You Can’t Network Your Way Out of a Nervous Breakdown

Tired of cold DMs, fake funnels, and forced connections?
Mike Ashburner aka The Redneck Connector went from nearly homeless during COVID to building Hounds of Business, a trust-first community flipping the script on traditional sales. In this raw, real conversation, we unpack why spray-and-pray marketing burns out high achievers (like you), and how a single mindset shift “who over how” can transform your business in 20 minutes a day.

Whether you're a founder sick of being fake, or a high-performing woman silently collapsing behind success, this episode will hit deep.

🎯 Topics covered:

• Why you feel like a football player at a baseball game in business
• How “farming” trust beats “hunting” leads
• What happens when you treat clients like relationships, not transactions
• How to find your people—without forcing a brand that isn’t you

This is your permission slip to stop performing, and start connecting.

🔗 Connect with Mike: LinkedIn

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Mike Ashburner
• 2:49 From Dirt Poor to Business Builder
• 6:20 The COVID Pivot and Permission
• 10:05 Building the Hounds of Business Community
• 13:00 Integrity in Business Relationships
• 17:19 Ask Who, Not How

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back. I am so excited. Today I have Michael Ashburner. He is becoming a friend. Actually, he's an awesome human being. Come from a very checkered background, hard upbringing, a lot of adversity this is what this podcast stands for. Adversity, but triumphing over adversity, rising from the ashes like the phoenix Mike. Not only is he kind and influential, but he's a real person. He's approachable. Have a look on him on LinkedIn. He's slowly coming. The ambassador for the underdog, which I love about what he does. Mike, please tell the world who you are, what you do and what you stand for.

Speaker 2: 0:42

My turn to chop it up, boz. I appreciate you, man, I really do. I put my bat symbol in the sky in hopes that I find folks that I can align with, make a huge impact. For folks who don't know me, my name is Mike Asherbrenner. I am affectionately and professionally known as the Redneck Connector and the proud and humble leader of the Hounds of Business community. If you're all passionate and no clue, that's the best way to sum me up, boz. I guess I was born with the passion to be somebody, do something special.

Speaker 2: 1:12

Growing up as a kid in the 80s we had the internet. We're confined to our own location. For me it was the country and trailer parks bouncing around. Long story short, I turned dog dew fertilizer to teach other people to do the same. I see people have an impact in their business and their lives. People in their 40s and 50s putting it on the line, getting rid of their benefits at work and doing things since COVID Think about all the things that you went through. People have an impact. They're willing to take the risk to go out there and help homelessness justice. They start a business, live a life of freedom. You know why? Because they don't have the time, money and freedom to do it. People's pain, my pain, other people's similar pain is why I did what I did. I did not expect to do any of it and I fought like heck not to do it for the longest time. Thank you for the platform to reach people. I hope people really benefit from this honest conversation and take action, whatever that may be. The world needs you guys.

Speaker 1: 2:14

That's one of the things I love about you, mike. You're so real. But it didn't always used to be like that, did it? Not at all. Do you want to go back to the origins? Obviously not the whole life story of it, because we'll be here for a very long time. I relate to the millennial stuff, the Gen X growing up with a hosepipe, you come home with lights turned on, et cetera, traveling around. A lot of people will relate to that, but there's a reason you started doing this isn't there. You didn't just become the redneck connector. What was the lead up to the journey for this?

Speaker 2: 2:48

what was the lead up to that, to the journey for this? Just until this point, I'm best described boss is overly educated, pink neck, right, I did everything I was supposed to do to be successful. First of all, understand. I grew up dirt poor, I built everything I have and I'm 43, about to turn 44, and I had nothing but dirt. You can't burn dirt, and so it's a real hard place to be, where you can't just be average and ordinary. There's something in you that wants to leave a legacy and an impact, and as much as I tried to minimize that, it just made things worse. But standing back, let's fast forward.

