“The King of Sales”: An appetite for more

Former chef Adam McCaughey went from slumming nights in his Volkswagon Polo in his teenage years to teaching sales tactics on the Today show at 30. Here, the entrepreneurial Sydneysider explains how he did it.

• Adam McCaughey dropped out of school to work in the kitchens of a trio of Michelin-star-rated restaurants, Rockpool, Attica and Noma. Rubbing shoulders with Neil Perry, Rene Redzepi, and Ben Shewry.  

• Fearing burnout, the Sydney-sider channelled his energy into sales and self-development, acquiring over $70,000 in debt that forced him to live out of his car.  

• A decade into his career, McCaughey has stunningly turned a corner, hosting the likes of Tai Lopez, Ryan Serhant and Andy Elliott on his Elevate: Conversations With Online Titans podcast. 

By Adam McCaughey, as told to Forbes Staff 

I THINK WHAT’S POWERFUL IS I left school quite young. I went into the workforce at 15, and then, from my ability to run a network and have a large vision for myself, I was able to land a job as an apprentice chef. So, I started at Rockpool, working under Neil Perry.  

That’s when I started working at three-hatted Michelin-starred restaurants. I was able to leverage how good I was at communicating to get those jobs and excel. So from that, I went to work at Attica in Melbourne, which was voted thirty-second in the world when I was there. That further led to me to working at a restaurant called Noma.  

AT NOMA, THE MOST EYE-OPENING THING was seeing how a chef like Rene Redzepi would lead a team. People would die to work with him, and his aura was something to behold. Restaurant-goers would line up for hours just to say hello, and he’s so respected with such a high status within the industry, but still, every morning, he would say hello to every staff member, from the head chef to the maître d’ to the waiters.  

In kitchens, like life, it matters how you treat people. I would tell him something one day, and he would come back and continue that conversation the next day. On one occasion, I didn’t greet the guests as I came in because I was shy. Rene picked it up and pulled me aside. It wasn’t PG-rated what he said, but I will paraphrase it now so it is: “Never miss the small things.” 

BURNOUT BECAME A BIG FEAR OF MINE. I kept looking at these chefs, like Rene Redzepi and Neil Perry. At the top of their game, they’re still working 80- to 90-hour weeks in the kitchen. Every single day, every single week, and on weekends. It didn’t excite me. It wasn’t so much a personal life that I was regretfully missing but any form of professional development. I wanted to invest time in myself.  

I started to work as a personal chef for two wealthy families in Mosman, Sydney, and at the same time, putting a lot of money into my education, geared towards business scaling and sales. In the end, I was over $70,000 in debt. That is when I started living in the back of my car.  
 
IT WAS A VOLKSWAGON POLO. I had all my stuff in there. Boxes, towels, clothing and my Anytime Fitness gym card, which I kept for AU$50 a month. I had an epiphany in Manly after a 7-Eleven declined two of my credit cards. At that point, I was in tears and ran out of the store and onto the beach. I remember the song I was listening to, Spirit Bird by Xavier Rudd.  

I needed a change, and I took a role as a private chef on a yacht, owned by a business tycoon, when I became heavily influenced by Tony Robbins on a working trip to Fiji, which was a lightbulb moment for me. Like Rene had in my teenage years, leaders began to give me more of their time. I began thinking: ‘I want to build, I want to do something, I want to create something.’  

BEING NAMED IN THE ‘40 UNDER 40’ BUSINESS ELITE AWARDS was a tremendous honour. The Today show has called me “The King of Sales”. My skills allowed me to solve more business problems, progressing from finalising $120,000 weekly e-commerce sales to selling educational products and offerings for as much as $130,000 on one call for B2B services. I continue to listen, learn and teach, and I also do this through conversations with the entrepreneurial elite, which are published online.  

TAI LOPEZ, RYAN SERHANT, AND ANDY ELLIOTT have all been involved in these recorded discussions, leading to meaningful business opportunities. We help business owners make serious money but also help people who want to leave the 9-5 for something more fulfilling. I call this the “million-dollar mindset”, an unshakeable solution-led way of thinking, stretching from scaling and sales to leadership. My focus is SASS, standing for sales, automation, systems, and scaling. Those are the key ingredients of my businesses going forward, and true to my fine dining background, I want to serve up something I am proud of every day.  

3 Tips for Success

1. Self-belief 

Never throw in the towel. During my darkest days, I continued to invest, both financially and emotionally, in myself. I see my struggles as a test of my resilience and an opportunity to upskill and educate myself. Change your association with challenges and failures.  

2. Motivating driver 

People always run towards pleasure and that pot of gold, but people don’t often realise that many successful people are running away from pain. For me, that was creating a gulf in distance between living in my car to where I am today. Identify your own motivating factor and harness it.  

 3. Execution 
Whether this is getting a business partnership signed on the dotted line or scaling your company, have the commitment and perseverance to see all your actions through to the end. Your sense of fulfilment will skyrocket in your day-to-day, and continuously ticking off small items can lead to bigger rewards.   

To connect with Adam McCaughey for help with business scaling or sales, visit: 

Online: www.adammccaughey.com 

Instagram: @adam_mccaughey