In this engaging episode of The Good News, Angie Austin welcomes Scott Montgomery to explore the common misconceptions among new college graduates. Often, young adults enter the career world believing a degree alone suffices for success. Angie and Scott delve into alternative pathways for achieving career success, emphasizing the extraordinary value of internships and relationship-building. Through personal anecdotes and enlightening dialogue, they shed light on the modern job market’s expectations and how students can better prepare themselves.
00:00:01 Introduction of Angie Austin and Scott Montgomery
00:00:54 Unconventional Success Without a College Degree
00:02:39 Value of Internships for College Graduates
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, it’s the good news with Angie Austin and Scott Montgomery is back. He is an author. He is a speaker. He is a business owner. And today we’ve chosen a topic because we’ve worked through your book and your workbook. Today, we’re going to actually talk about college kids graduating and how many of them think that just to have a college degree is enough to have and start a career. Welcome back, Scott Montgomery.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It’s always a pleasure. I love our conversations. And I think today is a hot topic. What do you hear where I’ve been?
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I can’t wait to hear. But first, just tell everybody who hasn’t heard you about your book, how I get here, how I got there, and about your company, et cetera.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, sure, sure, sure. And it’s all, I try to do a little bit of a clicky title. So my book is called, How Did You Get Here? Lessons of Unconventional Success. And that book I wrote about how I found myself in the position I’m in through unconventional ways that I ran my business, which is a consulting services firm that supports school districts, but how I ran my business without a college degree and through relationships and then making myself better through a growth mindset. And so I felt it was important to write a book about that to share the experience to those who are looking at alternative ways or even improving ways in which they’re going to expand their career. I took it a step further, and this past year and actually this past month, I released how you go there, which is a companion guide.
SPEAKER 03 :
How you go there, how I got there.
SPEAKER 05 :
Exactly. How did I get here? How did you get here? And then how you go there is where it lands.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, you cracked me up. So for college kids, they want to figure out how they get there.
SPEAKER 02 :
And so our kids are pretty much the same age. We have three teenagers, you know, started college this year and graduation and all these things going on. But a lot of these kids do think they can barely schedule a haircut or don’t even pick up their own prescriptions or have to have mom order their groceries from Walmart for delivery at their you know apartment or college apartment they’re just not ready for the work world in a lot of cases but they think the degree automatically gets them a job totally well and you know it’s funny because I was looking online with social media some of the most successful people are talking about this which sparked my interest in that
SPEAKER 05 :
they don’t kids that come out of college and they go into their interviews think because they have a piece of paper, they know what they’re talking about and they don’t. The street part of this is so important. So those kids that are that are kids or young adults, I should say, graduating college should consider the internship opportunity. They have to build a relationship and they certainly don’t come out of that college expecting that they’re going to get this high powered, high-paying management job right out of the gate. And I was telling you where I’ve been. I was at my kids’ college campus last week, surprise visit from dad. And two of his fraternity brothers literally engaged with me in this conversation. And they were really impressive to think, oh, how do I do this? Because I’m realizing without a piece of paper, I’m not going to just a piece of paper rather is going to not get me that job. I’ve got to do those extra things. So we got into pretty good dialogue about it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I I love your internship idea. A lot of kids are like, oh, I don’t get paid or I don’t get paid much. But you get college credit and it’s invaluable. And especially if you want to go into a field and you want to continue your education. And maybe you’re thinking about being an attorney, for instance. I know several attorneys that did go to law school and are no longer practicing or decided to do something else. And they wish that they would have been in a law office, in a courtroom, you know, seeing some of the work that might be really tedious involving contracts and reading and writing things up and researching. They see the glamour side of, you know, of being an attorney in a lot of movies. But a lot of it is really tedious, detailed, sometimes quite boring work. And so and then if you get into family law, it can be very stressful and there can be a lot of animosity, a lot of anger involved in negotiating between the two parties in a divorce, for instance. So I think that’s a prime example of where an internship or job shadowing would really be beneficial. And I’m sure that would apply to most careers for people to get a better idea of what they’re getting themselves into.