Speaker 2: 3:19

Up until COVID, I got into finance. That's a story for another day. I sucked at it For year after year I was trying to bash my square peg in a round hole. I wanted to help people, folks who no other fiduciary would help regular people, school teachers, people who take care of our kids, real people and I got told no, 999 times out of a thousand, to be rejected right, and to grow up like I did, with very little self-worth, to be completely honest, not knowing who you were, having these negative tapes that play over and over and I say this not to get empathy. I say this because we think we're the only ones that feel this way, right? So, anyway, what happened was that? Covid, long story short I had finally built a business to support the back office of other vice presidents. I was making six figures. I felt like a gazillionaire, right.

Speaker 2: 4:08

I was moving on up and then COVID hit. They said you can't go out and play anymore. I said, oh my God, I'll be homeless. Other things happen. I share this because I want people to know. They say what do I do? Let me give you a shortcut. Start asking who Okay, who am I and who can help me. Once you understand who you are and what you stand for and that's a hell of a journey start there. Don't worry about your marketing plan, your business plan, right. Find out what makes you why you're pulling this. All right. So what I did was I almost spent my last four grand on a LinkedIn course. Thank God I didn't do that.

Speaker 2: 4:42

I met this man. He's a crazy cage fighter from Chicago. Now, getting into the whole story, I got a group call. He gave me that permission. He didn't try to sell me something. He didn't try to just bash my square peg in a round hole and do everything like this. This was somebody who said hey, I'm going to teach you how to do what you do in person before COVID, and I'm going to teach you. So that was the disconnect, boz, and I want people listening.

Speaker 2: 5:11

If your business is not working using traditional sales tactics, dms, spray and pray, artificial engagement tactics, bothering people about stuff they don't want to be bothered with, if that's you that's why I created the antithesis there's nothing wrong with you. Let me tell you what happened to me. It's like you brought a football to a baseball game. Guys, you don't suck and you are cut out for business. You are cut out for legacy and doing something special, but you got to learn the tools. It's like when Michael Jordan went from basketball to baseball. He's still a super athlete, but how are you supposed to win a game if you don't know the rules and how it's played?

Speaker 2: 5:45

So what I'm saying is that I built a business community on accident, because I didn't have any friends three years ago, and I built this thing. That takes away the sales pitches, that puts me pushing up others. You push up others and they reflect that back to you. If you don't do it in dating, you shouldn't do it in marketing. If we do the same stuff we see in marketing and in social media and LinkedIn, I'll be single. Right now, nobody have anybody. Everything in my life that stopped me or put me down or challenged me. I learned how to take that and turn it into something profitable. It doesn't matter what you accomplish. I built a community, an ecosystem, redneck Camelot, known as the Hounds of Business to bring people that truly want to help others, who truly want to be their best selves, and take all that nonsense, that cookie cutter teaching and all that stuff and roll it into something that we can build an authentic business from within. Does that make sense?

Speaker 1: 6:38

Yeah, certainly I know to the listeners who go deep dive into these episodes, you're speaking their language, because a lot of these people have gone through scenarios or experiences where they've been taken advantage of and they've invested a lot of money into things and they haven't received anything. The DM strategies, the mass email strategies If they're corporate, they work, because you're basically throwing shit to a wall and hoping it sticks.

Speaker 1: 7:08

That is the old marketing way, but it doesn't work when it comes to real relationships and long-term business. It's a one hit and hope Maybe you get lucky, maybe you're not. What you've created is something that takes the guesswork out of it and puts strategic planning and intentional introductions into place. People like Grant Cardone and Gary Vee, who I love, have built the empires. Gary doesn't care about the money or anything else. He generally is a nice guy and very authentic.

Speaker 1: 7:43

But people like grant cardone to your words earlier have stepped up and missed a few steps because they have a silver spoon up their goddamn ass. They've reached that level because they have influence and money. Money can't buy you credibility. It can on paper, but not with other people, and what you've done is create something that is credible because you've added your pizzazz into it, your experience, your authentic self, and this is what I'm doing. Do you want to join me or not? I find very rare with you people like you, and there isn't anybody that I've ever met that are doing what you're doing in the way you're doing it, and I'm going to say this very boldly this is a unicorn business.

