* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [Liftoff Houston: Specialized Workshop – Product] [00:00:12] KA DEL GRECO. I AM THE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR, UM, FOR LIFTOFF HOUSTON. WITH US TODAY, WE HAVE BELINDA COX FROM HPL, AND KENNETH THOMAS FROM HPL AS WELL. SO THIS IS OUR TEAM. UM, I WILL BE GETTING STARTED WITH THE MEETING AND THEN GOING FORWARD, UM, IN A LITTLE BIT IT'LL BE BELINDA. UM, SO AFTER THE SIX 30, UM, POINT, IF YOU NEED ANY ASSISTANCE, BE SURE TO, UM, SEND BELINDA AN EMAIL AND SHE CAN GO AHEAD AND HELP YOU OUT. THIS IS OUR SPECIALIZED WORKSHOP FOR THE PRODUCT CATEGORY. SO WE HAVE SOME REALLY GREAT, OH, SORRY. I'LL DO THE CHECK-IN FIRST. THIS IS THE CHECK-IN FOR THE WORKSHOP. UM, IT IS NOT REQUIRED. THIS WORKSHOP IS NOT REQUIRED, BUT WE DO ASK THAT WE CHECK IN JUST SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND VERIFY, UM, WHO'S HERE AND KEEP TRACK OF EVERYBODY. UM, SO KENNETH IS GOING TO BE SENDING THAT IN THE CHAT AS WELL. IF YOU COULD PLEASE FILL IT OUT. UM, AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A REQUIRED WORKSHOP, BUT IT DOES HELP US OUT FOR SURE. IF YOU, UM, COMPLETE THE CHECK-IN, I'LL GIVE EVERYONE JUST A FEW MOMENTS TO GO AHEAD AND GET THAT STARTED. UM, GET THAT FINISHED AND THEN WE WILL, UM, GO FORWARD. TODAY'S FORMAT FOR THE MEETING IS GOING TO BE, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF A Q AND A FORMAT, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, BE SURE TO PUT 'EM IN THE CHAT AND WE CAN GET TO THEM. WE DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS SET UP, UM, BUT IT'S NO PROBLEM. IF ANYTHING UM, COMES UP, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND ASK THE QUESTION AS WELL. SO WE MIGHT HAVE ANOTHER SPEAKER COMING IN A LITTLE BIT. UM, BUT FIRST I WANT TO INTRODUCE KEVIN DUNN. HE IS THIS BIG, POWERFUL MEDIA AND I WANT TO GIVE KEVIN AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF. HI, MY NAME IS KEVIN DUNN. UM, WE WITH BIG POWERFUL MEDIA AS, UH, WE STARTED BACK IN 2005. SO WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 18 YEARS. GOT STARTED IN VIDEO PRODUCTION. UH, THEN WE'VE MOVED OVER THE COURSE OF TIME HEAVILY INTO PHOTOGRAPHY. AND NOW WE ARE, UH, DBA, WHICH WILL BECOME VERY IMPORTANT TO MANY OF YOU, I'M SURE, DOING BUSINESS AS, UH, PORTRAIT EFFECTS, UH, VOLUME PHOTOGRAPHY. SO WE SHOOT, UH, WE DO, UH, PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES FOR SCHOOLS, SPORTS LEAGUES, CHURCHES, ANYBODY THAT NEEDS A LOT OF PHOTOGRAPHS IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME WE PROVIDE. AWESOME. SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH US . AWESOME. THANK YOU KEVIN. UM, SO WE DO TODAY, REALLY WHAT WE WANT TO EMPHASIZE IS THAT IS THE OVERLAP IN THE CATEGORIES AS WELL. WE, I DO KNOW THAT WHEN YOU ENTER THE COMPETITION, WE HAVE YOU PICK PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR INNOVATION WHEN IN REALITY, UM, AND I KNOW BECAUSE I'VE COMMUNICATED WITH A LOT OF YOU WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF OVERLAP IN THESE CATEGORIES. SO TODAY A BIG PART OF THE DISCUSSION IS GOING TO BE A SERVICE BUSINESS THAT ALSO OFFERS PRODUCTS. HOW DO WE NAVIGATE THAT AND HOW DO WE GET THROUGH, UM, SOME OF THE OBSTACLES THAT MIGHT COME UP WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU DO HAVE A PRODUCT AND A BUSINESS? SO I AM GOING TO GO AHEAD AND, UM, OH, KIND OF GOT 'EM. OKAY, PERFECT. SO THIS IS GOING TO BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU PARTICIPANTS. WE ALL WANT TO GET TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE. WE WANT KEVIN TO GET TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE. SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF YOU TO, UM, UNMUTE YOUR MICS AND, UM, GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF INPUT. SO FIRST WE WANNA KNOW, UM, WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR STARTING YOUR BUSINESS? AND ARE YOU FILLING A VOID IN YOUR INDUSTRY OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE FILLING A VOID IN YOUR INDUSTRY? SO ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO UNMUTE, UM, AND TALK ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS A LITTLE BIT. WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IT. HI EVERYONE, THIS IS TARA MCKINNEY. HELLO, HOW ARE YOU? HI, . UM, SO THE INSPIRATION FOR MY BUSINESS IS I NEED STUFF WHEN I'M DOING BUSINESS, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE , I NEED THINGS WITH ME FOR BUSINESS, LIKE I'M A GIRL AND I JUST NEED STUFF TO PUT STUFF IN AND I NEED AN UMBRELLA 'CAUSE IT'S RANDOM, MAYBE OR NOT. UM, SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE, UH, JUST HAVING ALL OF THE TOOLS THAT YOU WOULD NEED, LIKE WHEN YOU'RE A PERSON OR A WOMAN, BASICALLY ON THE PHONE. SO MY INSPIRATION IS JUST, I FELT LIKE HAVING ALL OF THAT IS ONE ITEM. LIKE ONE THING IS MISSING. [00:05:02] SO THE VOID THAT I WILL BE FILLING IN THIS PARTICULAR INDUSTRY IS THESE ARE PRODUCTS THAT I DESIGN MYSELF AND I DON'T SEE VERY MUCH OF THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR MARKET. UM, SO HOPEFULLY I CAN FEEL THAT SPACE IS MY HOPE. , THAT'S AWESOME. THANK YOU. AND KEVIN, WE ALSO WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. SURE. UH, LET'S SEE. WHAT WAS MY INSPIRATION FOR STARTING MY BUSINESS? UH, WELL, UH, GOOD FRIEND OF MINE, UH, WAS DOING VIDEO PRODUCTION AND WE DECIDED ONE DAY TO TAKE A RUN AT IT. UM, PITCHED A GUY ON A LOW BUDGET HORROR FILM AND, UH, USED THAT TO BUY OUR EQUIPMENT, HIRE THE ACTORS AND GET IT OFF THE GROUND. UH, BASICALLY JUST RAN IN FRONT OF THE WOLVES FOR ABOUT A SOLID YEAR UNTIL WE GOT A BASE OF CLIENTS. AND, UH, OUR INSPIRATION FOR STARTING OUR BUSINESS WAS THAT WE WANTED TO WORK FOR OURSELVES. AND SO WE DID AND HAVE BEEN CONTINUOUSLY FOR THE PAST 18 YEARS. ARE WE FILLING A VOID IN THE INDUSTRY? NO, UH, WE ARE NOT FILLING A VOID, BUT I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING BETTER SERVICE AND BETTER QUALITY OF PRODUCTS, UH, WHICH IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT YOU NEED TO BE VERY, VERY COGNIZANT OF THE QUALITY YOU PROVIDE AND THE LEVEL OF SERVICE YOU'RE WILLING TO GIVE YOUR CLIENTS. SO THAT'S ME. I'M AN OPEN BOOK. AWESOME. AND I DO THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE TELL PEOPLE A LOT IN, IN WHEN, WHO ARE STARTING A BUSINESS IS IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE NOT FILLING THE VOID, HOW IS YOUR BUSINESS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT THAN YOUR COMPETITORS? SO KEVIN EXPRESS THAT HE FEELS LIKE THE SERVICES HE OFFER ARE HIGHER, HIGHER QUALITY THAN HIS COMPETITORS. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE'S YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WITH YOUR BUSINESS? AND THAT'S KIND OF WHY WE WANTED TO GET YOU THINKING ABOUT THESE TWO QUESTIONS. UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT INSPIRED YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU FILLING OR WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN YOUR COMPETITION? DOES ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO ANSWER THE QUESTION? AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AND SHARE? HI, THIS IS, UH, RASHED WALTHALL. UM, SO MY INSPIRATION BEHIND, UM, THE IDEA OF MY BUSINESS IS THE UMBRELLA MISSION, WHICH, UM, ACCORDING TO SERVICES AND GOODS, UM, THE GOODS WOULD BE INSPIRATIONAL T-SHIRTS THAT, UM, KIND OF GIVE AN UPLIFTING MESSAGE TO PEOPLE. UM, WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT EMPOWERS YOU OR UPLIFTS YOU, IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD. SO MY IDEA BEHIND THAT IS TO HAVE THE, UH, UMBRELLA MISSION, WHICH IS THE LOGO, WHICH IS THE UMBRELLA, UM, COVERING THE WORLD. AND THEN THE LITTLE UMBRELLA, WHICH IS FOR KIDS, WHICH IS A WOMAN STANDING HOLDING A BIG UMBRELLA WITH KIDS ALL AROUND HER AND HER WAVING UP TO THE KIDS TO COME UNDER HER UMBRELLA TO GET OUT OF THE STORMS THAT THEY'RE IN, IN LIFE. UM, SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE I'M STARTING THAT WITH AS FAR AS, UM, GOODS GO. UM, AND THEN ALSO HAVING, UM, AN APP AS WELL TO GO ALONG WITH IT WHERE PEOPLE WHO'VE GONE THROUGH THEIR STORMS IN LIFE CAN GIVE TESTIMONY IS ABOUT HOW THEY WENT THROUGH IT AND BE AN INSPIRATION OR AN UMBRELLA FOR THE PEOPLE BEHIND THEM THAT ARE ALSO IN THEIR DARK MOMENTS. AND MY ULTIMATE GOAL WITH BOTH OF THOSE IS TO HAVE, UM, THOSE PROCEEDS GO INTO AN ACCOUNT WHERE I CAN THEN FUND THE UMBRELLA MISSION NONPROFIT, WHICH IS MY TRULY MY END GOAL. SO CREATE MERCHANDISE, CREATE APP, AND EVERYTHING FALLS UNDER THE UMBRELLA. OH, THAT'S AWESOME. YES, MA'AM. CONGRATULATIONS. THIS IS AWESOME. INSPIRATION FALL. IT'S ALL FROM INSPIRATION IN LIFE EXPERIENCES. I'VE GONE THROUGH ADDICTION, RECOVERY, MENTAL HEALTH AS A VET, UM, SPIRITUAL AWAKENINGS, ALL THESE THINGS THAT I'VE WENT THROUGH, BEEN IN NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTS WHERE ALL HE HAD INSPIRATIONAL THINGS TO LOOK AT AND PRAYING FOR LIKE MY OWN NEW SOURCES OF UPLIFTING. SO THAT'S THE WHOLE IDEA. I MEAN, WE'RE ALL UMBRELLAS AND EVERYBODY'S BEEN AN UMBRELLA TO SOMEONE IN THEIR LIFE. SO THAT'S THE MESSAGE I'M TRYING TO SEND. NICE. OH, THAT'S WONDERFUL. I LOVE THAT RASH. CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? YES, SIR. OH, GO AHEAD. UM, WHY DO YOU NEED AN APP? UM, SO THIS WILL COME LATER AFTER, LIKE I DO THE NONPROFIT. SO ANYONE THAT GOES THROUGH THE PROGRAM, WHICH WILL BE ADDICTION RECOVERY, I SAID, AND THEN MENTAL HEALTH WILL ALSO HAVE SPECIAL GUIDANCE. UM, ALSO AS A VET, LIKE I'LL HAVE SOME VET SERVICES AND THEN LIKE A SELF-ENERGY COURSE WHERE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO STAY LIKE WITHIN YOUR OWN ENERGY. LIKE, ESPECIALLY 'CAUSE WE ALL ARE LIKE, PEOPLE ARE NOT IN LIKE POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTS, RIGHT? SO YOU HAVE A LOT OF NEGATIVITY AROUND 'EM. SO IF YOU CAN MASTER HOW TO STAY IN YOUR OWN ENERGY AND KEEP YOURSELF UPLIFTED, THEN I THINK THOSE WILL HELP. SO THE APP WILL COME IN WHERE PEOPLE GO THROUGH THE COURSE OR THEY'LL GO THROUGH THE CLASSES AND THEN THEY CAN GIVE THEIR TESTIMONY ON THE APP WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO ON NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE IN LIFE, NO MATTER WHERE THEY'RE