Podcasts about right let

Recently, Sticker Mule's Co-founder sent an expressly political email to the entire customer base of the company and then doubled down on the company X account. Whatever your political strip, there are messages that belong on company accounts and some that don't. On this week's episode of the Spin Sucks Podcast, Gini Dietrich is talking about what kind of messaging belongs where, and how to be ready to communicate in a crisis.

Once again we're taking a break from the parallel universe of 80s metal, and delving into Q, The Modern Guide To Music and More, from 1992, so we're on the back foot straight away as everything is spelled correctly. There's news about Prince and Craig McLachlan, and ABBA are back, back, back etc. This leads us to talk about the brilliance of Erasure, and tribute bands. Along the way we're talking Mel B / G / Scary Spice, a surprising revelation about Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead, and the continuing subplot of a Billy Wirth obsession. We also shout out our friends over at the Dystopian Dance Party podcast @Dystopiangram who are basically a better version of us.  Is Metallica's Kirk Hammett an Inspector Gadget fan? Why aren't Americans charmed by a Gloucestershire accent? What's the definitive version of Rocket Man? All this and much much more in PWM33.   Recorded 18rth April 2024 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/can-i-pod-with-madness/id1667966016 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/69OGJDFZRFu5mjHja3rEOn Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/fa9908fc-34dd-4638-b446-eef44988dfd3   Check out pics from the issue on our Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/podwithmadness/   YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6jGszBq8BFHy1v9rCUUi-cI-ZTOgvrMe&si=nohydRn4PvDjFZ57   Tip us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/podwithmadness   CAN I POD WITH MADNESS THEME by Oliver Gardiner  @revilorenidrag   Buy Iron Maiden socks https://amzn.to/3U5VkuO And keks https://amzn.to/3TPzWJ1   #Podcast #Metal #HeavyMetal #Kerrang #80s #Q #ClassicRock #DontTellMomTheBabysittersDead #Prince #ABBA  #Erasure #Metallica #GunsnRoses #TheLostBoys

Levi eagerly saves money to buy a new soccer video game, working extra chores and at an animal shelter. His sister Ivy notices his intention to quit helping once he buys the game. Levi realizes the joy of helping others and decides to continue volunteering and donates part of his earnings to the shelter, learning that helping others is more rewarding than just focusing on material goals. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LIVELY LEWIS MERCH⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LIVELY LEWIS SHOW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LIVELY LEWIS FAMILY VLOG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkTree⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to Lively Lewis Stories!! You may know us from The Lively Lewis Show!! This is our podcast where siblings Levi and Ivy go on incredible adventures, where they learn and model positive life lessons. These imaginative stories of Levi's energetic personality and Ivy's spunky silliness will keep you engaged, laughing and learning episode after episode! Our goal is to create a safe environment for kids to listen and learn about strong values, big imaginations, humorous pretend play, and healthy family dynamics. Our stories are great for bedtime stories, car rides, or just for fun! Thanks for listening!!

Dr. Champion explores the issue that while SCOTUS has declared owning firearms to be a constitutionally protected individual right, the federal government, and now California, impose a privilege tax on the right to purchase guns. Dave discusses how to end that! Dr. Champion's books are at https://drreality.news/store/ To save 15% on "Income Tax: Shattering The [...]

Colin returns to the host seat as previews this weekend's return to action in Perth alongside the two Davies & Shona, as well as going through the future of Borna Barisic and Bailey Rice! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/the-gallant-few. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Bryan Kohberger Right..? Let's Talk About It..!

In this reflection I explore four separate themes to help me contend with one problem I have yet to solve (even though I have been seriously trying!). Supporting themes: Solo people; Hierarchies, pyramid people and power; Normalizing, harmonizing, dominant and creative subtypes; Building your people (i.e. team, squad or forest); Content generators and the life they give; Leadership and entrepreneurship; Trauma, abuse and love; and Race and gender. Special note: This reflection was influenced in part by Personality Hacker and Dario Nardi. Typology: INTJ8; Enneagram Subtypes

OLIVIA BACK?!

Welcome to SEASON 3! To claim your free gift, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, screenshot it and send it to me at nikki@curlynikki.com!  ********************** You're so close,  that's why you can't see It,  the Beauty of It, yet. But you can feel It, right? As long as you're being this Love, you're next.  You're Now.  Watch and see how God surprises you with 'what you've been hoping for and considered impossible'.*  Watch and see that no matter how imopssible it seems, it can happen in a second, in an instant, when you're Here.  when you're love.  I Love You I Am You nik  "Joy is constantly flowing within us. We don't have to try to feel joy we just need to become aware of it. Like your heartbeat: You sense it as soon as you become inwardly calm & still." -Paramhansa Yogananda "If I am close to Him, He brings me even closer."- Ibn Arabi "Only heart can recognise the matters of the heart. Ears can't see Eyes can't smell Same way, brain can't recognise the heart. Sit become silent, and or a while, then the truth will unveil itself." -Sri Sri Ravi Shankar "It's all a dream. It's all a lie. It's all over. It's all crazy. It's all right. Let's see what's next." - Bawa Muhuiyadeen "Can't you see it's all perfect?" - Maharajji  *"Then Allah will surpise you with what you had hoped for and considered impossible." -@Brokenpearl_ via IG  Join us on Patreon to support the show, and tune into and participate in live video Q&As with me!  Support the show Beginning Aug 7, 2023 - 'GoOD Mornings with CurlyNikki' will begin hosting ads before and after earlier (not new) episodes. 

Do you ever wonder if what's happening in your marriage might classify as abuse? Sometimes a husband is guilty. Sometimes a wife is. Why do you need to know? So you can get the right kind of help. Learn five red flags that are tell-tale signs of abuse. And meet two experts who can guide your learning curve. Buy the Happily Even After book by Dannah GreshCALL SOMEONE:If you feel you need help navigating abuse, call someone.ATTEND:Join us for a marriage weekend in the Dominican Republic with Pete KuiperLISTEN:Bob and Dannah talk with Charlynn Steinkamp on Fight for Your MarriageWATCH:Lysa Terkuerst & Leslie Vernick discuss “difficult & destructive marriages on Therapy & TheologyDannah talks with Diane Langberg on Revive Our Hearts' GroundedRECOMMENDED INTENSIVES FOR COUPLES & INDIVIDUALS:River Tree Center with Phil Herdnon (Tennessee) CrossRoads Counseling of the Rockies (Colorado)Faithful&True  (Minnesota)Alongsides Care (Michigan)Be Free (Various Locations)

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Friday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Again/NCEA Is Dead/Mark the Week/The Census IncentiveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight: -“Previous to this week …” —“Point A and Point C have to connect … and I'm B in the middle” —“My perspective on s**t is completely night and day” -Birthday in AC -Meeting great Niners —Conversation with Nick Bosa —“This can become an amazing, positive experience even though it was the most negative thing” —“I watched Justin Fields play catch with kids” -RIP SPO -Wrestling observations  —Tremont vs. Tank no-sell fest —“I can't watch a Tremont match anymore …” —Team IWS (Montreal) vs. Team GCW —“Nick Gage has never been smart” —Thoughts on Masha Slamovich winning the GCW title  —Larry Legend on the BLVD Bullies show —“I didn't know what a ‘Packing Princess' was” —Syringe through the d**k spot??!?!? —Drake vs. Aeroboy —XPW welcomes back … G-Raver?: “I'm sure that'll all work out great. Right” —“Let's talk about Danny Demanto”  

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Monday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Hipkins Has His Work Cut Out/Sausage MysterySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're a heavy drinker with aspirations of quitting, you'll know that the thought of the first day without booze is scarier than anything. This podcast series begins on the night of Vincent Hero's last alcoholic beverage and chronicles the struggles and the satisfactions of every single pain in the a** day since. Follow along and listen to a borderline autistic idiot with a shi**y attitude, be honest and re**rded, in an attempt to remain sober.  --------------------------------------------------------

With season two being recorded entirely over the spring and summer of 2020, during the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic, before vaccines and far from what we'd come to expect as "normality", we thought we'd recap a little on what that felt like. Featuring excerpts from Skyler Day, Jason Henwood, Isla Ure, Eliot J Fallows, Aaron Neville, Matthew McPherson, Chris Aylmer, Taylor Haydon and Beth Rylance. All episodes are still live and listenable on your platform of choice!