Speaker 2: 8:29

Is that a fair? Absolutely no. I appreciate that. It's encouraging because if people like you and the listeners out there, if we're doing things that resonate with them, then we're on track. You make sure your listeners get real value. I want my free stuff to be worth some of those 10, 20k things because I want people to know we're putting the horse before the cart here. Guys, follow me here.

Speaker 2: 8:53

You start a business. You don't know what you're doing because you had other people in corporate doing all these other tasks. You did your tasks and then you start a business and what happens? You say I'm going to start a business. What should I do? You ask someone and they say you should build a website. Okay, so why did you build a website? Because someone told me to. Why is that? How is that going to help you? I don't know.

Speaker 2: 9:11

See, that's the problem, and when you hear people and see things, there's two things going on. Either it's the wrong course for you. It's not a bad course or class, but it's the wrong one for you. Second of all, it just stinks in general, right. And then, if you look at the climate, here's the mantra of the world, and I deal with people all the time, and it's that everyone's been screwed by someone. So no one trusts anyone. So here, folks, if you're still in, I'm going to give you this gold nugget. All right, go out there and do this. I promise you, if you work, it works. The concept, the mentality, comes before. If you have the best sales scripts on earth, it won't work unless you believe it. So here's the deal.

Speaker 2: 9:47

Everybody expects us to say we're great, right, and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with it. It's advertisement. We pay for it. We go out there, we tell people and that's fine. If you're good at that, hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm jealous of you. I'm not knocking you. What I'm saying is this If you're like me, relatively smart guy, it's like teaching a dog to meow, good luck. Dogs don't meow, but we try. Here's the alternative what I teach in my framework and my group coaching, master attraction and what I created in the ecosystem. They don't expect hundreds and thousands of super pros of all walks of life with reputation to say you're great on and offline. Dadgummit, you can't buy that at the corner store. Think about it.

Speaker 2: 10:26

This lady has built a huge business. It's a real story. This lady has built a huge, successful business from the ground up, from dirt, and she goes out there. I help her with my services. She didn't do pods, she didn't do any of it. She built the business. She connected with the person behind the screen. She learned how to attract people, generate curiosity and value. So she grows 4,000 followers in a year and a half.

Speaker 2: 10:49

That's not bragging rights. Five was a traditional doing the influence. And I'm not saying nobody should do influencer. I'm saying if you're here to build a business and you're a service-based professional, stop using the screwdriver for nailing jobs. She goes out there, makes $250,000 in a year and a half. 20, 30 minutes a day doing business stuff, not attention-getting stuff. On social media. This woman goes out there to her 7,000 top-notch list and puts on three presentations to tell everybody how great I am and they should hire me if they want to grow.

Speaker 2: 11:19

If this is an important topic, you can't fake that. Now, what if I wasn't the real deal? Do you think that lady's going to risk her business and livelihood, as she's fought for decades to build? Guys, this is the ecosystem I'm talking about, man, you can't fake it. So thank you for recognizing that, because we're not perfect and we don't have all the answers, but what we are doing is putting the integrity back into tools and things. That's been misaligned. We're leveling the playing field for folks like you, and so when you come in and say, what should I do, you're going to have someone actually tell you what you need. You don't need profile optimization, you need branding. You're not here to be popular, you're here to build a business. I don't talk about me, you just be, and that's what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2: 11:58

Go out there, put your peacock feathers out in the right way and you get what you need. Scale up and watch the fireworks happen. Here's my calling card, my ideal clients. I'm at the point in my career. You have integrity and passion together and you're interesting. That's what gets my attention. So I'm looking for Joe Rogan and Oprah before they're Joe Rogan and Oprah On your show. I finally let out my secret boss. Everybody wants the big fish. Joe Rogan, I can see it a mile away. I said this is somebody who is going to explode and I'm going to help them when no one else will. If you have that servant mentality and you're out there being real with people, you will figure out whatever you need, the next level. So start asking who am I and who is aligned with me? And you watch your business start to pop. You watch opportunities crop like corn, because this is farming, this is harvest time.

