Shadowing Practice: Zero to $1,000,000 Business in 1 Year - Learn English Speaking with Video

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So, I am starting a new business with the goal that within one year, it will do a million dollars in sales.

That is a little scary to say out loud, since I don't even have any of my products yet.

Let me explain.

As long as I could remember, I always wanted to push myself to see what I was capable of.

Even if it scared me.

Since I've always believed that the greatest things in life are on the other side of fear.

And for the past nine months, I've had this idea, a dream, that I can't stop thinking about.

But it is pretty bold and ambitious.

So my dream is

that I want to build a million dollar business beyond YouTube

where I share everything on this YouTube channel in a series where I publicly disclose everything that I can.

From business conceptualizing, marketing plans, product development, to even the sales results and why this idea has excited me

so much is because you guys are going to be along for this wild ride.

This is not going to be a perfect how -to series of how to start a million -dollar business, but rather a real -life documentation of my wins

and certainly my losses of my entrepreneur life of trying to start this new brand.

I do have my bachelor's degree in finance, But this, this new series, is going to be my master's degree.

And as most of you guys know, I do have some experience.

I did start a clothing company out of my college dorm room

and also started a skateboard company with professional skateboarder and Olympian Manny Santiago,

in which I was able to get that company into the big chain retailer Zoomies around the country.

Then I have learned a thing or two about creating ads and content from this YouTube channel.

But this new series will be the ultimate test since I have never done anything to this level before.

And a test with a very low success rate since according to the internet, nearly 90 % of all small businesses will fail.

I kind of wish I didn't look that up.

But I think an important principle here is to not be afraid of failure.

I'm not afraid anymore.

and i really did have to have a deep conversation with

myself about this with how i may publicly fail i may lose money i may lose sleep

but i do know one thing for a fact actually two things one is

that i know that future brett would regret this

if i didn't go for it and two i know

that at the end of the day it can't be a fail because i am going to learn so much.

Now, you all are probably wondering, what is the new business?

And that is a great question.

I even wondered that myself for a while, so let me explain how I decided on it.

I came up with a checklist of requirements I'd want the business to have.

I knew I wanted it to be a physical product rather than an e -product.

I wanted it to involve traveling because a life goal of mine has to be an international businessman just like my grandfather.

I wanted the industry to have a market cap of at least a billion dollars

so i can aim to just try and grab a small percentage of

that market share i wanted something that i personally use

and was excited about and finally

but most importantly i wanted to fix some sort of problem or help people enrich their lives

and something that i've learned from doing this youtube channel is

that it is a lot easier to create an ad

and try to sell something

when you are solving a problem for example it is super difficult to try

and find an accessible therapist at an affordable price

that is most suitable for your needs

and therapy is super crucial to me you go to the gym to enhance your body

and feel physically better but I do therapy to enhance my mind

and have more clarity and live a happier

and healthier life I have been doing therapy with BetterHelp for almost the past two years now

and it has been one of the best decisions i've made

and i really do recommend trying out therapy with better help

for yourself like honestly even with trying to create this announcement video

and building up the courage to go forth with this series i've even had minor mental breakdowns

and going to therapy has helped me significantly and

if you are an entrepreneur a student pretty much everyone on this planet is going through something

and therapy with BetterHelp is the perfect solution.

I genuinely mean that.

This is an ad for BetterHelp, but you see how easy it is to create a unique selling point for a business

when they solve a problem that so many people need help resolved.

And in addition to having a great product like BetterHelp, you also need a great offer.

And BetterHelp is giving all of my subscribers 10 % off their first month of therapy with BetterHelp

if you go to the link down below or go to betterhelp .com slash Brett Conti.

Thank you BetterHelp for sponsoring this channel as well as being a great example for an awesome business.

So in thinking of ways that could help people or help solve a problem, I've been jotting down ideas throughout my daily life.

And the first thing that I came up with was a whiteboard that can transform or flip into a piece of art.

Then the second one is an app that lets you know how long the security line is at the airport.

The third one, this one I really like, this one is a frozen NYC pizza brand.

There could be something there, but this one would definitely take a lot of initial capital

and a very high risk because you need to get frozen trucks and frozen warehouses and already have distribution set up.

So may put that one on the back burner for now.

The fourth one, Gatorade for dogs.

They're running around.

They need their electrolytes too, right?

Probably not.

But then I found this one and this one I personally like the best and also fits all my other criteria.

So I usually like to have what I call my work beverage for whenever I do need to focus

and just put my heads down into a project.

Something that stimulates my mind, makes me feel good, and most importantly, gives me a sustained amount of energy.

Of course I drink coffee, but it wasn't always having the best side effects on my focus, where I feel like I'd have this blast off of energy

but then come tumbling down crashing and this was especially

if i wanted to sip multiple cups throughout the whole day so something

that i had been adding to my work beverage lineup was

tea besides water tea is the most consumed beverage on the planet

and after traveling to over 60 countries something

that i picked up on is how important tea is to a country's culture simply

because there are so many kinds of tea with

so many different uses and effects from traveling to places like turkey japan

and taiwan where their teas are incredible

so every time i travel to a new place i always

bring home some tea to supplement my home tea stash tea has

so many health benefits and most common tea brands don't even utilize the full potential of tea.

So after experimenting with different teas, I decided that I will be starting a wellness tea company.

With the first product being a tea that can help you focus, be creative, and more productive without all of those negative side effects.

So something I learned as a fan of Richard Branson is

that he selects industries to go into where he feels like they're very boring and traditional.

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So he can go in and disrupt, shake things up, and put a different, more fun twist on it.

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So as I was in a grocery store doing some market research, I noticed how pretty much every tea company has a very similar branding,

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which is very formal and proper.

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And well, your typical tea branding for a company that's been around for a hundred years.