SPEAKER 05 :
A hundred percent. And one of the things I really appreciate about the opportunity you provide me on your show is for your guests and for those and the naming convention of my work, the how you go there piece of this is to share with them and the children and the young adults and those folks that it’s not just about this piece of paper and it’s not just about this textbook education, but like you just said, the experience of immersion and the value of relationships in that immersion. So have they worked in a law office? Or can they go into the interview, sleeves rolled up, and try and find where their best niche is in the industry in which they studied? But going out and thinking you’re an expert because you have a piece of paper is going to shut doors before it opens them. So just sharing how you go there is to be in relationship, be vulnerable, get in front of the people that you think you’re interested in, and immerse yourself in all of the work related to that. You can’t just go in and say, well, I had a math class, so now I’m ready to be an accountant. You know, I know Excel, so I’m ready to be an accountant. The whole process of accounting has many facets and closing the door to those or expecting because you’ve got a piece of paper, everyone’s going to open the door to that for you. You’re going to get that job right away are falsehoods. You need to do the internship. You need to build the relationships. You need to get to know people and then talk about where you find yourself in that and look for those mentors. that can help you, you know, go there, help you go there.
SPEAKER 02 :
And that, yeah, help you go there. Uh, that’ll be a great book for college graduates. Help you go there. Um, I think that, uh, you know, even, I mean, my husband kind of did this, even if there isn’t an internship, you know, offering to come in, like, you know, applying somewhere and saying, Look, you may not have something now, but would it be possible for me to shadow one of your accountants or one of your whatever other job as you want to do so that I can learn more about what your company’s about and what you do here and see if I’d be a good fit for you and vice versa? My husband actually was the director of the morning news at the last TV station where I worked. And he wanted to get into sales, probably because it paid about four times as much as the director job, which was shocking. But he would just go up every day after the morning and noon news ended and he would work up in sales. And he worked up there a long time every day after work until they finally hired him because he had no job. experience and it’s like a top 20 market and he made significantly more money but they only did that um hired him because he came up there and did so much for them for free before he ever got offered a job and he was 32 wow wow well you know the segue and i love what you’re talking about because the segue for those listeners in your audience that are not just college grads or out in the new market looking for new opportunities are those business leaders
SPEAKER 05 :
that are interested or, as I said to you earlier, incumbent on their responsibility to engage those folks and be available and make themselves available to those mentorships and to those opportunities for the next generation. It’s a really interesting dovetail, and how you’ve moved this conversation along is beautiful because I’m in the spirit of how do we all just be human in business and help these people facilitate their growth and their change for the benefit of all of our careers and all of our opportunities? And our relationships, our hearts, you know, how you get to know people.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, I had I saw a speaker and he was talking about the soft skills. He’s like, you know, there’s a lot of things I can teach you. And we can use accounting as an example, you know, how to do the spreadsheets, how to work with this particular client. But he’s like, the skills I can’t teach you, these soft skills are the ones that really are invaluable and that will lead to you, you know, moving up in the company. And that’s like arriving on time, going the extra mile, always doing the best job, being respectful, not starting arguments with colleagues, working well with people. And then one that I think people really overlook, and I just saw this recently in an article, It’s one thing that you can do that will lead to you being promoted and making more money in your career. And it’s so simple. It’s being a good conversationalist. A lot of people have no interest whatsoever in chit-chatting with their colleagues or making small talk or getting to know them. But that ability to converse with people and show interest in their lives and ask them questions… It really leads to a sense of camaraderie. And then people genuinely like you if you show an interest in them and ask them questions and have conversations. And that may seem like brown nosing or, you know, oh, that’s fakery. No, I don’t think having relationships with your colleagues and getting along with them, being interesting and showing interest in them is fakery. I think it’s, you know, I think when people like you, you’re more likely to be promoted.
SPEAKER 05 :
Exactly. And the authenticity of the inquiries that you make of people. are only in the intention in which you make them. So if you’re going to sit and be, you know, judgy and feel like you’re being an ass kisser, then that’s really what your intention is. If you’re trying to engage with people, watch the magic of opportunity surface. Watch the opportunities come to you or the collective you, even the people you’re working with. Even you may bring them an opportunity for knowing what they’re about.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, I think I think about the colleagues that I still have good relationships with. And one, she’ll hear this probably today. Rachel Mains, she actually runs KLZ. And that’s one of the stations that I’m sorry. Three, two, one. One, Rachel Mains is runs KLTT. the main station that I’m on. And she and I became friends, gosh, I mean, 20 some odd years ago when she was my floor manager on the morning news show. And she was just so wonderful to work with. And we stayed friends over the years. And now we’re working together again. And she’s over me really in the position that, you know, I’m in now contributing as a host and And every day she, you know, helps with my podcast and with my radio show and, you know, and all the other hosts on that program. But anyway, she I people used to ask me, like, if you had a company and who would you hire? And I said, well, there’d be like a top five people I’d hire and Rachel be in there like. She just cares so much. She’s so conscientious. She’s so engaging. She’s so friendly. She always puts an effort into our friendship, even when we aren’t colleagues. You know, we’ve had years when we didn’t work together. And just that kind of person, it’s somebody you really want to work with. But she hits every, every, like… everything that you would want in an employee you know being on time going the extra mile taking on additional responsibilities fixing problems being friendly caring about others like every single one she hits so those are the people that you want like you told me you work with a whole bunch of people in fact you’re the best example that you worked with years past and you hired them in your company and so now you’re surrounded by people you liked before oh my my training and development director