Sermon from Ruth Folkerts on July 3, 2022

Can you cheat by just using the TV? Is watching a show without your SO really that bad? Let's find out! By the end you will Cringe With Me!  Connect with us!  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cringewithmepodcast/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/cringewithme YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ShWmgAFulByBWhezCc54w  V's Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imcringequeen/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thequeenofcringe  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImCringeQueen   Ryan's Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildwriteroll/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildwriteroll  More about our network: https://www.pullupachair.foundation/podcasts https://www.pullupachair.foundation/  Become a Sponsor!  https://www.pullupachair.foundation/podcasts Music Courtesy of Liborio Conti

This week the class jumps into maybe the first Isekai of the year! What do you think about the possibility of being reincarnated into another world? Would you want to reinvent yourself to Wizard or Mage? Maybe a Master Swordsman. Rudeus Greyrat, an Otaku NEAT who was Isekai'd by the LEGENDARY Truck-kun himself tries to do exactly this. An anime filled with a slight spice of controversy  but topped with amazing animation and character development of all types.  Let's see what Rudeus decides to do with his second shot at life after being torn down by Truck-kun!

THE TEA IS HOT TODAY FOLKS Today on the pod - we're talkin' client nightmare stories AND what makes a good client! (Cos we don't wanna get too negative over here) Now, the customer isn't always right (contrary to popular belief) and as a business owner of any kind, it's only a matter of time till you experience difficult clients. In today's episode I share what makes a great client, what makes a bad one and I share a  client  experience I had that was less than ideal. I'll also be speaking about how to navigate difficult clients and what lessons I've learned along the way. WORK WITH ME: Apply for 1:1 sales & marketing coaching: https://mailchi.mp/katiebambrick/11-coachingFIND ME ON THE INTERWEBS: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiebambrickcoaching/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/highimpacthubRemember to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and leave a rating (we're only interested in 5 stars round here - lol jk, but srsly).

And now it's time to talk to a ghost. Gotta find out why it's messing with the books, after all. So ouija board or ouija board?Pledge/donate on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thatdndpodcastSend feedback to: ThatDnDPodcast@Gmail.comVisit our website: http://www.thatdndpodcast.comAmazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/?rw_useCurrentProtocol=1&tag=thdnpo07-20

Support the show (https://www.beachlakefmc.org/give)

Discussing Guns and the Second Amendment. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/average-intelligence/support

On today's show we are talking about money and how it can help you!  First, Claire is participating in a MOVEmber4PD fundraising challenge led by Jimmy Choi where they are walking, biking, or moving for 1 mile a day and raising funds for the Michael J Fox Foundation. Claire's team is currently in lead and may win an opportunity to work out with Jimmy Choi!    And second, we talk about Parkinson Foundation Grants because our NeuroSpark members are thinking about this and we are ready to support you! We share our experience and tips for you if you're thinking of applying. We talk about what NOT to apply for and give our tips for a successful application. Now, go get that money and help your community!

JC Cole continues to share with us the information we don't want to hear, yet it always seems to come to fruition. Today we talk about what exactly you need to do at the basic level to live in Pioneer Style days, for real not make believe.

I am talking about a common mental health disorder in today's episode. If you have a mental illness or you know a loved one who does, please seek help from a professional before it is too late. There is help out there for you. References: https://medlineplus.gov/bipolardisorder.html; https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Bipolar-Disorder

A 360-second podcast that's full of the weird, the wonderful, the profound and the hilarious facts of life on earth.© 2021 Jonathan Clemson & Robin Crossman

The coffee industry is both a cause of carbon emissions and impacted by climate change. United Baristas analysis shows how we can get better environmental outcomes and enhance shop viability by updating our coffee menu pricing. This is an ideal moment to rethink our menu's pricing structure. So, let's look at costs and impacts associated with milks.You can read the full article and references at https://unitedbaristas.com/articles/insights/2021/08/is-the-price-right-lets-make-the-alt-milk-surcharge-fit-for-purpose-in-2021/ And do let us know when you update your menu pricing, we love to see what you're doing. We're on all the usual social channels. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You read the title...you know what we're discussing today.  My guests and I delve into meaningful conversation about the many aspects surrounding Sha'Carri Richardson. To my Apple Users please drop me a 5-star rating and leave me a review if you're feeling generous. You are appreciated. Stay in contact with my guests!Follow India on Instagram: @I_of_Endigo_Runswww.MilesfromIndia.comIndia's Youtube ChannelThe Run Duo PodcastCheck out Obasi Amare's blog and find him on FacebookHe also has a podcast that you can catch up on! Black Out Loud PodcastThank you so much for your support. Please share this episode with others so we can get the podcast into the ears of more listeners!!!Articles mentioned in this episode: How Sha'Carri's situation differs from Michael PhelpsAlcohol removed from banned substance listAnd here's a link to the definition of ipso facto because you...us...we need to start using it in our everyday vernacular Follow me on Instagram @RandomKnowbodyPodcastEmail: RandomKnowbodyPodcast@gmail.com

You want this so badly, you're being blinded by it, it's not ready, it's not mature and it's not good for you.

sometimes things happen, and we kick ourselves for a long period of time berating ourselves.  There is a less stressful way; retool your thinking and let it be.  Let's talk about it.

I SURVIVED BECAUSE THE FIRE INSIDE ME, BURNED MUCH BRIGHTER THE THE FIRE AROUND ME!

Let’s talk about a common mental health disorder in today’s episode. If you have a mental health illness or you know a loved one who does, please seek help from a professional before it is too late. There is help out there for you.

This week we pour up on our thoughts and opinions of cancel culture. Also dabble a little in these NBA playoffs

I invited two friends, fellow therapists, & advocates to join me to discuss Colorism in the Black and LatinX communities. This topic is important and takes place in all communities of color. Rooted in anti-blackness, most of us can pinpoint experiences of colorism whether you were perpetrator or victim. featuring: Mayra, AMFT, Mental Health Advocate, and creator/owner of Undocu.Mentalhealth; Cecilia, AMFT and Advocate. Questions: colorismhealing.com; Definitions: nccj.org 

The Packers have historically not cared all that much about inside linebackers. That doesn’t appear all that different in 2020, but Mike Pettine can’t just play nobody at the spot, right? Right?? Let’s discuss the linebacker group and how it could affect the Packers this year.About those media restrictions in Green Bay (00:47)There's a fight between the Packers and the media and nobody looks good. David Bakhtiari deal in the works? (9:31)The Packers' left tackle is the next man up for a contract extension.The roles the Packers linebackers will play in 2020 (10:41)The Packers need their linebackers to fill a couple of specific roles in 2020. Do they have the guys to get it done?SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, T.L. Brown discusses the importance of "Raising 'em right"...and starting your Shorties out early with mastering critical life-skills and milestones that will prayerfully remain with them for a lifetime, as well as determining when and how to introduce them to chores that will ultimately help you out around the house! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

