously a bull market, we were making some money and our friends were like, well, you guys know what the stock market is? How about we start giving you some money? What happened with that was we started an Instagram page, and once again, it started getting a lot of followers. Now we're at around 210,000 followers.

We realize, you know, the education in North America, across the world, the formal education system is not what it was not what you need now, to progress in life and in business. So we started Stock Sharks, to teach people about the stock market, to educate them with video lessons, audio lessons and webinars, and blogs. And that's how the company came about.

So it's been a blessing. We're learning what's on a day-by-day basis, we have members across the world last four were from Istanbul, Italy, Israel, and New York. We're learning from other traders as they specialize in their own niches. Where it's just been a blessing. It's so cool that the world is so connected now. Like, we're doing, I'm in Canada, and you're in Washington. 10 years ago, my parents had a call back home using a calling card, you know, so, the world's changed. And it's just pretty awesome how the world is connected now.

Gresham Harkless 3:53

Yeah, it is definitely possible. Definitely a beautiful thing. If years ago, we would probably be writing letters back and forth. They'd be like a published profile, but we're actually doing this live now. So that's pretty awesome that we're able to kind of make that happen. So I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper. definitely sounds like you're an entrepreneurial soul. You have a lot of ventures and things that you worked on, he had that DNA, but I wanted to hear a little bit more about stock sharks. Can you take us through exactly how it works?

Sherez Ali 4:17

For sure, so right now we are still in the startup phase. So 420 bucks American a month, you sign up and you get the education, the curriculum. So a lot of webinars, a lot of Skype dates with me and my partner, and then at the same time, you get the alerts. Now, a lot of guys who have been trained for a while join us just for the alerts. We specialize and when I say we mean my partner, we specialize in swing trades and long-term trades.

We do a lot of research on the companies we study their earnings reports who's on the board where the competition is along with the industry and where that industry is going to be 10 years from now a lot of homework goes into these alerts, along with we see what other hedge funds private equity that are picking up the stock as well along with the banks, so and then from there, we would alert it to our members now we have members from Goldman Sachs Pay Pal, cute hedge funds across the world, which is awesome.

So these guys are just in it for the alerts now saying that there's a lot of members with an appetite for risk and where they actually put out their own alerts as well. So you know, we'll do the research on their alerts. A lot of guys in our group specialize in day trading to biotech tech cybersecurity, which is a popular one, options ETS, pre IPOs. A lot of guys in Vancouver, Canada are into the cannabis industry. So they're taking companies public, so we're getting an idea and knowledge in that field, which I have no idea about.

So we're learning from them. Then along with options. About five weeks ago, one of our 21-year-old members turned 10 grand into 50 grand on a beyond the meat call, you know, beyond the meat, that whole plant-based plant-based meat, a lot of guys made a lot of money in our group, I was not one of them. I did not believe that product. I definitely do now. So that's what you get. You get the education, the alerts and you have a real time chat. Now the 24/7 chat is extremely what I call hyperactive. I'm not too involved in a chat, but it does take up a lot of time and it's at first if you're a beginner, it's gonna take a little time to get used to but a lot of knowledge, a lot of education, a lot of great members across the globe.

Gresham Harkless 6:23

Yeah, definitely sounds like an indefinitely Correct, Correct me if I'm wrong. It's definitely it sounds like a really awesome community where you know, you have different people that have different expertise, but you're able to kind of mastermind I guess, for lack of a better term, and learn about different industries in different ways.

Sherez Ali 6:36

Absolutely. Actually, a lot of guys are doing stuff outside there have been accountants, and lawyers in our group. There are a lot of guys who are building relationships with each other now and doing stuff outside of stock charts. For instance, I'm involved in a sports gambling company in Vegas from one of the members of my partner's doing a FinTech thing in Canada. Guy, a member from Silicon Valley, and a member from Boston got together and started an artificial intelligence smart mirror, we have guys talking about doing a tech hub in Detroit, and guys, we're talking about real estate in Cleveland.

So everyone's coming up with different ideas. And it's just kind of cool that we are building a community and we've kicked people out that we realized I'm not a good fit. And we tell them, you know, what, are trying to build something here trying to build it with relationships. And you know, our churn is extremely low, and our customer retention is really high. We want the right people in this right group. It's not about money, it's about relationships. And we want to have right now we're at about 260 members and alternative 60 members have the same type of personality and the same kind of entrepreneurial spirit. So it's pretty awesome.