AT. AND WATCH [00:10:01] A VIDEO CLIP OF SOMEONE TALKING ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AND HOW THEY GOT THROUGH IT SO THEY CAN HAVE SOME ENCOURAGEMENT. OKAY. BUT ONE THING YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT, UH, ESPECIALLY IN YOUR USING AN APP, IS THAT, UH, THE APP STORES ARE GONNA TAKE A CUT. UM, LIKE APPLE TAKES 30% OFF THE TOP OF EVERYTHING THAT COMES THROUGH YOUR APP AND YOU'VE GOTTA BUILD THAT INTO YOUR BUSINESS PLAN. UH, WHEREAS IF YOU GO WITH AN RWDA RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN WEBSITE, YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING THAT AN APP CAN DO, BUT YOU'RE NOT BEHOLDEN TO A, AN APP STORE WHICH CAN BLOCK YOU OR LET YOU IN, LET YOU OUT OR COMPLETELY DESTROY YOU. JUST SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND. OKAY. COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? SO LIKE A WEBSITE WOULD BE, WELL, SO YOU SET UP A, A WEBSITE AND YOU DESIGN IT WITH WHAT'S CALLED RWD, RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN. AND THAT WILL LET IT MIMIC AN APP INSIDE A WEB BROWSER ON THE PHONE. UH, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH AN APP STORE AND THAT WAY YOU CAN AVOID PAYING APPLE 30% OFF OF EVERYTHING YOU MAKE ON THAT APP. OKAY. THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT ADVICE. I'M GLAD THAT I SPOKE ABOUT THAT AND YOU GAVE ME THAT, UH, INFORMATION. UM, THANK YOU. SO MAYBE THE WAY YOU WANT GO, BUT I MEAN, JUST DEFINITELY DO YOUR RESEARCH ON THAT BEFORE YOU, YOU COMMIT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. OKAY. YES SIR. THANK YOU FOR THAT. SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO TO JUMP IN THERE. NO, IT WAS GREAT ADVICE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO NEXT WE HAVE JOY JOYCE. UH, GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY. UM, AS JESSICA SAID, MY NAME IS JOYCE FOND DONG TO BE CLEAR. AND I HAVE A BOOK PUBLISHING COMPANY AND BASICALLY THE BUSINESS IS A TWOFOLD BUSINESS AND I'M, 'CAUSE I'M INSPIRED BY WRITING AND BY WRITING BOOKS. SO, UM, I FIGURED THIS IS A GOOD VENTURE. BUT MY BUSINESS IS A TWO STAGE BUSINESS WHERE I ALSO PROVIDE, I I PROVIDE BOTH BOOK PUBLISHING SERVICES AS WELL AS I PUBLISH AND SELL BOOKS. AND THE BOOKS THAT I'M PUBLISHING RIGHT NOW, UH, FEATURE STRONG FEMALE LEADS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED BACKGROUNDS IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY. BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES WE READ DIFFERENT STORE, LIKE THE DIFFERENT CLASSIC LITERATURE STORIES WE'VE READ, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY HAD THE FEATURE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS WHO A LOT OF TIMES ARE NOT FROM, UM, UNDERPRIVILEGED BACKGROUNDS. SO THOUGH THIS IS NOT LIKE A PER SE CLASSIC, BUT LET'S THINK ABOUT HARRY POTTER AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THOSE KIND OF STORIES THAT STAY WITH US. A LOT OF TIMES THESE STORIES, UM, DON'T HAVE STRONG FEMALE LEADS. SO THAT'S SOMETHING I'M TRYING TO CHANGE. SO BASICALLY I OFFER BOOK PUBLISHING SERVICES AND THE FUNDS FROM THOSE SERVICES HELP IN PUBLISHING BOOKS FROM BOTH MYSELF AND OTHER AUTHORS WHO, UM, WANNA TELL STORIES THAT FIT WITHIN THAT MESSAGE. SO, UM, I THINK WHAT MAKES ME STAND OUT WITHIN THE BUSINESS IS THE FACT THAT I AM AN AUTHOR. I KNOW HOW TO, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN THROUGH THE PROCESS OF WRITING AND PUBLISHING A BOOK, AND ALSO I HAVE THIS, UM, INITIATIVE THAT I'M, THIS MISSION THAT I HAVE TO REALLY, UM, GET MORE STORIES OUT THERE IN, UH, THE LITERARY FICTION WORLD OR NONFICTION. WOW, THAT'S AMAZING. THAT'S A REALLY GREAT IDEA. I ENJOY THAT A LOT. AND IT'S REALLY GOOD TO HAVE A STRONG MISSION LIKE THAT IN SOMETHING THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU REALLY PERSONALLY RESONATE WITH. SO I CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE WANNA SHARE ANYTHING BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD? TIFFANY, PUT SOMETHING IN THE CHAT. MAYBE HER MIC IS NOT WORKING. KEVIN. OH YEAH, SORRY. OH, OKAY. IF I COULD, UM, I APPRECIATE YOU BELINDA. MY NAME IS TIFFANY AND UM, I WANTED TO ALSO PIGGYBACK, UM, REGARDING KEVIN, UM, ABOUT THE APP. HOW MAYBE IF YOU COULD ALSO CONSIDER LIKE, SOME SORT OF LIKE COMMUNITY GATHERING DISCUSSION PERHAPS. UM, WHETHER IT'S JUST LIKE MEET AND GREET AND DISCUSSING EACH OTHER'S STORIES OR LIKE RECOMMENDATIONS ALONG THE LINES. UM, BECAUSE IT'S ALSO THE, I FEEL LIKE DIGITAL, UH, RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY LIKE VIDEOS AND EVERYTHING, IT'S GOOD, BUT ALSO SOMETIMES IN PERSON, LIKE HUMAN TO HUMAN. UM, I FIND THAT BEST AS WELL. UM, AND THEN MY SECOND THING I WANT TO MENTION IS, UH, BELINDA AND JESSICA AND KENNETH, IF MAYBE WE COULD POSSIBLY CONSIDER, UM, UM, WHETHER WE'RE COMPETING OR JUST, UM, COMPLETING THE PROGRAM, UH, MAYBE WE COULD HAVE A LIST OF EVERY ENTREPRENEURS BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I WANNA FOLLOW EVERYONE, UM, THUS FAR AND SUPPORT TOO. UM, BUT YES, THANK YOU. YES, [00:15:01] WE, WE, WE DO LOVE THAT IDEA. UM, SO ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THEIR INFORMATION, WE DO, UM, ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN PUT YOUR LINKEDIN INFORMATION, YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA INFORMATION, UM, IN THE, IN THE CHAT. YOU'RE ALWAYS MORE THAN WELCOME TO DO THAT. UM, BUT IT IS UP TO EVERYONE'S DISCRETION IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE. UM, STUFF LIKE THAT. WE SEE EMPIRE JACKSON, YOUR HAND IS UP. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. OKAY, COOL. UH, WELL I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THAT I COULD SHARE, UNLESS YOU WANTED TO MOVE ON. NO, GO AHEAD PLEASE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. HELLO EVERYONE. UH, WE ARE EMPIRE JACKSON. UH, WE ARE A HUSBAND AND WIFE DUO, PARENT PANNU. UM, AND WE, UH, ARE FOOD MANUFACTURERS. BUT FOR THIS CONTEST WE'RE GONNA NARROW IT DOWN TO LIKE OUR PIC UH, OUR PICKLES AND OUR COFFEE SYRUPS. AND WHAT INSPIRED US TO START THIS BUSINESS, UM, WAS REALLY MOSTLY LIKE OUR KIDS. UM, UM, WE'VE WORKED IN RESTAURANTS AND CLEANING, YOU KNOW, ME, LIKE SPECIFICALLY CLEANING, LIKE PRETTY MUCH ALL OUR LIFE. AND OUR KIDS ARE NOW EIGHT AND NINE AND WE'VE PRETTY MUCH MISSED OUT ON EVERYTHING, UM, BECAUSE WE WORK ALL THE TIME. AND SO WE WERE ACTUALLY WORKING AT RICE UNIVERSITY AND UM, WE WERE MAKING, WE WERE MAKING A LOT OF THE MENU ITEMS AND WE WERE OVERSELLING LIKE OUR SPECIALS THAN WHAT WAS ON THE MENU. AND SO, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF BUSINESS PEOPLE AT RICE WERE LIKE, WHY DON'T YOU JUST DO THIS YOURSELF? 'CAUSE IT REALLY SEEMS LIKE, UM, THE PEOPLE THAT WE WERE WORKING FOR WERE REAPING A LOT OF WHAT WE SEWED. 'CAUSE WE WENT FROM ONE BRICK AND MORTAR TO THREE TO A FOOD TRUCK TO CATERING, LIKE ALL WITHIN A YEAR AND A HALF OF US BEING THERE. UM, AND SO WE WANTED TO ALSO LIKE, UM, MOANING AND TARA SYRUPS ARE REALLY SUGARY. UH, A LOT OF PICKLES HAVE CHEMICALS IN IT IF YOU DON'T KNOW THAT. AND SO WE WERE KIND OF JUST REALIZING LIKE, WHAT COULD WE DO WITH OUR KNOWLEDGE THAT WE COULD TEACH OUR KIDS AND LIKE OUR KIDS COULD COME WITH US AND, YOU KNOW, IT COULD EVENTUALLY GO FORWARD INTO SOMETHING. AND SO, UM, WE DECIDED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DO OUR OWN PICKLES, HEALTHY, ALL LIKE RAW INGREDIENTS. UM, WE TALKED ABOUT LIKE GROWING OUR OWN CUCUMBERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND SO I FEEL LIKE THE VOID THAT WE FILL IS REALLY JUST LIKE, UM, GEARING OURSELVES TOWARDS LIKE CLEAN AND SUSTAINABLE ITEMS INSTEAD OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, RED FO 40 DYES. UM, YOU KNOW, IT ALL HAS TO REALLY DO WITH LIKE YOUR DIET AND IF YOU TAKE IT IN MODERATION, IT WILL BE OKAY. SO WE WANTED TO CREATE LIKE HIGH QUALITY NATURAL INGREDIENTS, YOU KNOW, BUT ALSO IT'S NOT GONNA COST YOU AN ARM AND A LEG, SO YOU KNOW SOMETHING. AND THEN ALSO THE KIDS CAN DO IT. SO THE KIDS GO WITH US TO LIKE A FENCE AND HELP US PICKLE AND MAKE SYRUPS AND THEY'RE GREAT SALESPEOPLE AND I WANT TO INSTILL LIKE GOOD SKILLS, SO. AWESOME. THANK YOU. I LOVE PICKLES. SO SEND ME AN EMAIL, . YES, DEFINITELY WILL. SO WE WILL GO ONTO, SO I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY MORE HANDS UP. SO KENNETH, WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND THIS IS WHERE WE'LL DRAW KEVIN BACK IN. AND THEN OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS GONNA GET IN HERE AT SIX 30 SO THEY CAN KIND OF POP IN AS WELL AND ANSWER SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS. SO THIS FIRST PART WE'RE GONNA TALK MORE ABOUT THE FUNDS OF YOUR BUSINESS. UM, SO KEVIN, HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU FEEL IS A GOOD AMOUNT FOR SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO START A PRODUCT BASED BUSINESS? AND I KNOW THERE'S NOT A ONE ANSWER FITS ALL, BUT IF YOU COULD PROVIDE A LITTLE INSIGHT ON THAT. OKAY, THAT'S A VERY OPEN-ENDED QUESTION. UH, YOU HAVE TO ANSWER A FEW THINGS BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT. ONE. ARE YOU FULFILLING THE PRODUCT AFTER YOU SELL IT? LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE TAKE OUR PICTURES, BUT WE DON'T SEND THE PRINTS OUT UNTIL SOMEONE BUYS THEM. WE DON'T DO MAKE THE PRINTS AND THEN SEE IF SOMEONE BUYS 'EM, ARE YOU. UM, BUT IN, UM, EMPIRE'S CASE, SHE'D BE MAKING THE PICKLES BEFORE, YOU KNOW, SO SHE'D HAVE TO HAVE AN INVENTORY ON HAND. UM, WITH RASHID, HE WOULD HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT BE HE FULFILLS THE INVENTORY ON THE T-SHIRTS AFTER THEY GET SOLD OR HE HAS SOME IN STOCK DEPENDING ON HOW IT GOES. SO YOU WANT TO HAVE ENOUGH TO, UM, AND THEN YOU'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT YOUR LABOR COSTS, UM, YOUR EQUIPMENT COSTS, UH, BUSINESS OPERATING [00:20:01] EXPENSES. UM, HOW LEAN DO YOU WANNA BE? ARE YOU WORKING FROM HOME TO START WITH? ARE YOU RENTING SPACE? UM, A GOOD RULE OF THUMB IS YOU WANT TO HAVE ENOUGH TO SURVIVE FOR SIX MONTHS. IF YOU'RE STARTING FROM SCRATCH, YOU FIGURE OUT ALL YOUR COSTS AND HOW IT GOES FROM THERE. AND YOU WANNA HAVE ENOUGH TO SURVIVE FOR SIX MONTHS BECAUSE YOU NEED TO BUILD YOUR SALES FUNNEL BEFORE YOU'LL START SEEING REVENUE COMING IN. IT'S VERY RARE THAT YOU CAN, UH, SELF-FUND ON A PROJECT. UH, WE, WE STARTED THAT, THAT WAS, I SAID 18 YEARS AGO AND WE DID DO THAT. BUT THOSE THINGS, I MEAN, THAT'S A UNICORN SHOWING UP. UH, YOU KNOW, GETTING A, UH, YOU KNOW, GETTING ENOUGH, UH, FUNDING RIGHT OFF THE BAT TO SELF FUND YOUR THING JUST OFF OF SALES. NEVER COUNT ON THAT. UH, SO HAVE AS MUCH AS YOU THINK YOU NEED TO SURVIVE SIX MONTHS AND THEN ADD IN 20% TO THAT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. OR YOU CAN JUST, YOU KNOW, ROLL THE DICE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. SOMETIMES IT WORKS, SOMETIMES IT DOES NOT. BUT YEAH. THANK YOU. UM, ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS AND, AND IT ALL COMES DOWN TO, UH, WHICH I THINK IS A WHOLE POINT HERE. REALLY DRILL DOWN INTO YOUR BUSINESS PLAN AND HOW YOU'RE GOING TO, UM, HOW YOU'RE GONNA FUND YOURSELF. WHAT ARE YOUR COSTS? WHAT ARE YOUR HIDDEN COSTS? DON'T FORGET, YOU'VE GOTTA PAY SALES TAX IF YOU'RE DOING PRODUCTS. 