If you think back to just a few years ago, when someone asked you to name a company that delivered food, you’d probably only be able to name a few pizza joints or the local Chinese food place. But today, the world has shifted and online food delivery is a booming business. Last year alone, Grubhub sold $6 billion worth of food, and the company delivers more than 500,000 meals per day. So how did Grubhub enable this massive shift to digital meal purchasing? On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, we welcomed Alex Weinstein, the SVP of Growth at Grubhub, and he explained to us exactly how the company has been able to become a market mover. From the initial education process to then focusing on customer retention, Alex and his team have been deep in the weeds of it all, and they have built a culture of experimentation, data analytics and a focus on ROI to stay ahead of the curve. Alex explains it all here.    3 Takeaways: Measurement and incrementality are important. You have to understand whether or not where you’re putting your dollars is making a difference, and sometimes the answer will surprise you True experimentation is necessary to create new methods of measurement, marketing strategies and growth opportunities. So the question you have to ask as a leader is how can you create incentives to allow people to take risks and learn? The time is now to learn about the newly-online customers that have trickled into your business due to COVID-19. In understanding their needs, you will be able to ensure retention and set yourself up for the new reality we live in For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length. --- Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce --- Transcript: Stephanie: Welcome to Up Next in Commerce. I'm your host, Stephanie Postles, co-founder of mission.org. Today, my stomach is rumbling, because we're talking all things Grubhub. Alex, welcome. Alex: Thank you for having me. Stephanie: Yeah, thanks so much for coming on the show. I just pulled up the app earlier to be like, "What should I have for lunch today?" Because it's 12:00, and it's time to order something. Alex: What did you end up ordering? Stephanie: I'm looking at pad Thai right now, we have a really good Thai place down the street. That's usually my go-to, but I started to get influenced by sushi, so if you have any advice, let me know. Alex: I don't know the restaurants in the area, but look for those that are well-rated, and look for deals. We have a ton of deals going on right now. Stephanie: Ooh, nice, that's perfect. You are the SVP of Growth at Grubhub, correct? Alex: That's right. Stephanie: I'd love to hear a little bit about your role there, and what brought you to Grubhub. Alex: Sure, sure, thank you. I've been at Grubhub for a little bit over three years. My responsibility is for the consumer business. That is, how do we get more new customers to try us out for the first time, and how do we get existing ones to order with us a little more often? And hopefully they'll return. Alex: This spans all aspects of marketing. We do a whole bunch of stuff in-house. I'd love to explore that a little bit later. But it also involves a lot of work cross-functionally, across the product. When I say product, I don't just mean our apps, but the totality of the experience that the customer has, from our apps to the delivery, to customer care, if that's ever necessary. Stephanie: Very cool. Previously, were you at, I think I saw Microsoft and eBay, or what did your past life before Grubhub look like? Alex: That's right, that's right. I actually am a very strange Head of Marketing. I'm a software engineer by training. Stephanie: Oh, interesting. Alex: I've written a bunch of code. I switched over to product management, and then darkness had me, and I somehow ended up in marketing. I indeed was at eBay before this, also for around about three years. Similar role, maybe a slightly more narrow role, focused on customer retention, marketing technologies. Stephanie: Very cool. I'm sure that was great help working at a marketplace, albeit not maybe a three-sided one, but still maybe a really helpful to transition to Grubhub with as your background? Alex: It very much was. I have to admit, I thought I knew marketplaces after eBay, then when I started Grubhub, I discovered so much complexity. Our business, exactly as you said, is a three side marketplace. Restaurants, food delivery drivers, and consumers. It is a hyper local business. People who live in Palo Alto whole heartedly don't care how many restaurants we have in San Jose, and how good our delivery network is in San Francisco, right? Alex: It has to be block by block, and we have to make sure that we have good restaurant selection there, good demand, and good supply of drivers. Otherwise, if the three sides aren't in alignment, bad things happen. Stephanie: Yeah, that seems like it would be really tricky to keep all that balanced. How have you found success keeping everything balanced? Like you said, it's so hyper local, I'm thinking there could be a driver over in Sunnyvale, and they're definitely not going to go to my local Thai place to pick up the order that I'm looking at. Alex: Yeah, this is where a lot of fun in this business comes from, and a lot of complexity in this business comes from. We have to be really good at predicting things, and predicting demand. And we have to be really good at engaging all sides of our marketplace so that drivers actually want to be online at the time when we want them to be online. Alex: Consumers end up placing additional orders if perhaps we have a little bit too much supply. Restaurateurs want to create deals. Basically, being able to influence three sides of the marketplace in a automated, personalized, hyper local way, is really the only way we can survive, right? This, to me, is super joyful, and super complicated, and where a lot of learning, personally, for me, has come from. Stephanie: Yeah, I'm sure every day it's adjusting a little bit more, and you keep have to kind of changing things up and experimenting a bit. How do I think about where Grubhub is at right now? To me, it seems like it's the market leader. How many meals are being delivered? How much is that in dollar-wise of food that's being sold? How do I think about that? Alex: We're a public company, all of those numbers are public. Quick summary for you. We deliver more than half a million meals a day. Last year, we delivered more than six billion dollars worth of food. Of course, with the arrival of the pandemic, the demand for food delivery has also increased. The expectation of all of our constituents, and of our community, all of us, have risen tremendously. Because, from something that restaurateurs really on for a portion of their revenue, they now rely on delivery as the majority of it. Alex: For consumers, where they would perhaps order delivery occasionally, now is the only way for them to order restaurant food. A lot of expectations on us have increased throughout these past couple of months, even though we already started from being quite a large company with high expectations. Stephanie: Yeah, have you had to adjust quickly with everything going on with COVID-19? What have you seen, other than increasing orders, and how have you had to pivot to meet the customers and meet the drivers in where they're at today? Alex: Yeah, absolutely. Well, most definitely, yes. First and foremost, we began by focusing on safety of all the participants of our marketplace, right? This began with our work on personal protective equipment for our drivers. We distributed hundreds of thousands of PPE sets for free for our drivers. We invested a bunch of work into enabling contactless delivery within our apps. Which, of course, is something that makes the entirety of the marketplace safer. Alex: We basically have to take our product roadmap, and, in many ways, revisit it fully, and focus on things our community demanded of us in that moment. Similarly, we had to do something like that with marketing, as well, because we had a certain strategy. You of course know that a lot of our effort is in making sure that consumers can get the best value on Grubhub. If you spend money on food delivery, your dollars will go the furthest on Grubhub. This really is our brand positioning. Alex: When COVID came, we had to take a pause, because this rewards positioning, or this value positioning, really had to take a step back, because consumer's interest... Sure, they were looking for deals, but they were looking to be safe, first and foremost. Secondly, they were looking to support their community. So we had to reposition a lot of our marketing work to make it so. Stephanie: Yeah, that makes sense. I'm thinking that could be a trend that stays around, even after everything's over, keeping that contactless delivery at least as an option, and thinking about how to actually prove you have the safety measures implemented, and you're tracking that every month. Are you all thinking about how to scale that and keep that for the long term, or is it more just a short term play until the pandemic's over? Alex: Couple thoughts for you. One is, I don't think that we're going to be looking at a pandemic being over and everything coming back to normal. I think we need to get used to the new normal, at least until the vaccine is here. Which means that people's lifestyles, their habits, will be fully adjusted by then. Alex: As such, it's not like we were developing a set of patches for three months, and then after that, we just turned those patches off. But also, there's meaningful, positives coming from this change, right? Like any crisis, it is both a danger and an opportunity. What we've discovered is this contactless delivery, for example, besides making everyone safe, it is actually making our network a tiny bit more efficient. The delivery driver does not need to engage with the consumer in-person. They can just drop it off, take a photo, and keep going, and keep working. Which shaves off a small amount, but in the grand scheme of more than half a million deliveries a day, this starts adding up. It helps our drivers earn more, and it helps our overall network be more efficient, which means food comes to consumers faster. Stephanie: Yep, yeah, that's definitely a good change. There's a lot of food delivery players in the market right now. How do you create an experience that's completely unique to Grubhub? Where people, they're like, "That's where I want to order through." Alex: All of this, in our minds, has to do with differentiation. And you're exactly right, maybe two or three years ago, where consumers didn't really know much about the food delivery