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So I thought it'd be awesome to spice things up a bit and come up with a more fun, playful and creative tea company that's mostly targeted to millennials

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and gen z with a lot of color enthusiasm

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and energy i think it's brilliant

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so i do think this wellness tea company is one

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that solves a problem as well as fits the rest of

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my criteria since it is a physical product can be scaled up

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or down would involve a lot of international travel is a massive existing industry

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and most importantly i'm just genuinely very excited about it

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so now how in the world am i going to do this

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so at this point i gotta be honest with you guys, I do have only very limited knowledge when it does come to tea ingredients and blends.

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But one thing I learned from doing that video with billionaire Steve Madden is

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that I need to become a master at my craft.

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So I have been talking to industry experts as well as drinking a ton of tea, but now the plan is to dedicate the next few months

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of my life to learning everything there is to know about tea.

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And it starts right now.

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I just ordered $340 worth of tea.

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We're officially making steps forward.

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Got my tea samples.

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Steve Jobs started an apple out of his garage.

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We're starting my tea company at NYC Smallest Kitchen.

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Let's get to work.

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so now i wanted to quickly discuss why in the world

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am i doing this like right now everything in my life is going

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so smoothly and great I have an awesome apartment here in NYC, the YouTube business is going really well, and I've been able to make a pretty good living.

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So why in the world would I go through all of this stress to start a new business?

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And trust me, it's been very stressful.

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I haven't even started and I'm already like waking up with anxiety.

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So when I started my first business, Fortune NYC, the name came from wanting to give back to the less fortunate.

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And within the first year of business, I was able to raise over $2 ,000 to give back

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to the homeless here in the city to put them into shelter during the New York City winter.

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And that was a huge motivation for me to want to grow the business even more.

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Now with this wellness tea company, the number one goal on my bucket list is to build a school in a country where it is needed.

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My stepmom is from Cambodia and I've been lucky enough to get to go many times

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and even get the opportunity to go to a school opening ceremony.

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And that was probably the most touched I've ever felt in my life, witnessing these young kids that are now getting the opportunity to get an education.

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So I want part of the tea company's mission to build a school

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and inspire kids everywhere to be more creative and innovative in the classroom.

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And if you have seen any of my videos before, you would know that this is what genuinely motivates me.

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I've turned my NYC rooftop into a nightclub and made over $3 ,000

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that was then donated to someone in need of a surgery, bought new e -bikes when theirs got stolen, gave money to restaurants during COVID,

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made $1 ,000 in 72 hours by doing odd jobs in the city, and then donated that $1 ,000 to someone in need.

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And this new brand will be a continuation of that, a continuation of my entrepreneurial journey.

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So my plan is to use this aspect of wanting to give back as part of my motivation

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and wanting to succeed in this challenge of course i do just really want to succeed in it

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and think it'll be a great opportunity

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but this is just going to give it that extra boost

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so i am publicly declaring now that if after launch

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which should be in a couple months that we hit

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that one million dollar goal in sales in one year

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that i will be building a school in asia now i just need to get out and get busy really busy

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so after spending the past few weeks doing my home research learning about teas

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and all the benefits of each ingredient i feel like it's time

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that this master's class goes on a little field trip to tea country.

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So we will see you next week from the other side of the world.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 157 sentences and 2179 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:38. The speaker talks at a natural 173 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

solve /sɒlv/ (verb) — To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
publicly /ˈpʌb.lɪ.kli/ (adverb) — In public, openly, in an open and public manner.
freeze /ˈfɹiːz/ (verb) — Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.
genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ (adverb) — In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly.
importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/ (adverb) — Used to mark a statement as having importance.
beverage /ˈbɛv(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/ (noun) — A liquid to consume; a drink, such as tea, coffee, liquor, beer, milk, juice, or a soft drink, often excluding water.
wellness /ˈwɛl.nɪs/ (noun) — The quality or state of being in good health (sometimes emphasizing both health and safety); mental and physical soundness.
succeed /səkˈsiːd/ (verb) — To follow something in sequence or time.
involve /ɪnˈvɑlv/ (verb) — To have (something) as a component or a related part; to comprise, to include.
motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/ (noun) — Willingness of action especially in behavior.
donate /ˈdoʊˌneɪt/ (verb) — To make a donation; to give away something of value to support or contribute towards a cause or for the benefit of another.
enhance /ɪnˈhæns/ (verb) — To augment or make something greater.
entrepreneur /ˌɑn.tɹə.pɹəˈnɝ/ (noun) — A person who sets up a business; generally, a person who owns and manages a business and assumes its financial risks.
brett (noun) — A fault in wine caused by Brettanomyces yeast.
ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/ (noun) — One of the substances present in a mixture, especially food.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

come up with (verb) — To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
give back (verb) — To return, restore (a thing to its original owner or location etc.).
go through (verb) — To travel from one end of something to the other.
build up (verb) — To erect; to construct.
come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
get out (verb) — To leave or escape.
go for (verb) — To try for, to attempt to reach.
go in (verb) — To become obscured by clouds.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 30 contractions and reduced forms, such as I've, I'm, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, grandfather /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/, enthusiasm /ɪnˈθuziæzəm/, therapist /ˈθɛɹəpɪst/, theirs /ðɛɚz/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, continuation /kənˌtɪnjʊˈeɪʃ(ə)n/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/, crucial /ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/, garage /ɡəˈɹɑʒ/
Long words — get the stress right: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, entrepreneur /ˌɑn.tɹə.pɹəˈnɝ/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like solve, publicly, freeze.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	have been doing · I've been jotting · have been talking
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've always believed · I've had · has excited
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	can be scaled · is needed · was then donated

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Zero to $1,000,000 Business in 1 Year - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?