Speaker 1: 12:48

I love that advice, mike, because what people fail to see sometimes is what's in front of them and asking instead of how.

Speaker 2: 12:57

but who Like?

Speaker 1: 12:58

a redneck and parrot like an owl all over the place but the thing is, without you asking who and how can you serve, and it becomes an exchange. Rather than ask, it's just psychology how it will be. Brain works, human behavior. People are built to serve others. When you say who do you know that can help me do this? It's better to ask that question when you're asking somebody to help you achieve a certain goal and you open up a conversation. That's key when you're building a business and also in any friendship in life, and it's overlooked so many times because people take everything for granted.

Speaker 1: 13:42

Then covid happened, which destroyed a lot. It woke people up to the reality of what was going on in the world behind media, social media, people's intentions, corporate entrepreneurship, business skills, sales, marketing, branding everything got exposed for what it truly was. Most of it was bullshit. It didn't work because it was not in alignment with what people really wanted. It didn't solve the problem. What you're doing is solve a fucking problem, but through authentic connection.

Speaker 1: 14:19

My final word on this, because we go to part two in a minute. If you have a problem, put up your bat signal, ask for help, but ask intentionally and integrously. So if you say something, follow through with what you say and you will attract people like Mike, who are willing to stick their neck up and go Hi. What can we do for you and help you accelerate, go to that next level, but grow with you? I really want to focus on what Mike's ascent is, what he's got going on now and also what's next for him. Mike, do you have any final words before we part for part one audience? Please subscribe, share you'll change someone's life and, most importantly, download and leave a review, because I love you for doing that yeah, hopefully I don't spoil part I like not knowing what's coming.

Speaker 2: 15:17

That's the realest combo, right, and if we say it again, good, we probably foreign concept to people and I'm appreciative of the platform because I know your audience is real, that's my audience. Quantity through quality, that's how we do it. The redneck speech which you just said in my opinion it's coming at people, business and solutions, folks from a medical doctor mindset, not a pharmaceutical salesman mindset. So, for example, when I sit down with somebody, I don't have a pre-agenda. Of course I want them to do business with me. But listen, there's too many bald people being sold perms out there, right, and you know what. The last thing you need is to waste money and time on a daggum perm. So what our job is, not to talk bad and be silly for likes. We quietly mind our own business and build a hat in a wig shop. We build the antidote for the things that don't fit. So here's what I'm saying If you have hair and you want a perm, but there's too many people, I've seen people cry once a week minimum I have someone crying because all this incongruence and all that must be me. Here's the question you ask yourself Is this person, in my opinion, trying to help me. Are they really spending the time invested in me as the conversation about my needs, or are they just telling me up to sell me, regardless of my? If that's the answer, listen, there's 8 billion people, gazillions of programs. Stop around folks and that's why we built the hounds.

Speaker 2: 16:43

I told two people no sales script. You don't need me, you don't need any course, you don't need my daggum course and you don't need a pretty profile. What you need is branding. I had a guy say don't call me a fractional CFO. I said buddy, if you don't tell us what to call you and it's not apparent before we talk, we're going to make stuff up and that's why you're losing 80% of your business. He said what's her number? She's the best in the business and this man's wasting money on things that he don't need.

Speaker 2: 17:07

I'm the connector that said stop wasting time and money and go see this woman, because if she's not a good fit, she's going to tell you and she's going to send you where you need to go. Does that make sense to people? I'm not going there. You can go there later, boz, but you've already told us why I'm leveling the playing field Accessibility and affordability. Listen, you have no more excuses when you come to our community and you learn the framework. Now give me one reason you can be successful, because that's the hard part.

Speaker 1: 17:33

Yeah, go ahead, mike. I love this conversation. If you are just tuning in now, it's the end of it. Where have you been? Firstly, go back and listen to the rest of it. Please share the message. I will see you in part two. Mike, you're awesome. Thank you very much for my audience. Please share, subscribe, download, do the right thing and change someone's life. I'll see everybody in part two. Mike, you're.