category. A lot of what we had to do was to educate them about our existence, which is why a lot of our marketing, a lot of our product, was geared towards a first-time experience of someone who's never gotten anything delivered other than a pizza. Because really, that was the state of the world, right? You would ask an average consumer on the street, "Name a couple companies that deliver food," and they would name pizza brands. Stephanie: That would've been me a couple years ago, too. Alex: Totally. Stephanie: I'd be like, "Domino's." Alex: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Maybe Chinese food, if you've ever tried it. An average consumer didn't know that there's hundreds of restaurants that deliver to them, and that they can find them on Grubhub. So that was the focus of our messaging. Alex: Three months ago, even before COVID, if you asked an average consumer to name food delivery brands, they would name us, and maybe a handful of our competitors. In that environment, I'm prompted, right? This is unaided awareness. Not, "Have you ever heard of Grubhub?" But, "Name a food delivery brand." Alex: Our work switched from creating awareness to driving consideration. Helping consumers understand, what is it that they get if they buy from us versus perhaps one of our competitors? Last year, a lot of our focus has been on stating this extremely clearly and delivering on that experience quite precisely. As I mentioned a little bit earlier, it is all about value for us. Alex: Now that we're entering a bit of a new normal with COVID-19, we're beginning to come back to some of this foundational brand positioning. Talking about rewards and value. We have a TV spot that's actually launching today and tomorrow on national TV. We're one of the biggest spenders on TV in both the category. Stephanie: Oh, interesting. Alex: Generally we're one of top 200 brands advertising on U.S. television that talks about rewards and value. You might be scratching your head and wondering, "Why in the hell is a digital first brand spending so much money on TV?" Stephanie: Yes, I was wondering. Tell me. Alex: It actually is kind of counterintuitive. We, maybe about three years back, we started scratching our heads and thinking, "Okay, if an average consumer doesn't really know what food delivery options are out there, how do we create that awareness? And how do we do that in a way that can confidently map the efficacy of our spend?" Because creation of awareness, let's face it, is the most expensive thing a company can do. Stephanie: Yep. Everyone wants it, but then actually implementing it, tracking it, and seeing how it did, seems a little tricky. Alex: It is so very tricky. Most mechanisms for doing this are actually kind of arcane, right? You do media consumption patterns, which, frankly is a large-scale survey that perhaps an agency would run and say, "Okay, New Yorkers, they absolutely do not watch any TV. They spend a bunch of time in the subway, true. And then they're all very much on digital." Alex: So, a brand that's trying to advertise in New York then would say, "Okay, television in New York, totally worthless. And our consumers are probably just like the average consumer in New York." That's kind of how the line of thinking typically goes. We, despite having a general applicability product, right? Everybody wants food delivery, right? Everybody from 18 to my mom, most definitely could benefit from food delivery. Alex: And yet, what we discover, is that the media consumption patterns of an average New Yorker are not the average media consumption patterns of our consumer. Moreover, what we discovered three years back was even though our intuition was that someone who orders food delivery online is most likely an early adopter of technology, and most likely a cord cutter, right? I mean, if you're about to order food online, you of course are ordering your socks from Amazon. You of course are watching shows on Hulu Plus without any commercials, as opposed to on cable TV, right? Stephanie: Yeah. Alex: Of course that intuitively made sense, which is why we've been spending a lot of money through digital video channels. That intuitively made sense. We stumbled upon a set of techniques that allowed us to, with confidence, compare the efficacy of our awareness spent between digital video and the digital awareness darlings of Hulu and YouTube and Facebook for some of the dimensions, here. What we've discovered is that the bull drought of digital first is actually not as efficient, not at all as efficient per dollar spent, comparing to the- Stephanie: Oh, interesting. Alex: ... boring, stodgy, nobody watches it, cable television. Stephanie: Is it because of the audience that's there, where the digital, like you were talking about, advertising to them, they may already know about you and it's an easier conversion, whereas the people who are keeping the TV running in the background all day, maybe actually need the ad right then and there where it can put a little inception on them and they can hear about it a couple times while they have the news on? Alex: Yeah, I think that's one of the reasons. Other reasons are that, just on a per impression basis, your digital video is dramatically more expensive. Even though I'm a nerd of machine learning, and I love personalization, I don't believe that personalization can cover a five X price difference. It can make something 50% better, but not five steps better. Stephanie: So how do you think about creating that culture of experimentation like you're talking about, where most companies right now are probably not focusing on TV campaigns? How do you think about putting a budget behind that and actually empowering a team to do that, where when I think about teams who are running with marketing budgets, or just budgets in general, it's very scary to not show a great ROI, because you either aren't going to get that budget again. It's a use it or lose it type of culture, it seems like every company operates that way. Maybe Grubhub doesn't, but how do you think about creating good incentives and a culture of experimentation to come up with some of those projects? Alex: I think a culture where you ask for confidence in measurement for your spend is a good culture. Where you ask for feedback loops is a helpful culture. Now, you can take this too far, and you can start trying to map everything to revenue or [inaudible 00:16:56], and that doesn't particularly help with upper funnel marketing campaigns. But, the other extreme isn't particularly better. I see a lot of marketing organizations end up in that spot, where we say, "We demand perfect measurement," from what they call performance marketing. Alex: And the brand marketing side, the one where vast majority of dollars actually have to be spent to create awareness, is not working to the same level of rigor, and the same level of intellectual honesty with measurement. To your question about how to actually create those frameworks for the team, a couple things come to mind. Alex: The first one is, trying to pursue incentive alignment. If people on your team genuinely believe that learning and optimality of investment for the entire team is how they get promoted, is what the company actually values, they will pursue exactly that. Let me give you- Stephanie: Let me hear an example. Alex: Yeah, let me give you a counter example. A counter example is what happens if you hire an agency to manage your Facebook spend. Have you ever heard an agency that managers Facebook spend come back to you and say, "Your Facebook spend is terribly inefficient. You should spend less on Facebook." Stephanie: Definitely never. Alex: Right? That's what their incentives are, they get a portion of your Facebook spend. The same exact thing happens for your TV agency. The same exact thing happens for someone who's managing your Google spend, right? If you have a bunch of outsourced agencies, each of which is responsible for one of your channels, their survival, their ability to feed their children, depends on you being able to spend more money on the channel that they're managing for you. Alex: Of course, they don't have an incentive to try to tell you, "Hey, take money from Google and put it into Facebook." They will personally suffer. A setup like this creates a true misalignment of incentives. Let me contrast that with, let's say, an in-source structure, or perhaps a structure where you have a larger performance agency that is able to reallocate dollars between Google and Facebook without personalty suffering. Alex: In a structure where you in-source, which is how we operate, you're able to create a shared destiny, and you're able to say, "Hey, person running Facebook. Your incentives are all about learning." So if you have a current level of performance, which is a certain level of incremental CAC, and a certain level of incremental LTV. Your goal is to improve that by this percentage over the course of next quarter. Alex: Find some way to do so through whatever experiments that you're able to run. One of the potential outcomes is an improvement in efficiency by reduction in spend. They're able to raise their hand and say, "Hey, I actually want to spend your dollars. Take away some of my budget, and reallocate it over to TV, because they can spend it better. I hear they have a way to spend at a lower incremental CAC than I can." Stephanie: Have you seen that in your culture so far, of people actually being like, "Hey, you can have this budget, move it over here"? It seems like a lot of times, people are personally tied to their budgets, and whoever has the bigger budget is the more powerful one, and I haven't often, at least in my previous days at other companies, I haven't seen people say, "Hey, you can have this budget and move it here." Alex: You are exactly right. A lot of our, I guess, legacy from many of our previous jobs, associates the size of the budget with the influence in the organization, most definitely. This is where the job of a leader really is to create the right incentives and to catch people doing something right. Alex: If you hire somebody off of a company that had that culture, of course, their initial inclination will not be to raise their hand and say, "Hey, my area isn't working so hot." You need to indoctrinate them, if that makes any sense, into a world where it's okay to raise their hand and do it. The way you do it is by upholding folks who do this, and pointing at them and saying, "This person is doing it right," and celebrating their successes. And celebrating their experiments, where, perhaps, they didn't see the immediate success, but they learned something. Alex: So, as a leader, I think you have a lot of power to