SPEAKER 05 :
Amy Delone Eady was one of my first bosses in 1989 when I started my first job. She has since retired the place we work together. And when we got talking, she wants to help develop the training and the recognition programs that we have at Worldgate, my consulting services firm. And she does that for us. And it’s a perfect match because we know each other so well. And it’s a really beautiful swan song for her because she gets to pay forward and incentivize. And it’s not quite the grind it was when she was working. Right. So everybody wins. And the trust is really the bottom line on that. I know exactly that I can rely on her and she can rely on me for the effectiveness of that work. It’s fantastic. And you’re right. I love it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Well, again, you know, one of the things you mentioned when we first started the interview, if you can do an internship, you I mean, make yourself invaluable. My husband and I both did it in our internships. I did one at NBC in Denver way back when. And he did his in Chicago at WGN in Chicago. And then they ended up hiring him as an assistant director. And then he got his job as a director in Denver. And that’s when we met because he hired helped to hire me. So, you know, working for free does pay off. You may think it’s for free. And, you know, some of these are paid internships. But I want to make sure people can find you, Scott, and your books and your company. So give us the best way to reach you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, the best way to reach me is www.HowYouGoThere.com. It also spells HowYouGotHere.com. So it’s a fun way. I get to wordsmith this one a little bit. But I’m available to your audience. I’m available to you. And I love this topic. We are happy to dive deeper into it with folks. I’m available for talks and coaching sessions as well. And our consulting services firm that implements systems at school districts, if that’s what you’re looking for, is www.worldgatelc.com. And it also has a leadership development component that we consult out on as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Excellent. Thank you for that. Thank you, Brent. Talk to you next time. Appreciate it.
SPEAKER 04 :
With Easter right around the corner, Art Thrift is the perfect place to find great deals on Easter grass, baskets, bonnets, and those cute little dresses for Sunday school. You can decorate for the whole family gathering on a budget, from deviled egg dishes to Easter baskets, and still find those special items that make the day memorable. And coming soon is Art Thrift’s famous secret jean sale. Watch the Arc Thrift social channels for the secret Friday date because every pair of jeans in the store is just $2. That’s right. Rows and rows of jeans including great brands like Levi’s and 7 for All Mankind from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with new stock going out all day long. Spring also means gardening tools, sports equipment, and seasonal treasures hitting the floor. And remember, Arc Thrift stores are size-inclusive and even have fitting rooms open so you can find the perfect fit. Find a store near you at arcthrift.com and follow Arc Thrift on their socials so you don’t miss a secret jean sale. Arc Thrift, there’s a surprise on every aisle. Fort Collins is listening to the mighty 670 KLT Denver.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey there, friend, Angie Austin and Jim Stovall, and we are talking about millionaire answers today, and who doesn’t want to be a millionaire? You know, Jim, it used to be the big thing to be a millionaire, and now billionaires, like, that’s the thing, Jim. But, you know, being a millionaire isn’t too shabby either, I must say.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, it’s a great thing, and, you know, when the first, you know, when the term millionaire was first coined, it was a lot of money. Now, it’s still a lot of money, but… It is very accessible for most people, and Millionaire Answers is the title of my new book, and it is, you know, for 25 years I’ve written this column, and, you know, they tell me 3 million people a week read it in North America, Europe, and Asia, and I have my contact info in every one of those, and all of the 10 million books we’ve sold is, so I get a lot of questions from people. I try to answer them all, but some of them are so common questions that I write a column about it. So a lot of the columns I write are answers to people’s questions. And, you know, now being a millionaire is simply a matter of being disciplined and diligent.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 01 :
I mean, the fastest growing group of millionaires today in America are school teachers. And everybody knows we don’t overpay our school teachers, to say the least. And but these people participate in their 401k or in their case, it’s a 403b for a nonprofit, but it’s the same thing. And they just do it with discipline and diligence. And it’s just a matter of time till you’re a millionaire. you know anyone can do this anybody can be a multi-millionaire now you mentioned the b word becoming a billionaire yeah that that takes uh… a lot that’s another thing either that takes you’ve got to be an entrepreneur and create a you know you got to be a bill gates you’ve got to be in the right place right down and do something uh… because that’s a thousand million and that’s a serious serious uh… thing Anybody listening to us now, if you have time on your side, you can be a millionaire and retire, and your money will work for you like you worked for it. It is really cool. I still work every day. I enjoy what I do, but for the last, I would say, 15 years, my money makes more money than I do.