'CAUSE THEY WILL COME FOR YOU, UH, EVERY THREE MONTHS. THEY, IF YOU, UH, MISS YOUR SALES TAX BY A DAY, THEY WILL SLAP A LIEN ON YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, UH, VERY QUICKLY. AND THAT MIGHT STRANGLE YOUR ENTIRE PROCESS. UH, YOU'VE ALSO GOTTA PAY FRANCHISE TAX. UH, YOU GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT YOUR, ALL YOUR LICENSES ARE UP TO DATE. UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, EMPIRE, SHE'S GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT HER, UM, FOOD SERVICE LICENSES AND ALL THAT ARE UP TO DATE. AND I BELIEVE YOU NEED TO BE WORKING IN A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN, UH, UNLESS YOU GET A WAIVER. IS THAT RIGHT? SO TECHNICALLY WE STILL OPERATE UNDER THE TEXAS COTTAGE LAW, BUT YES, WE, WE HAVE A FOOD MANUFACTURER'S LICENSE MM-HMM . SO YES, WE CAN, TECHNICALLY WE SHOULD OPERATE IN A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN, BUT WE HAVEN'T MADE ENOUGH SALES TECHNICALLY TO GET US OUT OF THE TEXAS COTTAGE LAW. OKAY. WELL, AND AGAIN, NEED BE VERY, UH, COGNIZANT OF WHEN YOU CROSS THAT LINE BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA GET SIDEWAYS WITH THE CITY AND COUNTY. UH, IT'S JUST, JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS. SO YEAH, I, IF YOU CAN, IF IT'S AT ALL POSSIBLE, GIVE YOURSELF, UH, SIX MONTHS OF BASE REVENUE. ALRIGHT, THAT SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU KEVIN. UM, TO CONTINUE, HOW DID YOU FUND YOUR BUSINESS? DID YOU USE YOUR PERSONAL SAVINGS, INVESTMENTS, LOANS, CREDIT? TELL US HOW YOU FUNDED YOUR BUSINESS. WELL, TO START OFF WITH, UM, WE, UH, HAD BEEN DOING SIDE PROJECTS OF VIDEO COMMERCIALS, UH, NEW LITTLE THINGS FOR, UH, WEBB WAS JUST STARTING TO TAKE OFF WEB VIDEO AND WE GOT, UH, WITH THIS SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR AND WE MADE SEVERAL COMMERCIALS FOR HIM FOR SOME OF HIS STARTUP BUSINESSES. AND THEN HE DECIDED THAT HE WANTED TO FUND A MOVIE. AND SO WE PUT TOGETHER A PLAN FOR THE MOVIE. THAT WAS OUR BUSINESS PLAN. WE SET UP A, UH, SEVERAL TRENCHES OF FUNDING OVER THE COURSE OF SIX MONTHS AND WE USED THAT TO UPGRADE OUR EQUIPMENT, UH, HIRE THE PERSONNEL WE NEEDED, RENT THE LOCALES, UH, GET OUR LICENSES AND ALL THAT SORT OF THING FOR, LIKE I SAID, IT WAS A VERY LOW BUDGET, UH, HORROR MOVIE. AND THAT'S HOW WE STARTED THE, TO FUND OUR BUSINESS. THEN WE USED, AT THE SAME TIME, WHILE WE WERE DOING THAT, WE WERE ALSO PURSUING OTHER WORK, WHICH IS SOMETHING AS A, ESPECIALLY A SOLO OR A DUO, DUAL ENTREPRENEUR, YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO, YOU CAN NEVER JUST REST ON THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'VE GOTTEN TO THAT POINT. YOU'VE ALWAYS GOTTA BE PURSUING MORE THINGS. GREAT ADVICE. ALRIGHT. WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST A PROFIT MARGIN WOULD BE? WHAT IS A GOOD PROFIT MARGIN FOR A PRODUCT? WELL, OKAY, SO IN THAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE, WHAT IS THE VOLUME OF THE STUFF THAT YOU'RE SELLING? WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF IT? WHAT ARE YOUR GONNA BE YOUR SUNK COSTS FOR MARKETING? WHAT ARE GONNA BE YOUR COSTS FOR LABOR, UH, PRODUCTION? UM, GENERALLY FOR US, [00:25:01] UH, WE TRY TO ROLL AT A 15 TO 25% PROFIT MARGIN, UM, CONSIDERING LABOR, UH, THE PRODUCTION OF OUR, UH, PRODUCTS, UM, MARKETING AND VERY, THIS IS, UH, UH, SOMETHING THAT I REALLY WISH I HAD LEARNED AT THE BEGINNING. DON'T COUNT YOURSELF AND YOUR OWN LABOR AS A GIVEN. MAKE SURE THAT YOU BUILD A PAYMENT FOR YOURSELF INTO YOUR PROFIT. MAKE SURE THAT YOU PAY YOURSELF. 'CAUSE IT IS VERY EASY TO FALL INTO THE TRAP OF, OH, I'LL JUST SURVIVE ON THE PROFITS OF THE COMPANY. BUT IF YOU HAVE SOME LEAN TIMES AND YOU HAVEN'T BUILT THAT IN, THERE WON'T BE ANY PROFITS OF THE COMPANY. AND, AND A LOT OF COMPANIES GO BANKRUPT OR GO, UH, GO OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY CAN'T AFFORD TO DO IT ANYMORE BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING COMING TO THE PERSON WHO OWNS THE COMPANY. SO YOU WANNA MAKE SURE YOU DO THAT. UM, SO TAKING THAT INTO ACCOUNT, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT YOUR TIME, THE COST OF YOUR PRODUCTS, UH, COGS, COST OF GOODS AND SERVICES. OKAY. AND, UM, ALSO THINK ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THESE THINGS ARE GONNA BE SEASONAL, SO YOU NEED TO THINK TO YOURSELF, WELL, LIKE OUR BIG SEASONS ARE IN THE SPRING AND THE FALL SUMMER'S VERY DEAD FOR US. SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH BUSINESS AND PROFIT MARGIN OFF OF OUR FALL AND WINTER AND, UH, FALL, WINTER AND SPRING SERVICES TO LAST THROUGH SUMMER. SO YOU NEED TO LOOK AT NOT JUST, UH, WHAT DO I NEED FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER? YOU NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE YEAR AND BUILD OUT EVERYTHING FROM THERE. AND THAT'S WHERE WE GET OUR PROFIT MARGIN OF, LIKE I SAID, FROM 15 TO 25%. OKAY. AWESOME. SO YOU'VE ALREADY ANSWERED QUESTION FOUR. THANKS FOR THINKING AHEAD. SO DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT FUNDING YOUR BUSINESS THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE TOUCHED ON? OKAY. IF NOT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO SOMEONE HAVE A QUESTION. UH, I'M SORRY, THIS IS RASHEED. I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU GUYS OFF. I WANTED TO ASK WHAT SPECIFICALLY HE MEANT ABOUT BUILDING SIX MONTHS IN REVENUE, MEANING SIX MONTHS, SIX MONTHS IN INVENTORY, OR THAT YOU CAN TRANSLATE WHAT YOUR REVENUE WOULD BE FOR SIX MONTHS. IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN? I JUST WANTED TO GET SPECIFIC ON THAT. OH, ABSOLUTELY. SO WHEN YOU'RE SETTING UP, YOU GOTTA SAY TO YOURSELF, OKAY, WHAT ARE MY BUSINESS NEEDS? WHAT ARE MY COSTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES? UH, UM, I NEED, AND LET'S JUST SAY I'M STARTING, UM, MY BUSINESS. I WORK FROM HOME. I WAREHOUSE MY EQUIPMENT AT HOME AND I DO ONSITE, UM, PHOTOGRAPHY AND, UH, VIDEO. SO I DON'T HAVE A HUGE RENT. SO RENT IS, UH, FOR TAX PURPOSES, I PAY A PORTION OF MY RENT TO THE MORTGAGE OF MY HOUSE. SO I GOTTA LOOK AT THAT AND SAY, OKAY, WELL THAT'S 300 BUCKS A MONTH FOR SIX MONTHS, THAT'S $1,800. I'M GONNA BE WORKING 40 HOURS A WEEK FOR 24 WEEKS. UH, I, WHAT DO I NEED FOR ME TO, UH, BE PROFITABLE AT THAT, NOT NECESSARILY PROFITABLE? WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE DURING THAT TIME, UH, TO DO THAT? MY PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING WITH ME, HOW MUCH IS THAT GOING TO COST? AND HOW MANY HOURS AND HOW MANY MAD HOURS ARE THEY GONNA BE? ARE THEY GONNA BE W2 EMPLOYEES? ARE THEY GONNA BE 10 90 NINES? ARE THEY GONNA BE SUBCONTRACTORS? UH, YOU'VE GOTTA FIGURE THAT OUT. UM, AND THEN SAY I GET A BIG JOB AND I'VE GOTTA MAKE, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, $7,000 IN PRODUCT, UM, THEN I'VE GOTTA FIGURE THAT IN THERE AS WELL, BECAUSE I FIGURE THAT OVER THIS COURSE OF THIS SIX MONTHS, I WILL GET, UH, THIS AMOUNT OF THINGS AND I WILL, MY GOAL, I WILL SET MY GOALS TO WHERE I WANT MY SALES TO BE EVERY MONTH. AND I SAY, OKAY, WHAT DO I NEED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS AMOUNT OF SALES? THEN I GO DOWN AND I LOOK AT EVERYTHING, TEST IT, UM, WHAT'S THE COST OF MY LIABILITY INSURANCE? BECAUSE DO NOT DO ANYTHING WHERE YOU ARE INTERACTING WITH THE PUBLIC AND YOU DON'T HAVE LIABILITY INSURANCE. JUST, JUST DO NOT YOU, THAT'S, THAT'S A ROAD YOU DON'T WANT TO GO DOWN. UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS GONNA BE MY COST FOR WEB HOSTING? UH, WHAT'S GONNA BE MY COST FOR PHONES? WHAT'S GONNA BE MY COST FOR THE INTERNET? WHAT'S GONNA BE MY COST FOR, UM, ELECTRICITY, UTILITIES? ADD ALL OF THAT UP [00:30:01] AND FIGURE OUT, WELL, OKAY, IT'LL TAKE FOR SIX MONTHS, I NEED X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS TO SURVIVE FOR SIX MONTHS WHILE I BRING IN MY SALES GOALS WHILE I BRING IN 10 CUSTOMERS, OR A HUNDRED CUSTOMERS, OR 300 WHATEVER. YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT, UM, HOW MANY CUSTOMERS YOU NEED TO BRING IN IN ORDER TO KEEP THAT GOING. SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW YOU FIGURE IT OUT. YOU FIGURE OUT AND SAY TO YOURSELF, WHAT DO I NEED FOR THE BUSINESS TO GO FOR SIX MONTHS WHERE I'M NOT BRINGING IN ANY REVENUE THAT'LL GIVE ME SIX MONTHS TO PROVE MY CONCEPT, TO BRING IN REVENUE, TO GET FOLKS GOING TO GO TO GO FOR IT. AND GIVE YOURSELF A BIT OF A SAFETY MARGIN THERE AS WELL. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? UH, YES, SIR. SO THIS IS BASICALLY ALL IN REGARDS TO LIKE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN AND WHAT YOUR OUTLOOK IS MOVING FORWARD FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS. ABSOLUTELY. YOUR BUSINESS PLAN, UNDERSTAND IS KEY. IT'S ABSOLUTELY KEY. YOU HAVE GOT TO FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING. YOU GOTTA BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF TOO. YOU HAVE TO MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOUR PLAN IS SET OUT. YOU TEST IT, YOU STRETCH IT, YOU HAVE OTHER PEOPLE LOOK AT IT, WHICH IS WHAT THIS IS, AND THIS IS A FANTASTIC, UH, OPPORTUNITY HERE. HAVE OTHER PEOPLE LOOK AT IT, VET IT, GO, OH, WELL, YEAH, YOU'RE HERE. THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD, BUT YOU'RE, YOU'RE COMPLETELY MISSING OUT ON YOUR INSURANCE COSTS OR YOU'RE NOT, UH, FIGURING IN YOUR, UH, WEB DEVELOPMENT COSTS. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOTTA FIGURE THAT OUT AS WELL. UM, BUT YEAH, BUSINESS PLAN IS KEY. PLANNING IS ABSOLUTELY KEY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. LET'S, THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MOVE INTO FINDING THE RIGHT SUPPLIER OR MANUFACTURER. SO KEVIN, TELL US HOW DO YOU MANUFACTURE OR CREATE THE PRODUCTS THAT YOU MAKE? OKAY, SO WE TAKE PICTURES. THAT'S, THAT'S OUR MAIN FOCUS AT THIS TIME. WE TAKE PICTURES, WE TAKE VIDEO, UH, WITH PICTURES. WE MAKE SURE THAT WE DO IT RIGHT AND DO IT SO THAT IT'S CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT. YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOUR PRODUCTS, OUR PRODUCTS ARE, THE PHOTOS ARE COMPLETELY CONSISTENT. SO IF SOMEBODY COMES TO YOU THIS TIME, THEY'RE GONNA GET THIS PRODUCT, THEY COME TO YOU THREE WEEKS LATER, THEY'RE GONNA GET THE EXACT SAME PRODUCT OR POSSIBLY BETTER, BUT NEVER WORSE. AND THE WAY THAT WE, UH, FIND IT IS WE OUTSOURCE OUR SUPPLIERS. UM, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DECIDED WAS WE DIDN'T WANNA SPEND A HUNDRED AND SOME ODD THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, TO BUY PHOTO PRINTERS, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF WHERE YOU GOTTA BE AT TO GET GOOD PRINTERS, UH, AND THE PAPER, THE EXPERTISE. AND THAT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SET OF EXPERTISE THAN WHAT WE, UH, FOCUS ON. WE MAKE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES, WE DON'T MAKE BEAUTIFUL PRINTS. WE OUTSOURCE THAT. AND THE WAY THAT WE DID THAT IS WE WENT AND SURVEYED EVERY COMPANY. WE FOUND OUT WHAT THEIR, UH, WHAT THEY WOULD CHARGE US FOR, UH, WHOLESALE RATES. WE FOUND OUT WHAT THEIR SHIPPING WAS, WE FOUND OUT WHAT THEIR TURNAROUND TIMES ARE, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT. YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE A GOOD TURNAROUND TIME. IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE WHO HAS A FANTASTIC PRODUCT AND THEY'RE YOUR SUPPLIER, BUT THEIR TURNAROUND TIME BALLOONS OUT TO LIKE THREE WEEKS WHEN THEY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE TWO WEEKS OR A WEEK OR THREE DAYS AND IT BALLOONS OUT LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL OF THAT AS WELL. AND YOU HAVE TO BE, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE GOOD. SO THEN WE READ REVIEWS, UH, TALKED TO SOME OF THEIR CLIENTS, UH, WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAD GOOD EXPERIENCES, NARROWED IT DOWN AND THEN ASKED AND GOT THE BEST DEALS WE POSSIBLY COULD. UH, BUT YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET A, AND THEN WE GOT VARIOUS SAMPLES AND COMPARED THEM, UH, CHECKED OUT THEIR MANUFACTURING PROCESS. THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, PHOTO LABS OUT THERE THAT SAY THEY PRINT ON A HUNDRED YEAR PAPER AND, AND THIS IS A HUNDRED YEAR PICTURE, IT'LL BE THE SAME FOR A HUNDRED YEARS AND IT'LL BE, YOU KNOW, OVER THAT COURSE OF TIME. WELL, A LOT OF 'EM ARE, IT'S JUST NOT TRUE. THEY MAY SAY THAT, BUT IT'S ABOUT THE QUALITY YOU GET OUT OF A WALGREENS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UH, WHICH THOSE PHOTOS LAST MAYBE FOUR OR FIVE YEARS TOPS BEFORE THEY START LOOKING PRETTY DODGY. SO AGAIN, UH, FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS IS, VET THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS, TALK TO THE PEOPLE ABOUT THE TURNAROUND TIMES, GET REVIEWS, GET TO PEOPLE WHO'VE ACTUALLY USED THEM OVER TIME, AND THEN PICK THE BEST ONE, [00:35:01] UH, CONSISTENT WITH YOUR, UM, WHAT IT COSTS YOU, WHAT PROFIT YOU WANNA MAKE, AND ALL THE OTHER HIDDEN COSTS, YOU KNOW, SALES, TAX, UM, SHIPPING, THAT SORT OF THING. SO YOU JUST GOT TO BASICALLY DO A WHOLE BUNCH OF RESEARCH AND A WHOLE LOT OF SAMPLING. AND THAT'S, AGAIN, BUILT INTO THOSE SIX MONTHS WHERE YOU'RE FIGURING EVERYTHING OUT. OKAY. PAYMENTS TO KEVIN, YOU, YOU KEEP MENTIONING BUSINESS, YOU KEEP MENTIONING A BUSINESS PLAN. HOW OFTEN, HOW OFTEN, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 18 YEARS. HOW OFTEN DO YOU GO BACK AND TOUCH UP OR EVERY, EVERY YEAR. OH, HOW OFTEN DO YOU GO BACK? EVERY YEAR. IN, EVERY YEAR. IN JANUARY I GO BACK. OH WOW. I GO OVER ALL OF OUR SALES. I LOOK AT THE STATISTICS OF EVERYTHING THAT WE SOLD, WHAT OUR MOST POPULAR STUFF IS, UH, WHAT OUR PROFIT MARGINS WERE FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR, UH, WHAT OUR LABOR COSTS WERE, WHAT OUR INSURANCE COSTS. GO OVER EVERY SINGLE THING, PUT IT INTO A BIG SPREADSHEET AND FIGURE OUT EXACTLY, OKAY, DO I NEED TO RAISE MY PRICES? UH, DO WHAT'S THE GOING TREND RIGHT HERE? UM, OH, IF YOU ARE GOING INTO SOMETHING THAT'S A SERVICE INDUSTRY, UH, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING INVOLVED IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. I'M A MEMBER OF THE, UH, THE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, UH, THE, UH, SPORTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA. AND THEY CAN, THEY'RE, THEY ARE WELLSPRINGS OF INFORMATION WHERE YOU CAN GET JUST TONS OF INFORMATION, TONS OF TECHNICAL ADVICE ABOUT THINGS YOU'RE DOING, BUT REVISIT YOUR BUSINESS PLAN AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR. GO OVER EVERYTHING, ALL THE STATISTICS, LOOK AT IT, AND IF SOMETHING'S NOT WORKING, FIGURE OUT WHAT'S NOT WORKING AND CHANGE IT. BECAUSE YOU, IF YOU JUST TRY TO KEEP GOING DOWN THE SAME PATH, DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, EXPECTING SUCCESS WHEN IT'S, YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE RESULTS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, YOU'RE DOOMED. SO IN INSTANCE, YOU'RE IN INSTANCE, YOU'RE BUSINESS PLAN IS A TRUE LIVING DOCUMENT BECAUSE EVERY YEAR YOU GO BACK, REVITALIZE IT, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT IT AGAIN, SEE WHAT'S WORKING, SEE WHAT'S NOT WORKING, REWORK IT IF YOU HAVE TO REWORK IT SO YOU REMAIN PROFITABLE. AND THIS STEMS FROM YOUR BUSINESS PLAN. OH, ABSOLUTELY. YOU HAVE TO DO THAT. UH, BECAUSE THERE IS, WELL LOOK AT THE PAST, LOOK, THE PAST THREE YEARS WE ARE, ONE OF OUR MAIN CLIENTS WAS IN, UH, WAS SCHOOLS AND COV HIT. AND WE HAD TO COMPLETELY CHANGE HOW WE DID BUSINESS OVER THAT TIME BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, UH, IF YOU'VE HAD KIDS, YOU'VE GOTTEN THE PAPER FORMS AND YOU FILLED OUT THE ENVELOPES AND THAT SORT OF THING, WE HAD TO GO TO A COMPLETELY CONTACTLESS ONLINE MARKETING SYSTEM AND WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT AND WHAT THE PROFIT MARGINS WERE ON THAT YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK AT, ALRIGHT, WELL FI YOU KNOW, 10 YEARS AGO PRINTS WERE THE BIG MARKET DRIVER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY. UH, NOWADAYS IT'S DIGITALS. AND YOU'VE GOTTA THINK TO YOURSELF, OKAY, WELL WHAT'S THE BEST PRICE YOU CAN GET FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? AND WHAT'S THE PROFIT MARGIN FOR THAT AS WELL? UH, WE WORK IN A LOT OF UNDERSERVED, UH, UH, COMMUNITIES AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GIVE A GOOD PRODUCT FOR THE PEOPLE THERE AT A LOW PRICE, BUT GOOD QUALITY TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, EVERYBODY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS. UM, SO YEAH, IT'S ABSOLUTELY A LIVING DOCUMENT. UH, YOU'VE GOT TO, GOT TO GO BACK. YOU'VE GOTTA EXAMINE IT, YOU'VE GOTTA TAKE, YOU'VE GOTTA TAKE IT AND POKE IT AND STRETCH IT AND FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU'RE GOING, RIGHT? AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHERE YOU'RE GOING WRONG. SO YOU CAN CORRECT THAT. SO, BECAUSE, BECAUSE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN IS A LIVING DOCUMENT, IT ENABLES YOU TO PIVOT WHEN YOU NEED TO PIVOT. ABSOLUTELY. AND ALL OF THAT STEMS FROM THIS BUSINESS PLAN THAT THE USERS ARE CREATING, YOU KNOW, FOR A COMPETITION. AND THAT COULD, WHILE THEY'LL BE JUDGED ON THIS BUSINESS PLAN AND LOOKED AT, THEY CAN CONTINUE TO USE THIS AS A STARTING POINT AND CONTINUE TO GROW FROM THERE. OH, ABSOLUTELY. 100%. IF YOU HAVE A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN, YOU'VE GOT A GOOD IDEA ABOUT STUFF AND SAY YOU'RE LOOKING FOR INVESTMENT, UH, FROM FRIENDS, FAMILY, OR PEOPLE THAT YOU KNOW, OR YOU WANT TO GO OUT FOR THERE, IF YOU HAVE A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN, YOU CAN GO OUT AND SAY, AND GO OUT AND SAY, WELL, OKAY, HERE WE ARE AND THIS IS MY BUSINESS PLAN, DA DA DA. THESE ARE THE STEPS WE'RE GOING TO TAKE. AND IF YOU'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR A YEAR AND YOU NEED TO SAY, EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS, GET MORE EQUIPMENT, HIRE MORE PEOPLE, DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. IF YOU GO BACK, REVISIT, [00:40:01] WELL, WE HAVE GOTTEN THIS PROFIT MARGIN ON THIS NUMBER OF SALES, WE HAVE GOTTEN THESE NUMBER OF CLIENTS, WE EXPECT TO GET X NUMBER OF THIS IN THIS COURSE OF TIME. YOU CAN THEN USE THAT BUSINESS PLAN TO GO AND SECURE A LOAN, UM, OR SECURE ADDITIONAL FUNDING, WHICH YOU MIGHT NEED TO EXPAND TO FILL THE VOID OR FILL THE NICHE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. YOU NEVER GET AWAY FROM YOUR BUSINESS PLAN. YOU CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN, IT'S A LIVING DOCUMENT AND YOU REVISIT IT. UH, I MEAN, HONESTLY, WE SHOULD PROBABLY REVISIT MORE THAN ONCE A YEAR, BUT ONCE A YEAR IS ABOUT ALL WE CAN, UH, HANDLE AT THE MOMENT. SO, LIKE I SAID, I MEAN, YOU, THIS IS A FANTASTIC PLACE TO START. YOU'VE GOTTA START WITH YOUR BUSINESS PLAN. OKAY, WELL THAT IS SOME GREAT ADVICE AND YOU'VE DONE YOUR DUE DILIGENCE. UM, BUT ONE QUESTION, WERE THERE ANY RED FLAGS WHEN YOU WERE LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS WHEN YOU WERE GOING? OH, ABSOLUTELY. THERE WERE, UM, IF ONE OF THE THINGS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE DOING PRODUCTS YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE OF, YOU DON'T FALL INTO A CLASSIC TRAP IF YOU OVER PROMISE AND UNDER DELIVER. SO THERE WAS THIS ONE PHOTO LAB, UM, WE'RE NOT GONNA NAME NAMES, OKAY. BUT THEY HAD, THEY WERE PROMISING THE FINEST QUALITY PAPER, THE FINEST QUALITY PRINTING PROCESS, THE FINEST, UH, AND THE QUICKEST