create these incentives. As such, structure what your team actually holds as valuable versus not. If you point to enough examples like this, you'll actually end up transforming the culture, even for someone who comes in from an organization that wasn't like that. Stephanie: Yeah, it seems like it would also allow someone to wear multiple hats, and kind of become a polymath when it's like, "I don't just focus on Facebook ads, or I don't just focus on this kind of marketing." They get to experiment with a bunch of different areas. Have you seen that happen in your organization? Alex: Oh, most definitely. My paid social folks, just like everyone's, they were super focused on Facebook. What we discovered is them raising their hands and being very creative, and being some of the first folks who ever tried TikTok, for example. This was a little while back now, but we were one of the first handful of brands to invest a lot of money into TikTok, and do large scale experimentation with them. What we've discovered is if you're one of the first ones, there's very meaningful... Effectively, arbitrages to be had, where you're able to not only get a great deal, but shape the product to your liking. As such, get a temporary advantage over the rest of the market. Stephanie: That's fun. How did you think about creating your first campaign on TikTok? When your team presented this idea to you, were you like, "Yeah, let's do it," or were you a little hesitant? What was the first campaign you had go out there, versus what does that look like today? Are you still utilizing it? Alex: Oh my God, this is quite a story, to be honest with you. The team came to me and said, "So, we're thinking about doing TikTok." My reaction at the time was, "TikWhat?" They explained this to me and I read up a little bit about it. My immediate reaction is, "Okay, you are attempting to sell a luxury product." Let's face it, ordering delivery, you're still buying food from restaurants. It is a luxury product in many of the cases, right? To, "You're trying to sell that to people who have no disposable income of their own. The average customer of TikTok at the time just could not have their own credit card." Stephanie: Yeah, they have allowances, maybe. Alex: Right? Exactly. "Why in the world could this possibly work, you guys? Our average consumer is fairly affluent, and you're now trying to go into a different demo. How is that even remotely possible?" But, luckily, at that point, I had already observed that my team knows better than me, and that they have much, much better ideas than I do. Essentially, we just did a test. We did a small test, and we experimented in earnest. Surprise, surprise, they came back and they showed me the numbers, and they were meaningfully better than Facebook at the time. Stephanie: Wow. Alex: We ended up investing more. That was genuine, true learning. Not just for the organization, but frankly, for me. There's multiple possible explanations for why it ended up being so efficient, and I can go into some of them, but the thing that matters to me most is that the crew felt inspired to pursue something new. They felt passionate enough about it to structure a test when there was no framework, really, out there. And they were unafraid enough to basically tell me that I'm wrong, and that my intuition is off. Alex: That made me feel like the culture is actually right. The culture is exactly what I want it to be. The opposite of that, where you're going with the highest paid person's opinion, if that makes sense. Stephanie: Doesn't work. Alex: It doesn't work, because all of our intuitions, no matter how successful we've been previously, we are sometimes wrong. Why hire smart people if you don't trust them to try things? Stephanie: I think there's a good mix between trust your gut, but also don't trust it, because you could be wrong. Yeah, go with other people's ideas, as well. How do you think about those efficiencies that you're mentioning when you're exploring new channels like TikTok? Alex: Sure. To me, it's indeed about being open-minded and experimenting with new types of media, and being unafraid to try things that aren't immediately, obviously, going to work. A similar type of experiment happened with Snapchat a little bit earlier, where I also was convinced that this can't possibly work for the same reason. Luckily, I, again, was wrong. Alex: I guess a pattern of learning is what inspired me to basically create this incentive structure for the team, where they're unafraid to raise their hand and say, "Hey, the way we've been doing this before is really off." If you want, I'll tell you a story of a channel that's not really a channel that I guess formed my opinion on that topic. Stephanie: Yeah, let's hear it. Alex: This is a story of a couple marketers that were attempting to turn a specific city around. Alex: As we talked a little bit earlier, we can be doing super well in one city, and not well at all in another city, or in a corner of a city. A lot of what we do has to do with how do we turn a specific city or neighborhood around? This couple folks, their job was to turn a specific city around, and I was expecting them to come to me and say, "Hey, I'm going to take the budget that you've given me, and I'm going to buy some Google ads, and I'm going to buy some billboards, and maybe I'm going to buy some Facebook ads." Alex: What they did instead, these were two marketers. What they did instead was actually really curious. They experienced the product for themselves. They placed a couple of food delivery orders, and they came to me and they said, "Hey, I don't want to buy any ads," they said. "Instead, whenever I was placing the order for food, there really weren't enough food photos. I was ordering from restaurants that I hadn't ordered from before, and I don't really know if their pad thai looks good. I don't really know if their sushi is something that I want to try." Alex: They were in your position. They said, "Screw it, I'm not going to buy any ads. I'm instead going to hire some photographers to come into those restaurants and take the photos. Then after that, I'm going to measure the incremental impact of the added photography, and see if the efficacy of that is actually comparable or high enough, comparing to the efficacy of ad spend." Effectively saying, "I'm going to open a brand new marketing channel, and that marketing channel is going to be photos." Stephanie: Photography. Alex: I'm like, "Okay, let's just do it." Stephanie: A whole brand new, the vision, of Grubhub, just photography. Alex: Exactly, exactly. These two folks get on the phones, start calling photographers, start calling restaurant owners and scheduling appointments to have the photographers come in there. That becomes basically their job for the next two months. Alex: Then they organize a really [inaudible] visitors for these specific menu pages see the photos, and others don't. They do some serious math to try to say, "Hey, here's the incrementality in here, and here's the efficacy of the spend comparing to what Google ads would be, or Facebook ads would be." They discover that those photos are actually a better way to spend marketing dollars, than any actual marketing. Stephanie: Yeah. Alex: I, at that point, am kind of floored. I come to them, I'm like, "Okay, you guys are on fire, this is amazing. Let's take your thing and give it to operations and scale up this thing." They say, "No, no, you don't understand, you don't understand. This whole project sucked. We spent our entire days on the phone with restaurant owners, trying to schedule appointments. We are going to make it better." Alex: I'm like, "Wait, what's going on?" They say, "No, no, instead of scheduling appointments with the restaurant owners to take photos, we are going to rent Airbnbs and photo studios around town, then order food from the restaurants, bring it to those Airbnbs. Our food stylist is going to make it look good, and we're going to take photos." Stephanie: Oh my gosh. Alex: I'm like, "Wait, wait, what? What?" Stephanie: That's another level. Alex: Yeah. My immediate reaction from this is, "Have you ever seen delivered food? It does not look good." They obviously told me to go pound sand, as they should have, and they showed me the first photos from these experiments. Oh my God, those first photos look much better than anything taken in a restaurant, because food stylists are really good at their jobs. If you were able to control the lighting, you're able to take much better pictures. Alex: When they actually tried it, they discovered that instead of doing two photo shoots a day, the photographer, who's the most scarce and expensive part of the whole operation, is able to do 20 photos shoot a day. Stephanie: Wow, that's efficient, that's amazing. Alex: As you can imagine, at that point, my mind was completely blown. We indeed operationalized this with folks whose day job was operations, as opposed to marketing. This was the example of really learning what learning means. Stephanie: Mm-hmm (affirmative). You kind of picked the markets to do that in, or you kind of see a market not doing so well, and those are the ones that you focus on getting the good imagery for, versus allowing that... UGC content to work well in other markets, or how do you think approaching that? Because it seems like something that would be really hard to scale, ordering a bunch of things all the time from every market in the U.S. How do you think about creating those campaigns? Alex: Yeah, yeah, yeah. With hundreds of thousands of restaurants on the platform, we indeed have constrained resources to do these photo shoots when we can. We can't do all of them next month. We had to be somewhat thoughtful on prioritizing things. A few things came to mind for being able to select the right restaurants to do this in sort of the right markets. Alex: First is, conversion. If consumers land on the menu, and end up buying stuff anyway. Well, that's cool, I guess they don't need the photos. If on the other hand, conversion isn't amazing, but the number of visitors to the menu page is super high, hey, this might be an opportunity to actually add some photos and improve that conversion. Alex: By digging into the data, and looking at where the majority of the incremental impact can be, we develop this framework for allocating this constrained resource, which ended up effectively being an investment of marketing dollars into a channel that's sort of marketing, but sort of not. Is it product? Is it operations? I have no idea. Stephanie: It's something, all the above. Alex: Right? Stephanie: How do you think about, you mentioned incrementality quite a bit. How do you think about that throughout