Gresham Harkless 7:34

That makes perfect sense. Would it be it if it sounds like it's the community for somebody that maybe is just getting their feet wet? Or in the beginning stages? Or is a little bit more of a, I guess, mature investor maybe?

Sherez Ali 7:46

Both? I think we do. It is an 18-plus demographic, but we also have members that are 50-60 years old in it, that are just strictly for the Lord. So everyone, as I said, we have hedge fund guys who got some Goldman Sachs, they're just strictly there for the alerts, they're not really looking to build relationships. But you know, you got the young guy, Young Guns are looking to build relationships.

So it really varies. But one thing that we realize especially being it's all remote, and you know, online, it's through Texas, and emails, live, the members are very mature, even the guys that are just starting up know that they're not at the other levels with the other members of the group. Eventually, once we build it up a bit more, we're probably splitting it up a little bit more in regards to the people and their trading level and capacity.

Gresham Harkless 8:29

Gotcha that man that makes perfect sense. So it's always good to kind of be in a place where you can kind of learn and also be pushed, which I think is always a big thing if you're ever trying to accomplish anything as well. So I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce, and it could be for you personally or for your business. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Sherez Ali 8:44

I think I would call the USP a unique selling proposition. I would say that our main it is in like every book out there. The main takeaway in this compared to our competitions, is we're not sales guys, we got a very we've had people sign up and in a day, we realize, hey, you're and it's not for you, here's your refund, like good luck. We're not here to make you rich overnight, even though it's you know, we're we really manage expectations, we're not here to sell you. So at the end of the day, if you know, if you're not a good fit, it's not for you. We'll be very honest. Like I said, we're more about building relationships. This is how businesses should be no matter what business you're in, and it's just, you know, build that rapport and take it from there. Hopefully, you guys help each other in the long run with even our members and their businesses and stuff like that, too.

Gresham Harkless 9:27

Yeah, that's great to hear. I think all the time, you know, sometimes people are just there for the money or just for, you know, being able to generate revenue or whatever those things are, but always think those are kind of short-term time kind of focus. I think when you are thinking about relationships, building connections, and so on and so forth. It's pretty awesome where things can go.

Sherez Ali 9:45

Yeah, it's important, that's for sure. I call it the Starbucks slash Apple-like sauce, right where it kind of built it on customer retention and customer loyalty. So we're trying to do the same.

Gresham Harkless 9:57

Exactly. We build a base of raving fans. You can never go wrong. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit. I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be an apple book or a habit that you have. But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Sherez Ali 10:09

I read a lot of books, I quit TV, probably two years ago, I read 118 business books last year, and I'm around 90 This year, it's changed my life. Sometimes, I'm reading Million Dollar Financial Advisor, I just books everywhere on my desk. So you know what, it doesn't matter what you read, it depends. You're gonna get one or two good points from each book. And I tell everybody, it hat is what changed my life. It's able to, you know, have communications about various different businesses. I think it's better these days to know a little about a lot and about, and then a lot about a little, and it's definitely changed my life. So keep reading.

Gresham Harkless 10:09

Yeah, definitely Reading is Fundamental, as they used to tell us in school, and it's always something important, because, you know, there's, you know, I've read that a lot of billionaires and people that are super successful, what they'll do is, you know, they just pay 20 $25 for a book, and you get one or two things that can absolutely change your life or some insight into an industry that you never knew about and helps you make a good trade or know what's not to get, and not to get just from that little small investment.

Sherez Ali 11:12

Absolutely. Even podcasts. I'm in the gym in the morning, I wake up at 4:30 and go to the gym. I've been listening to the Entrepreneurs on Fire podcast, right? It's a really popular podcast now and just getting ideas, you're going to the gym for an hour and a half, and you're going to run through three or four episodes, I listened to three, or four episodes of yours. And you're going to get something from these different individuals out there. Right. So yeah, that information is out there. It's just up to the individual to kind of retain it. Unfortunately, these days, I feel like a lot of people don't.