TURNAROUND TIMES IN THE BUSINESS. AND THEY WERE VERY QUICK, BUT THEY WERE ALSO INCREDIBLY SLOPPY ABOUT THEIR PRINTING PROCESS. SO THE, IT CAME ON GREAT PAPER, IT CAME QUICKLY AND IT CAME LOOKING HORRIBLE. OH NO. AND SO WE GOT THIS, WE WERE LOOKING AT IT, AND LUCKILY THESE WEREN'T SHIPPED DIRECTLY TO THE, TO THE CLIENTS. UH, THEY WERE SHIPPED TO US AND WE'RE GONNA DISTRIBUTE TO THE THING. WE HAD TO STOP THERE, CANCEL ALL OUR FUTURE BUSINESS WITH THOSE PEOPLE, GO TO ANOTHER SUPPLIER, PUSHED BACK OUR DELIVERY DATE BY 10 DAYS, AND MADE SURE THAT WE, UH, GOT A GOOD PRODUCT. BECAUSE IF WE HAD SENT THAT WHAT WE GOT AND OUT, UH, TO OUR CLIENTS, WE WOULD HAVE LOST THAT, THAT ACCOUNT. SO IF SOMETHING LIKE, AND THAT'S LIKE A, AN EGREGIOUS THING, WE DEFINITELY TOOK A, A BIG HIT CASH WISE ON THAT ONE. BUT YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK OUT FOR THINGS LIKE THAT. IF SOMEBODY OFFERS SOMETHING AND IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY THIS, IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, TOO QUICK, TOO GOOD, TOO WONDERFUL, THAT'S ALMOST ALWAYS A RED FLAG. YOU'VE GOTTA BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT IT. YES. OKAY, WELL, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION KEVIN. I'D LIKE TO, UM, ANNOUNCE THAT OUR SECOND SPEAKER HAS JOINED US. HIS NAME IS TRAVIS HOLDER. AND TRAVIS, IF YOU DON'T MIND, COULD YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS? IF YOU COULD TELL US WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION AND ARE YOU FEELING A VOID, ? FOR SURE. SOUNDS GOOD. HELLO EVERYONE. MY NAME IS TRAVIS HOLDER AND THANKS FOR, UH, INVITING ME HERE. AND I'M SORRY FOR BEING LATE RENTED INTO SOME TRAFFIC AND I DOUBLE BOOKED MYSELF, , BUT I'M HERE, THANK GOD. SO, YEAH, UM, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT MYSELF. UM, I'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS NOW FOR OVER 10 YEARS. UM, I STARTED OFF, UM, IN AFFILIATE MARKETING ACTUALLY BACK IN 2013, WELL, ACTUALLY 20 20 12. UM, AND WHAT PRETTY MUCH WAS, IS I WAS SELLING OTHER PEOPLE'S PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. SO FROM THERE I MOVED ON, I ACTUALLY MASTERED MARKETING, UM, ONLINE, UH, MARKETING AS FAR AS, UH, FACEBOOK ADVERTISING, UM, INSTAGRAM, MAR, UH, UH, ADVERTISING, ALL, ALL THAT GOOD STUFF. AND I WAS ABLE TO OPEN UP MY, MY AGENCY WHERE I WOULD HELP OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS, YOU KNOW, DRIVE TRAFFIC AND SALES TO THEIR BUSINESS. RIGHT. AND, YOU KNOW, COUPLE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, I ENDED UP GETTING INTO E-COMMERCE IN 2017. AND FROM THERE I JUST BEEN STUCK IN E-COMMERCE. I MEAN, IN A GOOD WAY, OBVIOUSLY. UM, 'CAUSE I JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH THE WHOLE BUSINESS MODEL. SO I'VE BEEN DOING THAT EVER SINCE. AND NOW I OWN, UM, MY COMPANY DONE FOR YOU ECOM, WHERE I HELP, UH, PEOPLE START THEIR E ECOM STORES. AND I ALSO OWN MOLLY, WHICH IS THE SKINCARE BRAND THAT HELPS PEOPLE, UH, WITH INGROWN HAIRS, UM, UH, REMOVE DARK, DARK SPOTS, YOU KNOW, FROM THEIR, THEIR FACE OR THEIR BODY. SO THAT'S SOME OF MY MAIN TWO PROJECTS RIGHT NOW. OKAY. [00:45:01] SOUNDS GOOD. ALRIGHT, WELL WE ARE, I'M SORRY, YOU HAD, YOU HAD OTHER QUESTIONS. OH, WELL, OH, THERE, THERE'S THE QUESTIONS ON THE SCREEN. OKAY. SO WHAT WAS MY INSPIRATION FOR STARTING MY, MY BUSINESS? YEAH. WELL, MY CURRENT BUSINESS, MY INSPIRATION WAS, UM, FROM MY DONE FOR YOU, UH, BUSINESS. I, I'LL START WITH THAT ONE FIRST. UH, I JUST SAW A NEED IN THE MARKETPLACE WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD JUST CONTACT ME. THEY WANT TO HELP, YOU KNOW, WITH THEIR, YOU KNOW, E E-COMM JOURNEY. AND I WILL, YOU KNOW, I HELP 'EM, YOU KNOW, AND I'LL HELP PEOPLE HERE AND THERE, I WILL COACH AND MENTOR, BUT I WAS GETTING SO MANY REQUESTS. I ACTUALLY START, I, I I WAS GETTING SO MANY REQUESTS THAT I, UM, DECIDED TO START AN AGENCY, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT IN MIND. SO THAT WAS MY, MY INSPIRATION, YOU KNOW, BEHIND IT. UM, AND MOLLY, MY INSPIRATION BEHIND THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANTED TO SOLVE A NEED IN THE MARKETPLACE. UH, 'CAUSE ONE THING THAT I GREW UP WITH, UM, ALL INTO MY DULL YEARS WAS IN INGROWN HAIRS. LIKE, YOU KNOW, MY BEARD AND MY NECK. SO I WENT AND FOUND A PRODUCT, RIGHT, A SOLUTION TO HELP, YOU KNOW, ALLEVIATE THAT. SO THAT'S WHEN WE CAME UP WITH, WITH MOLLY AND WE FOUND A SUPPLIER THAT, YOU KNOW, SUPPLIED IN ALL OUR PRODUCTS, AND NOW WE'RE SELLING THAT AS WELL. AND THAT'S BEEN OPEN FOR ALMOST A YEAR NOW. AND WHAT, OKAY, SO MY FILLING THE VOID IN THE INDUSTRY. SO YEAH. SO PRETTY MUCH FOR BOTH COMPANIES, UM, FOR BOTH COMPANIES. YEAH. SO FEELING, YEAH, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART, I WOULD SAY IS FILLING A VOID IN THE INDUSTRY, YOU KNOW, FOR THE DONE FREE E-COMM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T WANNA FIGURE OUT THE, THE TECH. AND SINCE MYSELF, I'M A TECH HEAD, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A LONG TIME, YOU KNOW, I KNOW LIKE THE BACK OF MY, UM, LIKE, LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND, YOU KNOW, I JUST FEEL FILL THAT VOID. RIGHT? AND THEN OF COURSE, THE OTHER BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, FILLING THE VOID OF HAVING A PRODUCT OUT THERE THAT WOULD ACTUALLY HELP PEOPLE. OKAY, GREAT. SO WE WERE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FINDING THE RIGHT SUPPLIER OR MANUFACTURER. SO CAN YOU TELL US, UM, HOW YOU CREATE YOUR PRODUCT? YEAH, SURE. SO LET'S SEE IF I CAN, I CAN SUMMARIZE IT IN A FEW MINUTES 'CAUSE IT IS A, A LONG PROCESS TO DO IT. BUT, UM, YEAH. YOU KNOW, STARTING OFF WITH, YOU KNOW, FILLING THAT VOID, YOU KNOW, SOLVING A PROBLEM, RIGHT? IN THE MARKETPLACE, THAT'S THE FIRST PLACE I STARTED WITH FINDING SOMETHING THAT WILL SOLVE SOMEBODY'S PROBLEMS OR ALSO SOMETHING THAT IS, IS TRENDING, RIGHT? SOMETHING THAT'S GOING IN IN THE UPTREND. YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHEN I, WHEN I LOOK AT MY PRODUCTS, WHEN I'M LOOKING AT SOMETHING TO SELL, I'M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THAT'S TRENDING UP VERSUS TRENDING DOWN OR SOMETHING THAT IS PRETTY NEW RIGHT IN THE MARKETPLACE. A A NEWER PRODUCT, A NEWER CONCEPT, YOU KNOW, STUFF LIKE THAT. AND AS FAR AS MANUFACTURING MY PRODUCT, UM, IT DEPENDS. UM, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN MALI, WHAT WE DID IS FIRST WE WENT TO CHINA, YOU KNOW, ALIBABA LOOK FOR SUPPLIES THERE. BUT THEN AGAIN, MYSELF AND MY TEAM DECIDED LIKE, HEY, MAYBE WE WILL DO SOMETHING IN THE USA BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T WANT TO TRUST USING CHINA FOR LIKE SKINCARE PRODUCTS. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE PUTTING IN THERE. SO I ACTUALLY, UM, WENT ON GOOGLE AND LOOKED FOR WHITE LABEL COMPANIES LOOKING FOR A SPECIFIC PRODUCT, RIGHT? AND I SEARCHED IT AND I ACTUALLY FOUND, YOU KNOW, A FEW COMPANIES IN THE USA THAT CAN MANUFACTURE MY, MY PRODUCT. SO THAT'S HOW I WAS ABLE TO DO IT. YOU KNOW, I JUST SEARCHED ON GOOGLE WHITE LABEL SKINCARE PRODUCTS, RIGHT? THAT'S IT FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UM, COMPANY. AND A BUNCH OF SUPPLIERS CAME UP IN THE USA AND I WENT TO ALL THEIR CATALOGS. I JUST SEARCHED THROUGH ALL THE CATALOGS, AND I FINALLY FOUND ONE THAT, UM, WORKED FOR ME, RIGHT? THAT IT WAS PERFECT, RIGHT? SO THAT'S HOW I FIND MY, MY PRODUCTS IS JUST SEARCHING WHITE LABEL MANUFACTURERS IN THE, IN THE USA. AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, FOR CHINA IT DEPENDS ON WHAT IT IS. UM, IF I GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, UM, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A STORE THAT SELLS AUTO ACCESSORIES. YOU KNOW, I, I GO TO CHINA, I'M GONNA ALIBABA SEARCH FOR THAT, RIGHT? AND I'LL FIND A BUNCH OF SUPPLIERS AND I WOULD JUST CONTACT ALL OF THEM, YOU KNOW, IT, THE NAME OF THE GAME REALLY FOR ME WAS MESSAGING AS MUCH PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE NOT ONLY DO I DO, I WANNA GET THE BEST PRICE, I ALSO WANNA FIND THE BEST QUALITY PRODUCT, RIGHT. AND THE FASTEST SHIPPING TIMES TO, TO ME. OKAY. SO YOU TOLD US WHERE YOU FIND YOUR SUPPLIERS. WHEN YOU WERE LOOKING, WERE THERE ANY RED FLAGS THAT YOU, YOU FOUND AND WHEN YOU WERE OUT THERE LOOKING FOR THE DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS PRODUCT? I MEAN, FOR ME, NO. I MEAN, I CAN BRING UP A STORY ABOUT WHEN I FIRST TRIED TO START MY, MY JOURNEY, UM, BACK IN, I SAY 2010, I WAS TRYING TO RESELL CELL PHONES, RIGHT? SMARTPHONES AT THAT TIME, YOU KNOW, BACK THEN IT WAS BECOMING VERY POPULAR, UH, TO, TO RESELL SMARTPHONE. SO MY WHOLE IDEA WAS LIKE, BUY A SMARTPHONE FROM ALIBABA AND PUT IT ON EBAY AND SELL IT FOR A HIGHER PRICE, RIGHT? SO I ENDED UP . IT WAS, WOW, IT'S FUNNY NOW, NOW THAT I THINK BACK, THAT WAS, YEAH, I, I GOT SCAMMED FOR THAT ONE BECAUSE THE GUY WAS LIKE, OH, SEND ME, AND THIS IS BEFORE ALIBABA, YOU KNOW, THEY CHANGED A BUNCH OF THINGS IN ALIBABA WHERE IT MAKES IT A LOT SAFER [00:50:01] FOR YOU TO PAY AND, AND NOT GET SCREWED OVER. SO THAT WAS LIKE WAY OVER 10 YEARS AGO. UM, BUT I ENDED UP SENDING MONEY TO WESTERN UNION AND THAT'S IT. I NEVER HEARD FROM THEM EVER AGAIN. . SO YOU JUST GOTTA WATCH OUT FOR THAT KIND OF STUFF WHERE PEOPLE ARE ASKING YOU TO SEND TO WESTERN UNION OR YOU KNOW, IF THEY DON'T HAVE A REPUTABLE WEBSITE, IF YOU CAN'T GOOGLE THEIR, THEIR ADDRESS AND SEE LIKE A PHYSICAL LOCATION IF YOU CAN'T TALK TO THEM IN PER, YOU KNOW, IN PERSON OR EVEN THROUGH THE PHONE, YOU KNOW, THAT TYPE OF STUFF. AND ALSO TOO, ON THE FIRST RUN OF BUYING PRODUCTS FROM A SUPPLIER, I NEVER BUY A BUNCH. I BUY, LIKE, I RISK WHAT I CAN LOSE. THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY. THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT. I RISK WHAT I CAN LOSE. SO SAY IF I BUY FROM SOMEBODY IN ALIBABA AND FOR SOMETHING, SOME REASON SOMETHING HAPPENS AND THEY DON'T DELIVER, IT'S FINE. NO BIG DEAL. I ONLY SPENT LIKE 200 BUCKS, 500 BUCKS, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THAT TEST, RIGHT? SO I ALWAYS EVEN HAVE 'EM SEND ME SAMPLES FIRST BEFORE I EVEN EVEN MOVE FORWARD AS WELL. SO THIS TYPE OF THINGS I, I LOOK OUT FOR, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE IF I CAN PAY UP WITH PAYPAL, EVEN BETTER IF I CAN PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD EVEN BETTER, BECAUSE THEN I HAVE THAT, THAT PROTECTION. SO IF ANYTHING HAPPEN, I'LL CALL MY CREDIT COMPANY AND BE LIKE, HEY, THEY NEVER DELIVERED. THEY NOT ANSWER ME. YOU KNOW, CAN I JUST FILE A CHARGEBACK? WHATEVER, YOU KNOW? ALRIGHT, THAT'S GREAT. KEVIN, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU DO, DO YOU ASK FOR SAMPLES BEFORE YOU ORDER A PRODUCT FROM A, FROM A, FROM OUR DISTRIBUTOR? OH, 100%. YEAH. THAT'S PART OF THE RESEARCH. YOU MM-HMM . GET SAMPLES. UH, AND YOU, FOR US, WE DEFINITELY, WE SEND IMAGES THAT WE KNOW ARE, ARE CORRECT COLOR CORRECTED, WHITE BALANCE, ALL GOOD TO GO. WE SEND THEM AND SAY, HEY, PRINT THESE AND SEND THEM BACK TO ME BEFORE WE EVER USE THAT. UH, USE THAT SUPPLIER. SO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN WORK WITH US. DO Y'ALL SHOP LIKE MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE, LIKE IS THERE A NUMBER OF DISTRIBUTORS YOU SHOP BEFORE YOU PULL THE TRIGGER AND SAY, HEY, I WANT TO GO WITH THESE, IS IT 10? IS IT 20? THESE ARE NEW PEOPLE STARTING NEW PRODUCTS AND, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GET BURIED IN A RABBIT HOLE OR GO INTO WEEDS AND NEVER REALLY FIND A SUPPLIER BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THERE ARE 10,000 OUT THERE. DO Y'ALL HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER YOU DO WELL? WELL THAT'S, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S GOOD ABOUT JOINING PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION IS YOU CAN TALK TO A LOT OF THE GUYS AND WOMEN WHO ARE IN THERE AND, UH, GET A GOOD FEEL FOR WHO THE TOP 10 OR 15, UH, PLACES ARE. UH, AND THEY'LL GIVE THE, USE THEIR INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE AS YOUR BASIS. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT THEY DO. THEY LOVE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE, WHO THEY'RE WORKING WITH AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO ASK QUESTIONS, DO YOUR RESEARCH. BUT YEAH, I WOULDN'T GO, YOU KNOW, NOT A HUNDRED SUPPLIERS, BUT WE LOOKED AT PROBABLY, UH, 12 DIFFERENT PHOTO LABS BEFORE WE SETTLED ON THE ONES THAT WE ARE GONNA WORK WITH. ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A QUESTION, TARA MCKINNEY, UNMUTE YOURSELF PLEASE. HI, IT, UH, IT'S KEVIN, RIGHT? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. SO WHEN YOU'RE FINDING THE RIGHT SUPPLIER, YOU'RE LOOKING TO, TO SECURE THAT SUPPLIER, IS TESTING THE MARKET PRODUCT PART OF THAT PROCESS IN ORDER TO DISCOVER LIKE WHO'S THE BEST SUPPLIER WITH THE BEST PRODUCT? AND IF SO, HOW LONG DO YOU DO THAT PROCESS? WELL, UM, OUR RESEARCH TOOK ABOUT, I WANNA SAY, AND WE, LIKE I SAID, HEAVILY RELIED ON A LOT OF PEOPLE'S INFORMATION ON THERE. AND WE GOT SAMPLES OF ALL THE NORMAL THINGS. THE MOST, UH, COMMON PRINTS ARE ALWAYS THE EIGHT BY 10, THE FIVE BY SEVEN, AND WHAT'S CALLED THE WALLET OR A TWO BY THREE. AND WE GOT VARIOUS SAMPLES OF THOSE ON THE VARIOUS TYPES OF PAPER, UH, THAT THEY SEND. AND WE COMPARED, WE CONTRASTED, WE MADE SURE THAT THEY WERE, UH, OF GOOD QUALITY, THAT THEY CAME PACKAGED CORRECTLY SO THAT THEY WOULDN'T GET DAMAGED IN TRANSPORT. UM, SO YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE MOST, UH, YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE GETTING GOOD STUFF AND YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, UH, UH, INDUSTRY STANDARD OR BETTER. SO YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT, UH, OR WHAT ARE THE BEST SELLING, UH, PRODUCTS IN YOUR FIELD, AND CAN THEY SUPPLY THOSE? BECAUSE IF THEY CAN ONLY SUPPLY, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE, YOU DON'T WANT TO JUST GO TO ONE PLACE AND THEN GO TO ANOTHER PLACE. UH, FOR US, [00:55:01] IT'S A LOT EASIER TO CONSOLIDATE INTO, UH, ONE, JUST ONE SUPPLIER FOR, UH, THE PRODUCTS THAT WE'RE DOING. AND WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. RASHEED, UNMUTE YOURSELF PLEASE. UH, YES. UM, I JUST, I DON'T WANNA STARE BACK, BUT, UM, SO YOUR FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS, IS THAT BASED ON YOUR BUSINESS PLAN AS WELL? IS THAT SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAT YOU DO BASED ON YOUR MARKET RESEARCH OF WHATEVER PRODUCT THAT YOU'RE SELLING AND WHAT THE COMPETITION IS DOING? WELL, UH, FOR ME IT'S BOTH. YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK AT, UH, WHAT YOUR COMPETITION IS DOING. YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK AT HOW YOU CAN PROVIDE THE PRODUCTS THAT YOU WANT TO SELL. AND YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK AT, IS THERE A DEMAND FOR THOSE PRODUCTS IN MY THING? AND YOU COMBINE ALL OF THAT. UM, IT'S, UH, HAVE Y'ALL HIT THE SWOT ANALYSIS YET? STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITY, UH, THREATS, YES. THAT IN THE RING ANALYSIS, I BELIEVE WE WENT OVER. OKAY. UH, SO THAT'S WHERE YOU WOULD FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE BEST, UH, SELLING THING IN THIS MARKETPLACE NOW, UH, WHAT CAN I GET IT FOR? UM, AND BUILD THAT INTO, UH, YOUR FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS WITHIN YOUR BUSINESS PLAN. UH, TRAVIS, IS THAT HOW YOU DO IT? NOT NECESSARILY, BECAUSE MY MARKET'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN, I MEAN, 'CAUSE I'M SURE YOU GUYS HAVE, UH, TRADITIONAL BRICK AND MORTAR BUSINESSES, RIGHT? NO, SO, SO NOT, I DON'T, THEY'RE IN, UH, BUSINESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT, SO THEY'RE IN A COMPETITION TO COME UP WITH A BUSINESS. SO SOME, SOME OF THEM HAVE NO BUSINESS YET. GOT IT. AND WE, UM, UH, WE DO ONSITE PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO, SO WE DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE A STUDIO OF OUR OWN. GOT IT. WHICH IS A COST SAVINGS. RIGHT? RIGHT. YEAH, A HUNDRED PERCENT. YEAH. FOR ME, I MEAN, DO IT A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE MY MARKET IS LIKE WORLDWIDE AS WELL. SO FOR ME IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. UM, BASED ON THAT, I MEAN, FOR ME, I JUST, I KNOW IT SOUNDS A LITTLE, LITTLE WEIRD OR, OR ON, ON THE ORTHODOX, BUT I GO BASED, BASED OFF TRENDS AND, AND WHAT THE MARKET IS, IS GIVING ME. RIGHT. AND ALSO WHAT PEOPLE ARE, ARE, ARE BUYING AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME. MM-HMM . OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO BACK TO THE RIGHT SUPPLIER AND THE RIGHT MANUFACTURER, WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK IS A GOOD IDEA? IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO BUY WHOLESALE OR WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOUR RECOMMENDATION BE? SO WHEN YOU'RE SAYING BUYING A WHOLESALE, YOU'RE LIKE TALKING ABOUT, UH, GETTING A BUSINESS RATE FOR YOUR STUFF OR BUYING IN BULK? UM, I WOULD SAY EITHER. OKAY. UH, WELL WE, OUR COMPANY IS AN ON DEMAND FULFILLMENT. SO WE DON'T MAKE ANYTHING UNTIL SOMEONE, WELL, WE, WE MAKE THE PHOTOGRAPHS, WE MAKE THE DIGITALS, BUT WE DON'T MAKE ANYTHING PHYSICAL UNTIL SOMEBODY BUYS IT. UH, AND WE DO GET A WHOLESALE RATE FROM OUR SUPPLIERS AND WE HAVE OUR MARKUP ON THAT AS WELL, BUT WE DON'T, UH, WHEREAS, SO WE'RE NOT, WE DON'T HAVE ANY INVENTORY PER SE, BUT SOME FOLKS WOULD NEED TO HAVE INVENTORY AND, AND THEY WOULD NEED TO, YOU DEFINITELY WOULDN'T WANNA BUY WHOLESALE, BUT YOU DON'T WANNA BUY SO MUCH THAT YOU'VE GOT A TON OF PRODUCT SITTING ON SHELVES GATHERING DUST. 'CAUSE ONE, IT COULD GO BAD. UH, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE LIKE IN A FOOD INDUSTRY TYPE OF THING. YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, SIX, YOU KNOW, 600 POUNDS OF PICKLES GOING SOUTH ON YOU. UH, AND YOU DON'T WANNA HA YOU DON'T NECESSARILY NEED TO WAREHOUSE, STUFF LIKE THAT. SO YOU NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT'S YOUR TURNAROUND TO FULFILLMENT. IF I GET AN ORDER IN FOR THINGS, UM, CAN I FULFILL THIS ORDER OUTTA MY EXISTING INVENTORY AND THEN HAVE MY SUPPLIER COME IN AND BACKFILL MY INVENTORY, HAVING JUST ENOUGH WITH A LITTLE BIT OF MARGIN ON TOP SO THAT I CAN KEEP FULFILLING ORDERS. BUT I DON'T HAVE A HUGE INVENTORY OF STUFF. UH, 'CAUSE YEAH, YOU CAN GET KILLED ON INVENTORY, BUT YOU AGREE. YOU ALWAYS WANNA GET WHOLESALE. YEAH, I AGREE. SAME THING. YEAH, SAME THING HERE. I, I TRY TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE JUST DO PR PROJECTIONS BASED ON WHAT'S CURRENTLY SELLING RIGHT NOW. SO WE'LL MAKE SURE [01:00:01] WE HAVE JUST ENOUGH TO FULFILL. BUT ALWAYS, LIKE YOU SAID, JUST BACKFILLING THE INVENTORY. 'CAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA BE STUCK IN INVENTORY. A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKE THAT MISTAKE WHEN THEY FIRST START BUSINESS, THEY BUY, I SEE IT ALL THE TIME, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT I WITH, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL BUY LIKE, OH, I HAVE 10,000 UNITS OF THIS. I'M LIKE, WHY ? YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU HAVE HAVEN SOLD NAMING IN ONE AND YOU HAVE ALL THESE UNITS IN, IN, IN WAREHOUSE. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ACCUMULATING WAREHOUSE FEES. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE PAYING A BUNCH OF MONEY UP FRONT TOO. SO FOR ME, IT'S NOT WORTH THAT. I'D RATHER PUT THAT MORE INTO, I'D RATHER GET LIKE A, A SMALL AMOUNT OF INVENTORY AND MOST OF THE MONEY GOING TO MARKETING TO ACTUALLY SELL IT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO, UM, THAT'S A GOOD SEGUE TO THE NEXT SECTION, MARKETING. HOW DO I MARKET MY PRODUCT? WHAT'S IMPORTANT, HOW IMPORTANT IS PACKAGING AND THE LOGO FOR YOUR BUSINESS OR PRODUCT? YOU, YOU WANT ME TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION? YEAH. OR KEVIN OR KEVIN? GO FIRST. OH, NO, GO, GO FOR IT, MAN. ALL RIGHT, COOL. YEAH, NO WORRIES. UM, PACKAGING AND LOGO, IT IS IMPORTANT. UM, BUT IT'S NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. UM, MOST IMPORTANT IS, IS, UH, PRODUCT QUALITY FIRST AND FOREMOST. YEAH. UH, PEOPLE DO LOVE PRETTY PACKAGING AND NICE LOGOS AND EVERYTHING, BUT THE FIRST THING THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IS IF THAT PRODUCT IS GONNA SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS. RIGHT. SO THAT'S THE FIRST THING, YOU KNOW, I WILL SEE WHEN I'M SELLING A PRODUCT. AND THEN FROM THERE, YEAH. THEN WE IMPROVE AND DO THE PACKAGING AND THE, AND THE LOGO AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF. RIGHT. BUT IF YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A HOME RUN PRODUCT AND IT'S ALREADY SELLING, THEN BY ALL MEANS, YOU KNOW, GET GOOD PACKAGING, GET A GOOD LOGO. OF COURSE. YEAH. I AGREE. I MEAN, UH, YOUR PACKAGING AND YOUR LOGO, AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T FEEL CHEAP OR LOOK LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU KNOW, DROP TWO BUCKS TO SOME KID IN A, AN ART CLASS TO MAKE IT AS LONG AS IT LOOKS DECENT AND YOU'VE GOT, UH, YOU KNOW, AND YOU, IT'S GOT A DECENT FEEL TO IT. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DROP A HUGE AMOUNT ON IT. MM-HMM . UH, BECAUSE THE THING THAT'S IN THE BOX, THE THING THAT'S IN THE ENVELOPE, THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA REMEMBER. AND IF YOU DO GOOD STUFF THERE, THEN THEY'RE GONNA BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GO TO A BAKERY AND THE BAKERY HAS THIS, UH, THEY'VE GOT A BOX AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL AND IT'S GOT SILK CORDS HOLDING IT CLOSED AND THERE'S CALLIGRAPHY ON IT, AND YOU OPEN IT UP AND YOU TAKE A BITE AND IT'S LIKE EATING SAWDUST, RIGHT. , YOU JUST GO TO, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE ANOTHER BAKERY THAT'S DOWN THE BLOCK AND THEY'VE GOT A, A LITTLE CHEF HAT ON THE THING AND IT'S JUST A CHEAP CARDBOARD BOX. YOU OPEN IT UP AND YOU TASTE IT AND IT'S FANTASTIC. WHICH BAKERY ARE YOU GONNA GO TO? FANTASTIC ONE. MM-HMM . AND I KNOW THAT FOR A FACT BECAUSE, UH, MY MOM STARTED A BAKERY WHEN I WAS IN THIRD GRADE AND I GREW UP IN ONE . MM. NICE. I HAD TO, I STARTED OFF WASHING DISHES. THEY HAD TO GET ME A BOX SO I COULD REACH DOWN INTO THE SINK . SO THAT'S AWFUL. BOTH OF YOU GUYS KEEP MENTIONING QUALITY IN A PRODUCT AND QUALITY IS ONE OF THOSE WORDS THAT'S REALLY HARD TO DEFINE BECAUSE WHAT'S GOOD QUALITY TO YOU MAY NOT BE GOOD QUALITY TO ME. HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE QUALITY FOR A STARTUP WHO DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, WHO, YOU KNOW, DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT SAY APPLE WOULD HAVE TO BUY NICE PACKAGING TO BUY TITANIUM? HOW WOULD, HOW SHOULD WE DEFINE WHAT QUALITY IS TO US IN THIS EARLY STAGE? THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT OR THE QUALITY OF THE PACKAGING? THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT THAT WE SELL. THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT. AND WE'LL START WITH KEVIN. YEAH. UH, SIMPLEST THING, NEVER SELL SOMETHING YOU WOULDN'T BUY YOURSELF. THAT'S A GOOD RULE. NEVER SELL SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULDN'T BUY YOURSELF OR SELL TO YOUR MOTHER. THAT'S, I MEAN, 'CAUSE YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, GET AWAY WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF THINGS, BUT IF AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF YOU WOULDN'T BUY IT YOURSELF, IT'S NOT OF A GOOD ENOUGH QUALITY. THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF OUR METRIC. WHAT DO YOU THINK, TRAVIS? UM, FOR ME, I WOULD SAY, UH, PRICE POINT. UM, BECAUSE YEAH, THE LOWER QUALITY PRODUCT, YOU'LL GET IT FOR WAY CHEAPER VERSUS A HIGHER QUALITY PRODUCT. UM, I'M TALKING ABOUT ON A WHOLESALE OR YOU'RE BUYING IT TO SELL TO OTHER PEOPLE, RIGHT? UH, SOME, FOR ME, IN MY EXPERIENCE, IT DEPENDS ON THE PRICE. LIKE, IF SOMETHING COSTS 20 BUCKS, A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL BUY IT. RIGHT? OR AS A BIGGER MARKET FOR THAT PARTICULAR PRODUCT. AND THEY, AND THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE BUYING, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, BIG CLOTHING BRAND LIKE FASHION NOVA OR, OR SHANE. THOSE ARE NOT THAT GOOD QUALITY PRODUCTS, BUT THEY LOOK GOOD AND, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD SAY THEY'RE FAST FASHION, BUT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE BUYING [01:05:01] AND THEY UNDERSTAND, HEY, I'M BUYING THIS FOR $5, I GET THAT. I'M ONLY GONNA GET LIKE TWO, THREE USES OUT OF IT, AND THAT'S OKAY. YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S, I WOULD JUST SAY PRICING. OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE A BETTER QUALITY PRODUCT, YOU'RE GONNA PAY MORE ON THE WHOLESALE SIDE, SO YOU HAVE TO SELL IT FOR MORE. SO THAT, FOR ME, THAT I THINK THAT'S WHAT DETERMINES FOR ME QUALITY IS THE PRICING OF THE PRODUCT. MM-HMM . OKAY. WE HAVE A QUESTION. RASHID? YES MA'AM. THANK YOU. UM, SO I JUST, SO WITH QUALITY, RIGHT, IN REGARDS TO, LIKE I SAY, T-SHIRTS, UM, I THOUGHT ABOUT IT AND LIKE THE QUALITY AND THE COTTON OF YOUR T-SHIRT DETERMINES WHAT PEOPLE BUY TO IN THIS INSTANCE, BECAUSE WE'RE IN HOUSTON AS HOT AS CRAP AND LIKE A FIVE OUNCE T-SHIRT IS WAY TOO HEAVY FOR PEOPLE TO BE WEARING. SO, UM, FINDING THAT METAL GROUND, I GUESS IS SOMETHING THAT I NEED TO DO. UM, THE PERCENTAGE OF COTTON IN, BECAUSE PEOPLE WANNA WEAR SOMETHING LIGHT, BUT ALSO NOT TOO LIGHT WHERE YOU WASH IT A FEW TIMES AND THE RIPS. SO HOW DO IS THAT'S IMPORTANT WITH YOUR QUALITY, LIKE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT? CORRECT. VERY MUCH SO. MM-HMM . MM-HMM . EXACTLY. AND FOR THAT, I'LL RECOMMEND LIKE A WEBSITE CALLED UH, FY WHERE THEY HAVE, THEY PARTNER WITH SEVERAL, UM, T-SHIRT VENDORS, SO YOU CAN GET A, A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT QUALITIES FROM THERE, YOU KNOW, UH, T-SHIRTS FOR SUMMER, T-SHIRTS FOR MORE WINTERTIME. UM, THAT'S WHAT I RECOMMEND IF YOU'RE RUNNING A T-SHIRT COMPANY. YES SIR. I, UH, I GOT FAMILIAR WITH THEM, BUT I APPRECIATE BOTH OF YOU. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, LET'S GO BACK TO MARKETING THE PRODUCT. WHAT DO YOU FIND TO BE THE BEST PRACTICE FOR MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR PRODUCTS? YOU START FIRST, KEVIN. OH, GO FOR IT. UH, BEST PRACTICE FOR MARKETING MY PRODUCT. UM, FOR ME, WHAT I USE, I WOULD SAY BEST PRACTICES FOR ME, I ALWAYS WANT TO SPEND THE LEAST AND GET THE BEST RESULTS, RIGHT? SO I JUST GO TO AREAS WHERE I CAN DO THAT. UM, IN MY EXPERIENCE, UM, THE MAIN PLACE THAT I MARKET IS SOCIAL MEDIA, RIGHT? VIA FACEBOOK ADS, INSTAGRAM ADS, TIKTOK ADS, GOOGLE ADS, UM, INFLUENCERS, STUFF LIKE THAT. UM, BECAUSE IF YOU WERE TO MARKET LIKE ON A TV, YOU KNOW, TV COMMERCIAL, THAT'S GONNA COST A, A WHOLE BUNCH VERSUS USING THESE OTHER, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN START FOR A LITTLE AS FIVE TO 10 BUCKS A DAY, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE SELLING LIKE, IN YOUR LOCAL AREA. SO FOR ME, THAT'S BEEN THE BEST, BEST PRACTICES, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE STARTING UP. IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF CAPITAL, THEN ALWAYS START WITH SOCIAL MEDIA FIRST, THEN WE MOVE ON TO OTHER CHANNELS. MM-HMM . UM, YEAH, SOCIAL MEDIA'S VERY IMPORTANT, UH, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR OUR BUSINESS, WE HAVE TO DO A LOT OF IN-PERSON MARKETING AS WELL, BECAUSE WE'VE GOTTA SECURE, SO WE HAVE TO SECURE THE ACCOUNT BEFORE WE CAN GET TO THE CUSTOMERS MM-HMM . SO, AND TO DO THAT, UH, FOR US, IT, I, WE FIND IT TAKES BETWEEN FIVE TO SEVEN WHAT'S CALLED TOUCHES, LIKE INTERACTIONS WITH THE PERSON BEFORE YOU CAN REALLY, UH, GET TO, UH, GET DOWN TO GET DOWN TO THE CONTRACTS, GET DOWN TO THE BUSINESS. UM, AND ONE THING YOU ALSO GOTTA FIGURE OUT IS, UH, WHAT IS THE AREA YOU WANNA MARKET TO? LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU'RE A VERY, YOU KNOW, SAY YOU'RE DOING A VERY LOCAL FOOD SERVICE, UH, FOOD THING, AND YOU'RE ONLY IN, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, THE UNIVERSITY AREA OR WEST GRAY OR WHAT HAVE YOU, AND YOU WANT TO TARGET ALL YOUR ADS INTO THAT AREA AND MARKETING INTO THAT AREA, OR THE VAST MAJORITY, UH, FOR THAT. AND YOU CAN, THERE'S, YOU CAN GET INTO TV IF YOU DO, UH, UH, CABLE MARKETING, UM, ON SOME OF THE SMALL THINGS. ONE OF OUR, UH, CLIENTS WHO'S BEEN WITH US FOR 12 YEARS NOW JUST RUNS ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL, THE GOLF CHANNEL, AND HE'S A CPA, THIS HISTORY CHANNEL, THE GOLF CHANNEL, AND, UH, FLIPS BACK AND FORTH ON NEWS CHANNELS. HE GETS TONS OF BUSINESS OFF OF THOSE THINGS BECAUSE HE, AND IT'S VERY INEXPENSIVE FOR HIM BECAUSE HE DOESN'T GO IN PRIME TIME. HE GOES IN, UH, WHAT'S KNOWN AS FILL TIME, SO MM-HMM . SOMETIMES HE GETS ON PRIME TIME, SOMETIMES HE GETS ON, UH, LATE NIGHTS, SOMETIMES HE'S IN THE MORNINGS, BUT HE'S DONE A, AT A SET TIME, GETS TONS OF BUSINESS OFF OF IT. UH, AND SO YOU JUST KINDA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT GOES. AND ONE OF THE THINGS I WANNA MAKE SURE IS YOU'VE GOTTA ALSO KNOW HOW IS YOUR MARKETING EFFECTIVE? SO IF YOU DO SOMETHING ON SOCIAL MEDIA, SAY YOU DO SOMETHING ON FACEBOOK AND YOU'VE GOT A COUPON OR A PROMOTION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU'VE GOTTA FIND A WAY TO [01:10:01] IDENTIFY THAT PROMOTION COMING BACK TO YOU. YOU'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE, LIKE, SO USE PROMO CODE FB TWO THREE. ALRIGHT? SO EVERY FB TWO, THREE, YOU KNOW, OKAY, IT CAME FROM THIS FACEBOOK AD AT THIS TIME USE CODE IGX. ALRIGHT, WELL I KNOW THAT THIS THING CAME BACK, YOU KNOW, SO FB TWO THREE WITH THESE PARAMETERS, UH, GOT ME 200 TOUCH BACKS. IGX ONLY GOT ME TWO, I SPENT THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY. I'M GONNA PUT MY MONEY INTO THE FB 2, 3, 1. SO YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE IT'S COMING FROM AND, AND, AND IS IT EFFECTIVE? 'CAUSE THROWING MONEY DOWN MARKET, IF YOU'RE MARKETING SOMETHING AND IT'S NOT EFFECTIVE, YOU'RE JUST THROWING MONEY DOWN A HOLE. OKAY, WE'RE READY FOR THE NEXT QUESTION, KENNA. SO IS IT IMPORTANT FOR BUSINESSES TO HAVE A MARKETING BUDGET? ABSOLUTELY. UH, BUT THAT MARKETING BUDGET, AGAIN, WHEN YOU'RE STARTING OUT THAT MARKETING BUDGET MAY BE YOUR TIME BECAUSE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU CAN DO THAT WITH POSTING WITH, UH, LIKES, WITH PUTTING UP STORIES, THAT SORT OF THING. SO IT MIGHT BE, I BUDGET TWO HOURS A DAY TO MY MARKETING, OR I BUDGET X NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK TO MY MARKETING. AND YOU KNOW, STARTING OUT THAT'S 'CAUSE TIME IS MONEY FOR YOU WHEN YOU'RE STARTING OUT. MONEY IS TIME. TIME IS MONEY. 