your organization, when developing these experiments and seeing what works and what doesn't work? Alex: Sure. First, if you don't mind, allow me to define it as- Stephanie: Yes, please. Alex: Because I think that's super important. Incrementality, to me, is what would have happened anyway? If you didn't do your glorious marketing campaign, or this amazing product improvement that you just rolled out. This is a difficult question, because it's really attempting to attribute the entirety of this success, or entirety of what's happening during a campaign, to the campaign. Alex: Let me give you some intuition behind this, right? Let's say you go to, I don't know, gap.com or something like that. You see a banner in there that says, "10% off." Well, obvious, a lot of people are going to click that banner, and a lot of people are going to use that coupon to get 10% off of their transaction. The key question, though, is, what portion of those people would have transacted anyway? Stephanie: Yeah, they went there directly. They probably would have. Alex: Exactly, it's clearly not zero, because before you launched that awesome 10% off coupon, some people were buying jeans yesterday. Being able to, with confidence, judge what that incremental behavior is, and what is the incremental CAC, and incremental LTV, is super important. Simple back of the napkin as to how you judge this is, let's say yesterday, a hundred people bought those jeans. Today, 110 people bought those jeans. It's not a real AB test, obviously. But all 110 people used your 10% off coupon. You can wrongly suggest that all 110 converted because of your coupon, or you can look at the truth in the eye and realized 110 used the coupon, but 10 really only needed it. Stephanie: Do you think a lot of brands are missing this when they offer these discounts, and maybe unintended consequences that could come from it? I could see a lot of consumers, if they get used to you always having discounts, then they just wait. They're like, "I'm going to wait for that next 10% off coupon," then they don't have a buyer at all. Alex: Yeah, it is super dangerous. I do think that in some industries, there's exactly that happening, right? We know of the right times during the year to buy a TV, so we don't buy a TV until then. We know when the right time of the year to buy home improvement equipment, and we don't buy it until then. Exactly what you're describing is a real danger. Alex: It's not just a danger of delaying the purchase, it's a danger of create a permanently less profitable business. Imagine is, every Friday, Grubhub was to, let's say, give all our consumers three or five dollars off. Not only are Thursday orders going to be delayed, because our consumers are going to be like, "Hey, I don't really care when I get takeout. I'll cook one night and I'll get takeout the other night." They'll delay it until Friday, but those Friday orders are going to be less profitable. Alex: So we permanently teach our consumer base, if we take that route, to not only delay their orders, but to make them less profitable. That is a real issue and something you got to be super careful with, which is why you must measure incrementality. Stephanie: Yeah, especially right now. You see so many people discounting everything, it's kind of scary to think. How are you going to come back when your entire, everything on your store online, is 80% off? How do you come back from that? Alex: Most definitely. Now, if you have physical inventory, the opportunity cost is not zero. Right? Let's say if you're selling digital goods, for example, right? Let's say you're selling access to, let's say a song, or a book, right? Your fixed costs in that situation, your cost of an action, is terribly low, right? As opposed to if you have goods in the warehouse, and you aren't able to sell them, there's very meaningful fixed costs for you that you need to deal with. Alex: It might be, actually, quite reasonable to be running these high promotions, but if you are, you better be running it as a real AB test. You better be able to confidently say that this is the true incrementality of this 80% off coupon, and that's the true value that I'm getting out of it from both not needing to keep these products in the warehouse, but also from just sheer revenue from the consumer. Stephanie: Yeah, that makes sense. Do you have a good platform or way that you've set up metrics and things like that to measure that incrementality in a way that's not really manual, and then you can just kind of see how the campaigns and what they're doing is performing against each other? Alex: Yeah. In lower funnel channels, it is actually fairly easy to set up a platform for this, and we have. There are tools that you can use for it, right? Google Optimize, for example, or Optimizely, right? We have a combination of in-house and these third party tools to do product experimentation, for example. Alex: For things like CRM, couponing in the apps, or issuing emails with coupons, or push notifications, really good experimentation platforms don't exist off the shelf. We had to do some math ourselves. Some of that math turned out to be fairly fine tuned to Grubhub's needs. Here's what I mean by this. We're an LTV business. It's not just about the immediate transaction, it's about what happens after that transaction. Stephanie: Yep. Alex: For example, if a consumer ends up converting at a higher rate, and then afterwards has a poor experience and doesn't come back, that actually is terrible, terrible, terrible. Your typical, immediate conversion optimization tool, would just look at the first part of this. Oh my God, they converted at a better rate, great, awesome, keep it. Stephanie: Yay. Yep. Alex: We had to build tools specifically designed to capture these long-term effects. We typically look at the results of these long-term activities over the context of a month, right? So we need to see what happens to consumers for a meaningful amount of time to have high confidence that it indeed is net beneficial or not. Alex: Of course, we're able to look at things fairly early, and if something's a terrible idea, we're able to kill it early. But, in order to be able to confidently say what is the impact on the LTVs, we had to build tools. These in-house tools for many CRM things that we do today. Stephanie: Got it. Alex: Even then, it's just for lower funnel. It's just for CRM and product. How do you judge the incrementality of TV versus billboards? That is a whole other, super complicated story. Stephanie: How do you think about the intersection between your CRM and your content management system and your actual commerce platform? How do you create a good environment where they all interact together, and people can see a holistic view of everything that's going on? Alex: Great question. I don't think I have a perfect answer for you, other than enabling as many work streams for experimentation as are possible. That is, allowing the CRM team to run experiments on their own, without involving a bunch of product people, without involving a bunch of finance and analytics people. Similarly, allowing the front end or pricing optimization team to run experiments on their own, and do very specific price optimization experiments just by themselves. Alex: The more work streams like this you have running in parallel, the more you're going to be able to learn, as an organization, per unit of time. Stephanie: That seems like a great answer to me. It also seems like you would get a lot of, you could have a customer with a negative experience, but it would be because of maybe the restaurant. It seems like you guys would have a lot of insights into maybe how to help restaurants improve, where it's like, hey, every time someone orders this thing of sushi, you always forget the wasabi, and man is that making people upset. Do you ever send that data back to restaurants to improve the products as in their food, or the customer experience, or anything like that? Alex: Most definitely, you hit the nail on the head. We are in a really unique position of knowing not just who the people were, or when they placed the orders at your restaurant, but knowing exactly what they ordered. We can see exactly that pattern, right? We can tell you that on Tuesday night, the reviews for people ordering sushi, are actually worse than on any other night. We can help you see that, so that you can train the person that's working on Tuesday night. Stephanie: [crosstalk 00:43:21]. Alex: These kind of insights... Yeah, totally. These kind of insights are exactly what we believe is what is something that we can uniquely provide to our restaurant partners, besides demand. Of course they come to us because they're interested in demand, particularly now. But we can do more, and we've been building a lot of systems specifically about that, that are effectively... you can think of this as recommendation systems in the grand scheme of the word of giving recommendations to the restaurants about how they can lend the totality of their business more efficiently. For example- Stephanie: It seems like that could be a whole different business for you guys to also operate. Alex: It's quite synergistic in our minds, right? If we're able to make our restaurants more successful, it actually makes us more successful, in turn. Because, those consumers who are placing orders and are not getting any wasabi with their sushi, they are ultimately not happy with Grubhub. We want them to have an amazing experience. Alex: Whether the restaurant wins just on Grubhub, or throughout the totality of their experience, because, let's face it, that restaurant might be serving other delivery platforms, and soon enough, hopefully, dine-in, as well. That retraining is going to help the restaurant across the board. We actually very much welcome that. That means that we're able to create the value not just for our platform, but for the restaurant, and increase the chance that this restaurant will, ultimately, be successful. Stephanie: Mm-hmm (affirmative). I think that's a really good point, especially as a lot of brands right now are shifting quickly to the world of Ecommerce and trying to figure out how to sell online. There's going to be a lot of new touch points that they maybe aren't anticipating that could actually hurt the consumer experience. If you've got the UPS guy throwing your box over the fence, and it's getting crush, there's a lot of things that actually, you maybe wouldn't even think of, as a brand, of, "That's not my job," when really, everything form start to finish to delivery and afterwards, and the follow-up, all of that's your job. And how do you think about controlling that experience with so