The Hustle Isn’t the Problem—The Game Is

The streets called me Kham (pronounced Cam, like Cam Newton or Cam’ron). I am the author of the How to Beat the Streets series and co-founder of Inside Hustle Press. If you are like me, you like making money. You are also probably justice-impacted. This means that either you or someone you know closely has been to prison.

I am almost positive there’s a good chance that the reason for that incarceration has roots in the pursuit of money or drugs. That’s what I’m going to talk about in this blog—the pursuit of money, not drugs, of course. The difference is I’m going to explain what attaining it legally looks like, no matter your circumstances.

My circumstance, you ask? I am almost 16 years into completing a 20-year sentence. Part of that time was spent free, and most of that time—both in and out of prison—was spent in the pursuit of money. The problem was that I was using my knowledge and skill set trying to win a “game” that was designed for me to lose. As you can probably guess, the results were mostly tragic.

But I did learn some things along the way. If you stick with this blog/newsletter, that’s what we’re primarily going to talk about. I’ll share what I’ve learned, what works, and what doesn’t. My premise is simple: if I can build a brand and a company from behind bars, you definitely have a chance. The good news is—it’s been done before. Steve Madden (yes, the shoe guy) ran a multimillion-dollar corporation from federal prison. Look it up.

If you’ve listened to online business legends like Gary Vee or Hormozi, you’ve probably heard how leveraging community and goodwill can pay you in cash if you’re consistent. This newsletter is, in a way, a case study on that theory. My bet—based on my experience so far in business—is that it will work. But only if I can deliver value that’s worth you either talking about with someone you know or, at the very least, coming back for more.

This is an entrepreneurship blog, and today’s lesson is about sales.

Here’s the reality: if you have an LLC but no sales, you don’t have a business—you have an LLC. If you do have sales but they don’t make enough money to generate more sales and pay you for your work, then at best you have a highly stressful job, and at worst a highly stressful lifestyle choice.

For many people stuck in this trap, it’s almost like a gambling addiction. They keep betting on one team—their dream, vision, or idea—because of its “potential.” The only problem is the team always loses because they can’t fucking score.

In business, you score points with sales. No sales. No points on the board. No victory. You lose—and you don’t even get credit for participating.

That participation trophy only exists in Little League. In this analogy, Little League is the 9-to-5 you hate. They’ll pay you just for showing up. In business and entrepreneurship, we get paid to win—and we win by selling.

So here are three basic rules I want everyone reading this to burn into their little hustling hearts:

1. People don’t give a shit about your idea, product, vision, or talent.

2. People mostly care about their problems.

3. People will pay you if your idea, product, vision, or talent solves their problem.

Simple.

So today, ask yourself a few questions: What problem do you solve? How can you deliver a solution to someone’s issue that they would practically beg to pay for? And what makes the way you solve that problem different or better than what’s already out there?

Sales is a gift to humanity when done right. Zig Ziglar said the word sales comes from the Norwegian word selje, which means “to serve.” So it’s not about how much money you can make—it’s about how valuable your service is.

Who needs it? Do they have the money to pay for it? And how can you deliver it in a way that genuinely makes their life better?

Million-dollar questions right there.

Till next time.

Peace