Making Liquid Gold with Markiss Stone

The Creator and Host of ‘The Daily Dose’ Shares Tips for Social Success

Have you been tip-toeing into using social media for work? Maybe just posting a picture or two every now and then, and waiting until you have more time to focus on it? Or more skills? Or more something else?

Markiss Stone says that one key to creating his dream – popular Facebook show The Daily Dose – was to just start doing it.

He recorded his first episode totally on the fly with what he had on hand (his iPhone) while at Hustle and Grind Conference last October.

“I kept hearing people say, Don’t wait, create! Don’t wait, create!” Stone says. “I had been putting it off, trying to formulate the perfect plan and get all the details figured out, but I knew that it was time to do it.”

Every morning since that first show, Monday through Friday, at 6:30 a.m. Eastern, Stone has aired a new episode, totaling over 175 unique episodes. His subject matter ranges from how to sell more cars to how to talk to strangers, but the underlying theme is always one of positivity and motivation.

“This can be a really tough profession,” Stone says, referring to selling cars, his full-time job. “And it’s real easy to get sucked into negativity, just like anywhere else. I felt like I could really add something by focusing on the positive. It’s so important.”

“During the buyout, I stopped making YouTube videos because I didn’t know what the new plan was, so I just focused on work,” Stone says. “In doing so, I received promotion after promotion. Then fast forward some years, and I was re-evaluating my life and just thinking about what really makes me happy. I knew I had to get back to making videos. It’s just something I really love to do.”

OK, yes, Stone had plenty of preparation, experience, and skill when he jumped into the deep end of social media and started his show on the fly last October.

Even if you don’t have a similar background, you still have a unique message to share, according to Stone. Here are his tips for success at your own social show, or just success with social media in general (or any goal you have set for yourself at work!).

I knew I wanted to put more positivity into the world with The Daily Dose. Social media has given people the ability to be keyboard gangsters. People feel like they can say or do whatever they want, without any consequences. There are so many negative people out there online with the intent to hurt other people – you know, because hurt people hurt people – and I just wanted to counterbalance that. Throughout my tenure in the automotive industry and throughout my life, I’ve learned so much that I just want to pour into people and motivate them.

Some of the current negativity stems from racism. I was watching a court case unfold online recently and I saw a bunch of people turn racist against each other really quick. And here I am in the comments section just trying to bring everybody together, like, “No, don’t say that … that’s a lie. You can’t make a generalization about a whole group of people based on one person!”

With these social platforms, we have the ability to bring people together, and that’s what I choose to do. 

No idea out there is original, so don’t wreck your entire day thinking How creative can I be? Figure out what the successful people are doing and study them.

I went to the first Hustle and Grind Con, last October, primarily to see Eric Thomas. I’ve been watching him on YouTube forever – he’s my favorite speaker. I was just blown away, by him, by Glenn Lundy, Shawn Hays … I was on cloud nine.

After Hustle and Grind Con, I went back to Eric Thomas’ YouTube page and went all the way back to TGIM (Thank God It’s Monday) Season 1 and I watched all the episodes up to season 9, where I am now. Every single episode, in order, because I wanted to see what Eric Thomas did to get to where he got. I wanted to see what he was doing in the beginning and what he did in between to get to where he is now.

Once you know whose work you admire, find a way to put your own spin on it so it can be uniquely you. Glenn Lundy is another person who inspired me. I love [his social show] Rise and Grind, Monday through Friday morning. Well, I went to school for Radio & TV, so I’m going to do a show too! And it’s not going to be like Glenn’s. I made sure to create my own lane so that people wouldn’t think I was a Glenn Lundy copycat. Be original, and you’ll stand out and get more opportunities.

From there, get creative. You know how people always say “Think outside the box”? Well there isn’t even a box. I always try to stay creative, keep the creative juices flowing. Example, when I first started doing the show, I was using actual copyrighted music – I was playing music for my show that was on the radio. Facebook could have shut me down or I could have gotten sued.

So I started producing my own music. I make all of the music for my show now. When most people do Facebook Live, they just do it from their phone. But I knew I wanted The Daily Dose to be just like an actual show, unlike anything else out there on Facebook Live. I have transitions, I have animations, I have images, I have music, I set the lighting, I do the editing. It’s a full-on production. And I do it all. I love it. I’m always wondering, even to this day, to this moment, how can I make the show better? How can I engage more people?

I started the show in October and was just winging it every day at first. I’ve had some ups and downs – let me tell you, doing a show five days a week and being original and not repeating myself while having a full-time job and a family, I mean, it can be tough!

Glenn Lundy helped me see that I needed to create a regimen, and I have one that I follow now. It certainly helps. The show has more structure too. Another thing is … I went through a time when I was gauging my show’s success on the numbers. So when I didn’t see the numbers, didn’t have as many followers as Glenn Lundy or Shawn Hayes, you know, I was comparing myself to them. As a competitive person, it was frustrating for me. It took meeting with Shawn and Glenn again at the second Hustle and Grind for me to see that it really isn’t about the numbers. They said, “Hey bud, listen. We know what you’re going through. We’ve been there. It’s not about the numbers. If you’re truly doing what you’re doing for the right reason, you will have the impact you’re looking to make. Even if you only make an impact on one person, then you’ve done your job.”

And remember: You’ll never have the time to do something. You have to create the time.

They say you’re an average of the five people you spend the most time with. I never want to be the smartest person in the room. I try to hang out with and talk to people who are smarter than I am, or more educated. I’m a constant student of the game. And by game, I mean life. 

We only get 24 hours in a day, and we spend most of that time working and sleeping. Well, maybe not even sleeping. I know I get up at about 3:50 every morning! So the time that I do have, it’s really important how I spend it. Example, I recently went through my Facebook and unfollowed a bunch of people. I didn’t unfriend them; I just don’t see their posts anymore. So if I do scroll, I’m seeing positive, motivating, educational things – not what somebody had for lunch. Valuable things. I love to read and research. I’m a constant work in progress.

I think there are leaders right now in the automotive industry who could benefit from this attitude. There are a lot of people who work hard as salespeople, and when they make it to a management position, they relax and get lazy. They get a nice paycheck. As long as they can do the minimum, they’re good. And they need to realize that their job is just beginning. They have people’s lives at stake – their income, their livelihood – that’s all in their hands. They can either empower and encourage them, train them, help them grow, or they can complain about how they suck. Train them, develop them; that’s what your job is.

Put Yourself Out There

Maybe making a Facebook Live or other social show isn’t your bag. That’s OK. Stone does believe, though, that it’s important to have some sort of creative presence on social.

“If you’re in automotive and you’re not on social media, you’re just giving sales away left and right,” he says. “All you have to do is put a little effort in. What makes you different? Posting a picture of your customer and their new car is OK, but how do you stand out from all the other salespeople doing that? People get on social media for two things: to be educated and to be entertained. If you have the ability to do both, you’re liquid gold!”