many touch points? Alex: You are so right. The totality of this is their job. From the first ads that they see on TV, to what shows up when they look on SEM or on paid social and discover your brand there, too. The first purchase experience to the interaction with the UPS guy, to the interaction with customer service. All of that, in totality, is what the brand relationship really is, what the product really is. Alex: As marketers, we can't just care about that ads. As product people, we can't just care about the bits installed on the phone. They, in their separation, they don't particularly matter. As you saw from my story with the photos, that really was quite profound to me, right? We kept looking for a solve to get more customers and more sales through marketing, and that solve wasn't there at all. The most efficient solve was far outside. Stephanie: Mm-hmm (affirmative), yeah, such a good reminder for all brands to think about that, like you said, totality of the process. Because you have a software engineering background, I feel like I'm allowed to ask you tech questions. I saw on your, you guys have a blog on Medium, or your engineering staff does. They were talking about how they were creating discount codes using crypto. It made me wonder, what other kind of technologies are y'all experimenting with, or seeing success, or how did you think about running the platform that Grubhub's built on now? Alex: Sure. A few things are super important. One is having a scalable platform that can withstand demand, and that can withstand massive spikes in demand. As luck would have it, most people in Chicago, want to get dinner approximately at the same time. Stephanie: Yes, who knew? Alex: Right. What a pain in the butt. We've been trying to convince them to maybe come a different... No. Stephanie: Come on, 3:00's your time, come on. Alex: Exactly, exactly. Your dinner delivery window. Which, of course, creates formidable demand. Not just on the services in the backend of our systems, but a formidable demand on our logistics network. A lot of our work goes into being able to spike in response to customer demand. Let me give you one intuitive example of this. Outside of COVID, before COVID, when rain would start during dinner hours, demand would massively spike. Alex: At that moment, we're supposed to magically materialize a lot of drivers on the road doing deliveries. Being able to do so, technically, and when I say magically materialize, I'm of course referring to creating incentives and creating appropriate communication channels with our drivers so that they actually want to get on the road. A lot of our engineering work has to do with how we were talking about in the beginning, balancing the three sites of the network, and being able to respond to either a massive spike in demand, or response to a set of orders that were placed in the specific part of the city on the logistics side. Alex: Or, respond to an onboarding of an enormous partner, like Shake Shack, or Sweet Green, or Taco Bell, with their own unique needs. Remember, we work with such a variety of restaurants, right? We do point of sale integrations with a variety of our enterprise customers, which of course means that we have to have nimble systems that are able to onboard those same customers. They have to be resilient, as well. So, a lot of our work has to do with both scale and being able to deal with these spikes. Stephanie: Got it. Any favorite pieces of tech that you guys are implementing or trying out right now to help with those large spikes in demand? Or where you guys think the future is headed that you're kind of preparing for? Alex: Favorite pieces of tech. Huh. Huh. I'm going to think marketing tech. Braze has been an outstanding tool for our marketing teams. What we've discovered is it effectively enabled a whole work stream of experimentation for our CRM teams. They're able to run pretty sophisticated experiments completely independently from engineering, which increase our velocity of experimentation. Stephanie: Hmm, that's awesome. I'll have to check that out. Cool. So to zoom out a little bit, 30,000 foot level, what kind of disruptions do you see coming in the world of Ecommerce? What's on your radar right now? It doesn't have to be for Grubhub, it can just be in general. Alex: I think that the disruption is already here, where over these past couple of months, we've seen the portion of online transactions, and portion of consumers who have tried buying things online just catapult through the roof. All of those new consumers, let's face it, my 90 year old grandmother is using Zoom now. All of those consumers are a new opportunity. They have very different expectations. They don't yet know much about your brand. Alex: Being able to understand this newly online wave, and heightened expectations of the consumers that already happen online, but perhaps not as active with your service, right? Those, I think, are super important. This to me takes us back to velocity of experimentation, being more important now than ever. That is, truly learning from your customers. Observing them, creating experiments, measuring, and getting a feedback loop from them, so that you're able to focus and find the one thing that you can improve to make the whole story better. Maybe photos. Maybe it's something else. Stephanie: Yep. Yeah, I love that. It definitely seems like with these new people coming online, you have to have a bunch of different tactics to meet them wherever they are. The ones that have been working for the past year, might only work for a subset of the people because you have 50% more people that you need to market to, or develop a platform for, and it's going to be very different with how you approach those new consumers than what you've been used to. Alex: Exactly. Stephanie: All right, so, we're about to jump into the lightning round. Any higher level thoughts, Alex, that you want to share before we do so? Alex: If you're able to structure your organizational incentives to focus on learning and feedback loops, I think now you're going to see an even bigger reward for it in the form of market share, in the form of growth, in the form of being able to adapt to the world around you and leapfrogging the competition. Stephanie: Yeah, completely agree. All right, so the lightning round, brought to you by our friends at Sales Force Commerce Cloud. It's a fun and easy, quick round of questions where you have a minute or less to answer. Are you excited and ready, Alex? Alex: Very scared. Stephanie: Dun dun. All right, first one. If you are starting a podcast, what would it be about, and who would be your first guest? Alex: Whoa, what a fascinating question. What a fascinating question. I am obsessed with all things culture, and how do you actually create the right incentives for a technology/marketing organization? I love Simon Sinek. He is outright amazing. I learned a ton from reading him. I would probably to get him and if I can't, I'd get one of my former mentors in there, as a consolation prize. Stephanie: Oh, that sounds good. I would listen. I would be your first listener, and I would give you a five start review. Alex: Oh my gosh, thank you. Stephanie: You got me at least. What's up next on your reading list? Alex: Hmm, next on my reading list? I am reading Russian sci-fi novels these days, as a means of escaping from a tiny, one bedroom apartment. Stephanie: Any good ones that we should check out? Alex: I'm actually reading them in Russian, so I don't know- Stephanie: I was going to say, unless they're in Russian, then I don't know if I'll be able to read Russian quick enough to read it. Alex: Oopsie, oopsie, I do have a few people at my work who've been reading Tolstoy before the whole COVID situation started. I don't know if I'd recommend it now, Tolstoy does darkness extremely well. We have enough darkness around us now. Stephanie: That is true. Yeah, maybe not. Alright, well, what thing do you normally buy at a store that now you're just going to buy online after everything with COVID? Alex: What a great question. Only online now. Hmm. Stephanie: Tricky, tricky. Alex: I used to, actually a lot of my electronics. I used to come to the store and look at them and experiment with them. I have a feeling that I'm never doing that again. I used to come to a Best Buy and just try to look at different mice and monitors and all that. I got a new laptop and a new mouse online. I really like them, and I really like the experience. I was unafraid of returning them. That's it, online I go. Stephanie: Yeah, completely agree, especially as a lot of these companies are making the return experience a lot more seamless. Yeah, I could completely see the same thing happening. Buy things, test it out, and send it back if you don't like it. Alex: I was just chatting with a colleague about this exact same thing with returns around fashion. I think there's a lot of innovation to be had with moving the fear in fashion through that. Stephanie: Yep, completely agree, except I could see them having to now to figure out a way to resell those items in a way that proves that they've been quarantined, disinfected, and yeah. I was just thinking about that the other day. Man, that's tricky, especially for second hand market places to try and prove to the customer that these items are clean and good to go, and you can buy them. Alex: I agree. Solvable, I think, but I agree. Stephanie: It is solvable. All right, so the last final question. What's up next for Ecommerce professionals? Alex: I think we're going through a time when from being on the early adopter, early majority demand for most of the brands. We've become the critical source of revenue for every single brand. If you think that your company was going through a digital transformation, and is now trying to make digital just a better channel, hold on to your seats, because it's not the only channel, and the majority channel. So, the demand for expertise in our area is increasing very rapidly, and the demand for learning in our area is also increasing rapidly. I think this is a wonderful time to be in Ecommerce. I think this is a wonderful time to be learning and doubling down on Ecommerce. I'm excited for all of us to be right at the center of this transformation. Stephanie: I love that, love the positivity, and yeah, it's definitely an exciting time to be alive and experiment and try new things. This has been a blast Alex, thanks so much for coming on the show. This is your second appearance on a Mission podcast, so yeah, we're so thankful that you came back and joined us again. Alex: Stephanie, thank you very much for inviting me. Stephanie: All right, talk to you later. Alex: Cheers.  