'CAUSE YOU ONLY HAVE A SET AMOUNT OF BOTH. THAT'S, THAT'S MY THING. WHAT DO YOU THINK, TRAVIS? NO. YEAH. I I AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT, 110%. UH, I FIND A LOT OF PEOPLE, THEY USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO NOT MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR BUSINESS. BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE, THE THE DOLLARS, LIKE KEVIN IS SAYING EXACTLY, YOUR, YOUR TIME IS CUR CURRENCY. THE ONLY REASON WHY YOU PAY FOR MARKETING IS BECAUSE YOU ALREADY EXPEND ALL YOUR TIME AND YOU NEED, UH, THESE VEHICLES TO PUSH YOUR, YOUR BRAND FOR YOU, RIGHT? YOUR BUSINESS FOR YOU. SO IF YOU NEED TO START OFF, UH, TELLING EVERYBODY YOU KNOW, AND TELL 'EM TO TELL A FRIEND OR , BE CREATIVE, YOU KNOW, GIVE IT INFLUENCERS, YOU KNOW, WORK A DEAL WITH 'EM WHERE YOU CAN PAY 'EM COMMISSIONS. I MEAN, THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS YOU CAN DO, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO, TO MARKETING, YOU KNOW? UM, BUT YEAH, IF YOU HAVE TO START OFF WITH YOUR TIME, THEN BY ALL MEANS. 'CAUSE EVENTUALLY THAT WOULD TURN IT INTO, INTO CASH AND THAT THAT CASH COULD BE PUT PUT INTO THE MARKETING BUDGET. OKAY. GOOD ADVICE. GREAT ADVICE TO REALLY GOOD PERSPECTIVES. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT OWNING A BUSINESS. HOW DO YOU, IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE AND OWNING A BUSINESS, HOW DOES THAT WORK TOGETHER FOR YOU? OH, MY, UM, A HUGE MISTAKE I MADE IN STARTING OUT WAS I DIDN'T HAVE A PERSONAL LIFE. I JUST SPENT ALL THE TIME WITH THE BUSINESS. AND IT WAS, UH, A HUGE MISTAKE. MAKE SURE YOU MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF. MAKE SURE YOU MAKE TIME FOR YOUR FAMILY. MAKE SURE YOU MAKE TIME FOR YOUR LOVED ONES. BECAUSE OWNING A BUSINESS CAN BE A GREAT FUND. IT CAN BE VERY REWARDING, BUT IT'S NOT THE PURPOSE IN OUR LIFE. UH, SO YOU'VE GOTTA WORK, WORK LIFE BALANCE. YOU HAVE TO, YOU HAVE TO WORK A WORK LIFE BALANCE. I MEAN, AND, UH, THAT'S THE NUMBER TWO THING. I WOULD, IF I COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND TELL MYSELF, I'D SAY , DUDE, NOBODY EVER WAS ON THEIR DEATHBED GOING, OH GOSH, WISH I'D SPENT MORE TIME AT WORK. , NO, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S ME. UH, SO YEAH, YOU'VE GOTTA, YOU GOTTA HAVE A BALANCE. YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? YEAH, I AGREE. THE SAME, YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST STARTED, THAT'S MY ONLY THING. I WAS JUST GRINDING IT OUT FROM MORNING TO NIGHT, NOT TAKING CARE OF MY HEALTH, NOT WORKING OUT, NOT GETTING RIGHT. AND PEOPLE THINK, OH, THIS IS THE GRIND. YOU HAVE TO GET TO THAT GRIND PHASE. BUT REALLY FOR ME, IT'S ALL ABOUT A WORK LIFE BALANCE, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU PUT YOUR TIME IN YOUR BUSINESS, BUT KNOW THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT ASSET IS YOURSELF, RIGHT. AND YOUR, YOUR FAMILY. SO, SO YEAH, I AGREE WITH KEVIN 110% BECAUSE I, I'VE BEEN THERE BEFORE. SO IF YOU ALL COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WILL YOU TELL YOURSELF? WHAT WILL YOU TELL YOURSELF WHEN FIRST STARTING YOUR BUSINESS? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT VALUABLE LESSONS DID YOU, DID YOU, DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU KNOW NOW THAT [01:15:01] YOU DIDN'T KNOW IN THE BEGINNING? WELL, I WOULD SAY THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE, ABSOLUTELY. AND TWO, MAKE SURE YOU PAY YOURSELF GOOD ONE. UH, THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT I WISH I KNEW AT THE START OF THIS. OKAY. YEAH. FOR ME IT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST TAKING MORE RISK. OH, GOOD ONE, GOOD ONE. IT REALLY IS. YEAH, FOR REAL. UM, AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. UH, THAT'S THE FIRST THING. I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT GOT ME TO WHERE I'M AT, IS BELIEVE IN MYSELF. BUT IF I WOULD'VE BELIEVE MYSELF A LITTLE BIT MORE, THEN I THINK I'LL BE MORE FARTHER DOWN MY BUSINESS JOURNEY, RIGHT? AND I WOULD'VE HIT MORE GOALS THAT MAYBE I DIDN'T HIT BECAUSE I DIDN'T BELIEVE IN MYSELF. SO THAT'S THE TWO MAIN THINGS. OH, AND GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO FAIL. YOU'RE GONNA SCREW UP. DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP ABOUT IT. EVERYBODY MESSES UP AND YOU'RE GONNA LOSE CLIENTS. TAYLOR, ONLY FEEDBACK. THERE YOU GO. YOU'RE GONNA LOSE STUFF. YOU'RE GONNA LOSE BUSINESS. BUT AS LONG AS YOU DON'T LET IT HURT YOU, GET YOU DOWN, GET YOURSELF DOUBTING, LEARN FROM IT, MOVE ON. DON'T DWELL ON IT. THAT'S GREAT ADVICE. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO FAIL. THAT'S GREAT ADVICE. SO HOW LONG DID YOU ALL HAVE THIS BUSINESS IDEA BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY STARTED YOUR BUSINESS? OR IS THIS MAYBE NOT YOUR ORIGINAL BUSINESS IDEA? THE BUSINESS THAT I'M IN NOW IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHEN WE STARTED. UH, BUT THE ORIGINAL ONE, UH, UM, PROBABLY WE HAD STARTED AND, UH, FAILED PROBABLY TWO DIFFERENT PRODUCTION COMPANIES AND ONE SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY, WHICH IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT STORY. I'LL GET INTO THAT SOME OTHER TIME. UM, SO PROBABLY KICKING AROUND FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR AND A HALF. YEAH. FOR ME, UM, YEAH, IT'S JUST CHANGED A LOT OVER THE YEARS. EVOLVED, UM, YEAH, MY ORIGINAL IDEA WAS THE STARTUP ADVERTISING AGENCY, BUT NOW I WENT ON TO DO LIKE A MORE SERVICE BASED AGENCY, WHICH I ENJOY WAY BETTER, . SO YEAH, MY FIRST IDEA, I THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT AND IT WAS, IT WAS COOL, DON'T GET ME WRONG, BUT YEAH, I FOUND WHAT I'M DOING NOW IS 10 TIMES BETTER FOR ME PERSONALLY. FOR ME. AWESOME, AWESOME. SO THE LAST QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY THE BIGGEST PROS AND CONS ARE IN OWNING A BUSINESS? UH, IT'S THE SAME THING. YOU'RE THE BOSS. BIGGEST PRO, BUT BIGGEST CON, YOU'RE THE BOSS, THE CON . SO IT'S, IT'S ALL YOU MAN. MM-HMM . BUT IF YOU GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO TAKE RISKS, LIKE TRAVIS SAID, WHICH IS FABULOUS ADVICE, GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO FAIL. GIVE YOURSELF, YOU KNOW, LEARN FROM THINGS AND ALSO FIND PEOPLE AND HIRE PEOPLE TO HELP YOU GET A GOOD TEAM TOGETHER. BUT YEAH, BEING YOUR OWN BOSS IS FANTASTIC, BUT IT CAN REALLY JUST BE A MASSIVE LIFE SUCK TOO. AND YOU GOTTA FIND THAT BALANCE. OKAY. YEAH. UM, YEAH, FOR ME, PROS OBVIOUSLY IS YEAH, YOU'RE THE BOSS, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR MOST PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, OWNING A BUSINESS, PEOPLE THAT ARE BUSINESS-MINDED, YOU KNOW, OWNING A BUSINESS, RUNNING A BUSINESS LIKE A LIFELONG DREAM FRIEND. I KNOW FOR ME IT WAS, YOU KNOW, EVER SINCE I WAS 15 YEARS OLD, I WANTED TO DO, DO THIS. SO THAT WAS THE BIGGEST PRO IS FINDING LIKE, LIVING, LIKE EVERY DAY I WAKE UP I'M LIKE, MAN, THAT'S CRAZY. LIKE EVEN THE DAYS THAT I'M FRUSTRATED OR WHATEVER, LIKE, MAN, LIKE YOU COME ON. LIKE, YOU, YOU DOING YOUR OWN THING. LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT IS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE YOU WORKED ON A NINE TO FIVE. UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK THAT'S IT. JUST THE, THE TIME FREEDOM AND THE ABILITY TO JUST, YOU KNOW, DO, DO DO WHAT YOU WANT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, AND THAT GOES SO FAR. OBVIOUSLY, OBVIOUSLY I CAN TAKE, YOU KNOW, GO VISIT MY FAMILY IN CALIFORNIA WHENEVER I WANT. I CAN TRAVEL WHEN I WANT, BUT I STILL HAVE TO WORK, YOU KNOW, AND TAKING MY LAPTOP WITH ME, I CAN ALWAYS DO THAT, RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, FOR MY, FOR MY TYPE OF BUSINESS, UH, THE CON IS YEAH, EVERYTHING FALLS ON YOU. YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY EVEN WHEN THINGS DON'T SEEM LIKE IT IS YOUR FAULT OR WHATEVER, IT'S STILL YOUR FAULT 'CAUSE IT'S YOUR BUSINESS, RIGHT? THINGS HAPPEN IN THE BUSINESS. MAYBE YOU HIRE SOMEBODY AND THEY DIDN'T DO WHAT THEY HAD TO DO OR THEY DIDN'T LIVE UP TO WHAT, [01:20:01] YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU THOUGHT THAT STILL FALLS ON YOU, YOU KNOW? BUT LIKE KEVIN SAID, IT'S OKAY. LIKE, THERE'S BEEN MANY TIMES WHERE I DID BAD HIRES AND, BUT IT, IT FELL ON ME. IT FELL ON ME. SO I JUST LEARNED FROM IT AND MOVE ON AND JUST GET BETTER FOR NEXT TIME. YOU KNOW, ONE THING I ALWAYS SAY TO MYSELF AND TO MY TEAM EVERY DAY IS, EVERY DAY WE GET BETTER. THAT'S IT. EVERY DAY BETTER, EVERY DAY IS BETTER. EVERY DAY WE GET BETTER. HOW BIG IS YOUR TEAM, TRAVIS? MY TEAM NOW IS ABOUT 15 PEOPLE RIGHT NOW. OKAY. KEVIN, HOW ABOUT YOURS? UH, WELL MY SON STARTED WORKING WITH ME, SO NOW WE'RE AN ANN SONS, UH, OKAY. DEAL. AND WE RAMP UP TO ABOUT 15 TO 25 DURING THE BUSY SEASONS. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AUDIENCE, WE'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP TO YOU AGAIN. DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ASK TRAVIS OR KEVIN? THEY HAVE PROVIDED US SOME GREAT INSIGHT. YOU ALL HAVE DONE A MARVELOUS JOB SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCES AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. SO DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS FOR EITHER OF THEM? DOING WHAT? IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, JUST UNMUTE YOURSELF AND SPEAK. OKAY. WELL I THINK THAT MEANS YOU GUYS DID A GREAT JOB SINCE SOMEONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS. WELL, THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH FOR HAVING US. SO WE, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND YOU ALL DONE AN AWESOME JOB, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANKS FOR HAVING US. ABSOLUTELY. IT WAS OUR PLEASURE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT WILL, THAT WILL CONCLUDE OUR WORKSHOP FOR TODAY. DO WE HAVE A, A CHECKOUT KENNETH? NO, MA'AM. OKAY. THERE IS NO CHECKOUT AND THERE IS NO CODE WORD FOR TODAY. SO IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT, WE, WE ARE DONE FOR TODAY. YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT EVENING AND BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE OUT THERE IN YOUR STUFF. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.