Gresham Harkless 11:40

Yeah, it's crazy. Because it's so accessible to us, like you said you can just basically download an app and download a podcast, you have all this information that's available to you. So I definitely would agree with that. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Sherez Ali 12:00

You know, what is something that I was in my 20s, I played the game of Risk, and I still do, I think it's important to fail forward. I think when you fail, and I fail over and over again, US boatloads of money if I had to go back, I would have done it the same way, I probably would have failed more. I think that if there's anybody out there listening to this, and if you're failing, you have to know when to cut your losses, don't hold it because you feel like it or you have a passion. If the business model is not there, cut your losses, take the hit move on. And I think a lot of people, especially the ones that have this vision, but they didn't really study the competition, or study the gaps, or study the market conditions what you should do before you get into business. But when you see it going down, just cut your losses, take the hit move on.

Gresham Harkless 12:45

Yeah, that's a really big thing. I think Seth Godin had a book that was kind of about that, about winning, knowing when to kind of, you know, cut your losses, as you said, and not to continue on. I think that's a really tough thing to kind of figure out. But I appreciate you for bringing that forward. Because I think it's not an easy kind of decision to make, especially if you're passionate about what it is that you're doing. You can feel that kind of sunk cost and feel like you want to invest more and more into it.

Sherez Ali 13:08

Absolutely, Seth Godin what I read, but you know, I've always books of Purple Cows still a great book, this is Marquis, brings its full house, listened to him on a podcast recently, too. I feel like he is very good with writing skills. He's not as good at speaking but a very smart individual, very, very smart individual. One of the best marketers that this world has for sure.

Gresham Harkless 13:28

Yeah, absolutely. He's really big into, you know, just as you mentioned, his book, he just creates a lot of different ideas, he tests out a lot of different ideas, which I think is always a great thing for us to remember. So I appreciate you for reminding us of that as well. I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is a definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote, CEOs on the show. So Sherez, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Sherez Ali 13:49

I think it's about leadership. I think it's about building rapport with your customers, and with your employees. Then build a reputation with that. I'm trying to get more into podcasts, more video stuff to kind of, you know, I think especially these days where people want don't want to see text and gone, they want to see the face and the composure and the personality to build that relationship saying, hey, I can trust this person, right?

Being a CEO is mostly based on who you have around you. One thing I tell people, one thing I do well is hire people smarter than me. You know, my partner with stock charts is the stock market guy. I'm more of the guy behind the scenes, putting it all together, right? So hiring people smarter than us is probably one of the best things you can possibly do. That's how you're going to, you know, go forward and be able to leverage your skills and you know, stay in one niche, but hit it in different angles and be different than your competition.

Gresham Harkless 14:40

Absolutely, yeah. A lot of the same goes. You know, success is a team sport. You want to make sure that you have a team around you and what they also say like if you're the smartest person in the room, you need to find another room, as you always should be, and have people that you can lean on that you can learn from that can push you to get even bigger and better.

Sherez Ali 14:59

Absolutely

Gresham Harkless 15:00

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, sure, as I appreciate your time so much and appreciate all the awesome things that you're doing, what I want to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and listeners know. Then of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you guys are working on.

Sherez Ali 15:15

Yeah, for sure. Stocks, actual stocks action alerts.com, please give us a chance. If you're interested in learning about the markets, it's 120 bucks American a month, you can cancel anytime for not happy with the service. You can find me on Instagram Straz, underscore ally, or at stocksharks, you can get me on there too. One thing to look forward to we are still starting a company a sports gambling company called Never Bench, and we're adding gamification to it. It's going to be kind of like ESPN meets Twitter meets Action Network.

We think that sports gambling is going to become legal across the world. Next five years and we're kind of jumping on that. So that launches in about two months. I'm super, super excited. We are going after emerging markets, including the XFL in February, the CFL and Canada hockey, and soccer across the world. And it's going to be a really cool app. So I'm hoping for your viewers to check it out soon and keep in touch about that.

Gresham Harkless 16:06

Yeah, absolutely. We'd love you have you back on as that game is launched. We've talked a little bit more about that here and about all the awesome things you're doing but again, appreciate you so much. We will have the links and information in the show notes so that everybody can follow up with you. But again, I appreciate your time. I hope you are awesome today.

Outro 16:22

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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