SPEAKER 02 :
Isn’t that interesting? My real estate has made more money than I do in the last few years. Just an appreciation, I guess I should say.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, to have something out there working for you. I really recommend it, but to have a goal to be a millionaire is not enough. When people say, I want a million dollars, I say, why? It’s a lot of piles of dirty paper with dead presidents on it why do you want this million because the the the money’s not an end it’s a means to an end that that’s like saying you know i want a full tank of gas well why well i want to go somewhere well tell me where you want to go that’s what will motivate you so you know a million dollars may be a new home it may be sending your kids to college it may be taking care of your parents in their later years it may be all kinds of things and uh But you have to decide what it is. And, you know, in Millionaire Answers, we talk about all of those things. And we talk about the things that candidly disrupt things. You know, people either get distracted or derailed, and they don’t become a millionaire because they allowed bad advice or something to get in their way. And it’s just… Becoming a millionaire is very, very simple, Angie, but it’s not easy. I mean, climbing Mount Everest is very, very simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. You stand at the bottom of the mountain and you say, look up there. All you got to do is go up there. And that is a simple concept. Everybody understands the concept. Now, getting there is not easy. Becoming a millionaire is far easier than that. But it does involve setting up a plan. and being diligent, and now you can put it on autopilot. You can set it up, forget it, and just wait, and you will be a millionaire.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s interesting to me that you talk about teachers, you know, being the largest group of, you know, millionaires, people becoming millionaires because of those great retirement plans. And what are some of the simple, like when people say, you know, like, how did you do it? Besides, you know, hard work, and you always say to me, making money is easy, which I don’t necessarily agree with you. But, you know, once you’ve got some of your, like… your systems in place, let’s say. And there’s so many people have side hustles now. I mean, for goodness sakes, my son, I mean, gosh, what did he buy the other day? Oh, I know, a $10 hat. And it was from like University of Hawaii or some Hawaii hat, 10 bucks. And he knew he could probably get 80 for it. But when he posted it, so many people wanted it. He ended up getting $350 for it. So he has found a way with his expertise in vintage wear, which is so big now. We were at a party last night, and all these adults were saying, like, well, who buys this vintage stuff? He’s like, kids my age. Like, it’s the in thing. When you see on his campus, like, they’ll say, what are you wearing? They do this thing, like, what are you wearing today? Your outfit’s so cool. And then they just ask a bunch of kids. Almost every kid says something like, oh, I thrifted this sweatshirt, and I thrifted the shoes, and then, you know, eagle whatever, American Eagle jeans, or blah, blah, blah. But You know, one or two items that they’re wearing, they’ve thrifted and they go to the places like the bins that my son goes to where they weigh the whole cart and they subtract the weight of the cart and then you pay by the pound for the clothes. So this is the end thing. It’s like, well, who’s paying all this money for these things? There is like this sect of society that is fascinated and totally into like the old Muhammad Ali fight shirts or whatever. uh tyson you know um boxing mat match shirts for like a famous match or a big you know football game that somebody got you know a certain t-shirt from and there’s only a few of them or like nirvana i think i told you he paid 60 for a nirvana shirt and he sold it for 1100 i think he said 1.1 grand lesson i’m like you mean 1100 and he goes yeah yeah yeah 1.1 grand and so um so you But I don’t necessarily think for everyone making money is easy. I think a lot of people get caught in that trap of like a minimum wage job like my mom did in a factory and she couldn’t get ahead per se. Like she never had savings until she started living with me. And so I’d say like the last 15 to 20 years, she actually started saving money, but she was done working. She was saving off of the money that she was getting from her social security and then able to live with me. So I think the mindset, I love your mindset if it’s easy to make money, but I don’t know that it is for everyone. But then it is easy to save money if you can make sacrifices. So when people ask you, what are your simple tips for growing money on a regular income? I know I’ve heard you say take money out of each check. What are the tips you give?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, simple and easy on making money goes back to Benjamin Franklin’s thing. A penny saved is a penny earned. And it doesn’t matter how much you earn. It matters how much you keep. And so the first step, I don’t care who you are, how much money you make, or how little you make, you can become a millionaire, but you’re going to have to live on less than you earn. And there’s only two ways to impact that equation. You either earn more or spend less. And and you’ve got to get out of debt. I mean, that is the number one thing. I mean, we all start at zero to climb the millionaire mountain. But some people got to get out of a little bit of a hole just to get to zero. And so you because it’s hard enough to climb the mountain on your own. With that kind of debt on your back, you can’t do it. You’ve got to pay off your debt. You’ve got to live on less than you earn. And there’s nothing fun or sexy about any of that.
SPEAKER 06 :
There’s nothing fun or sexy.
SPEAKER 01 :
Because they say, you know, hey, I don’t want to do that. That sounds like hard work or that sounds like sacrifice. You know, they’re looking for the get rich quick, something easy. You know, no, that doesn’t exist. Those things do not exist. You’ve got to get the equation working for you. But it doesn’t take that much. My sister-in-law, several years ago, and she’s had some mental problems, physical problems, a lot of different things. And she had to retire early. But for the last 10 years of her life, she was basically working at a call center for minimum wage. And they gave them a little bit of a bonus, a $1.10 an hour bonus if you were on time every day that week. And I said, okay, I’m now going to manage your money. Because people tell me all the time, Jim, you have no idea how hard it is to live on it. Yeah, I do, because I did it for 10 years with Amy. And so, you know, you’re now going to get like $13 an hour if you do this. And she had a nice condo she rented. And she had a decent car she drove. It wasn’t a brand new car, to say the least, but whatever. And she had all the things she needed. She didn’t have everything she wanted, but she had all the things she needed. And we paid off all her debt. And then a couple years later, I’ll never forget, she had $10,000. I love it. That was unallocated, just sitting there. And she said, where did that money come from? I said, from you. It’s all these things you’ve done. And then it’s just a matter of taking that money and keeping it going. I mean, as soon as you can pay off your debt and make that first dollar and save it and set it aside, you now have done everything you need to do. It’s called rinse and repeat. Do it again. Do it again and again and again. But it’s tough. I get that. Like I said, it’s simple. The concept is not that complicated. But it is not easy to do. It’s like losing weight, getting in shape, all the other things. Man, that’s simple. Not easy. You know, I mean, I was talking to a guy the other day. He said, man, quitting smoking is complicated. I said, no, it’s not. Just quit lighting those things. But it’s not easy. I will tell you, it is not easy to give up tobacco. But it is quite simple. I mean, there’s nothing terribly complicated about that process. It’s just a matter of, do you want to do it? And so I always encourage people, you know, we’ve got to have the why. We’ve got to know why you want to do this. Otherwise, the sacrifice is too great. You know, I always tell people, I give them the example, if I put a… you know, a six-inch-wide plank on the floor of an arena, and I asked people to come walk across it, virtually everybody could. If you have reasonable health, you can walk 10 feet across this board. Not that big a deal. Now, if we move it up 50 feet in the air, how many people could do it? Not very many. Most people can’t do that. It’s the same board and the same thing. But now I’m going to change one thing. Your kid is on the other side of the board, and they’re going to die if you don’t go save them right now. Everybody scrambles across that board. And I didn’t change the height. I didn’t change the difficulty. I didn’t make the board wider. The only thing I did was I changed the why. Why are you doing this? So we gave out my scholarships the other day. My committee met, and we decided. And then we got all the way to the end, and we ran out of the money for this year. And I always do the same thing at the end of every year. Okay, give me the next application. Here is the young lady that did not get a scholarship because we ran out of money. And I don’t care how many scholarships we give. There’s always somebody we ran out of money. And she’s the young lady that will motivate me for the next year.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love it.
SPEAKER 01 :
That is my why.
SPEAKER 03 :
That is so cool.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I am no longer motivated by a bigger house or a newer car. I mean, the travel, we’ve been everywhere we want to go, and if there’s somewhere else we decide to go, we’ll go. But there’s always some more people to help make a difference in that, and that’s one of the big things you can do with your money.
SPEAKER 02 :
I love that. I love it. What a cool motivation. I’ve never heard you say that. That’s pretty cool. I mean, I knew you liked giving, but what a cool thing that you just grabbed that next kid and you’re like, all right, you know, I’m going to do this for Susie next year. It’s like, you know, maybe she’ll get one next year. Maybe she’ll still be, you know, applying next year. Um, I, uh, I just think that your plan, you know, like you said, it’s simple, and I’ve never thought of it like that. You say exercise. You come up with a plan first, like your roadmap. You know, you don’t get to Florida from New Jersey without a map. So, you know, come up with your plan, your map. Exercise patience and remain persistent. Just keep doing it every week. I love that. And you can also, on Jim’s column this week, you can click on, to get a copy of Millionaire Answers. And my mom’s been reading your newest book, and so she thinks you guys are good friends now, too. JimStoval.com. Thank you, friend. Always a pleasure. Thanks to you and your mom.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