Bersegi Pandang is back! Kali ini kita akan bicara tentang tatanan normal baru yang ngga lepas dari situasi pandemi COVID-19. Dalam episode pertama di musim kedua ini, akan ada sudut pandang dari @prayoganyoman yang sudah empat bulan di rumah dan @adhitep yang sudah lebih banyak menjalankan kegiatan di luar rumah dengan protokol kesehatan yang berlaku. Di tengah kekhawatiran yang dirasakan, kehidupa harus tetap berjalan. Right? Let's hear how these two shared their perspectives! NB: Direkam dari dua lokasi berbeda. | Photo cover credit: Canva

Making the first move should be YOURS, doesn't matter who was right.

In tonight's episode we go over Texas reopening from the “Rona”, and then we jump into mental health and how it effects us as individuals and as a community.

Hi Everyone!  I hope you and your families are well.  You’re listening to the All Social Y’all Podcast Episode 22 and this is Part 1 of a 2 part series recorded in a live radio show called El Sassa, about How Businesses Will Change after Covid 19 Coronavirus.  Radio and podcast host Sassa and I discuss the current impacts of Coronavirus in our business communities, the emotional perspectives – like overwhelm and dealing with every day being ‘just weird’ in some ways, how the food industry is transforming, how the media is informing and influencing consumer’s decision making, the education system and learning disruption and what this will offer in the future….we talk about , remote or virtual experiences like the NFL Draft first time going Live with the draft virtually.  We discuss how Covid19 is driving innovation in a different way, plus more.    Carey Sperry: I'm excited to be here! Sassa: Great. Man, I'm actually excited to do this podcast with you. This is something we've been talking so much for the past maybe few weeks or days, right? Since COVID-19 started and we've talked about, "Hey, let's get together and do this and it feels good to work together in this and just kind of like talk with your listeners, my listeners and kind of share some of this business things that are happening with COVID-19. I know that your podcast, you kind of talked so much to the business people out there, correct? Carey Sperry: That's right. Yes. Small and midsize businesses, some large business owners and executives tune in as well. But we focus on digital, social and how you can best serve your customer through the customer experience through social and digital. Sassa: That's right. So Carey, tell us a little bit more. I mean, you're, you're located in Georgia, you said, right? In what city? Carey Sperry: Yes. We're just right outside Atlanta and we're in the greater Atlanta area out of Alpharetta, Georgia. Sassa: That's good. So, how has Georgia been handling this COVID-19 and I know you guys are going to be opening pretty soon here too, right? Carey Sperry: Great question. Yes. Well, first we've been handling it quite well. I've been pretty proud of our state and we had one city, I think it's Albany that had a really bad breakout that had the most deaths from a funeral that people attended. But that wasn't their fault because it was before they knew that there was COVID-19 and it was as prevalent as it was, here. But since then it's been... Since there's been awareness, there's been a lot of compliance. Nothing's perfect but even the young kids that normally would be outside at basketball courts in parks and things that... You know what I mean. High school kids that can drive and whatnot. Sassa: Yeah. Carey Sperry: They're even, I see them staying home and so we're supposed to open up Friday and Monday I think in a phase effort. The strategy, which seems a bit a little early to me, because we didn't really have time to like get ready so to speak. But we'll see how it goes and I get the logic behind it. Sassa: That's true. And Carey, here in Houston, I'm in Texas. For your listeners that do listen to your podcast, we are a Houston company, Texas [inaudible 00:02:35]. They say they do big everything in Texas, but right now we're feeling like everything's so small with COVID-19. Right? I was actually just telling you before we started this podcast I was driving by Twin Peaks, it's usually packed over lunch in the evenings and it's empty. Some places in Houston you feel like ghost towns. You're like, "Man, I remember when this used to be so crowded, so packed, so jamming. Now it's empty." Are you getting that over there as well in, in Georgia? Carey Sperry: Absolutely. Yes. We're blessed to be able to see, right? Because it's another sense that we have to absorb this experience and our eyes connect to our feelings and when we see things differently, when you're taking a walk outside and you normally see like 1000 cars go by in an hour's time, now you see 10 go by or something. That's just very weird mind body connection. But yeah, about, I don't know how many weeks ago now, it's kind of hard to keep track of time, although I am keeping a daily journal where I'm documenting my own perception of the COVI9-19 experience, hoping that one day my great grandchildren will read it. Sassa: Yeah. Carey Sperry: We're going to forget. Sassa: Let's hope that they don't go through this no more. Right? Let's hope that we can just tell them what it was, right? Carey Sperry: Totally. Oh my gosh. I wouldn't wish this on anyone and yet it's a global issue, which is another kind of thing to absorb. But I don't know how many weeks ago it was, but I remember some stores being open and being able to go in and seeing cars out in the parking lot and people going in and out of the stores. I'm not saying that it was the normal volume, it was definitely a lower volume. But then the day before Easter I went out to pick up a ham from Honey Baked Ham and all those stores were closed. There was no cars. I think one store was open and they were letting in 10 people at a time and you had to wait outside, taped sidewalk with tape to stand apart six feet and things just- Sassa: And they're not listening, right, Carey? I mean, I don't even know if I want to go to the grocery store as much no more because they just go by you. They cross you. I understand people's stress and I understand people are just trying to get in and out, but I think it's not even about them maybe not listening or not doing it. Maybe sometimes you just got so much in your mind, you just want to just go and come and you don't see the other person. I think we need to also take care of ourselves but we also need to take care of other people as well. Correct? Carey Sperry: Oh, totally. I'm wearing a mask when I go out, but like you, I'm wanting to go out. I don't want to go out, but if I have to, I will to get necessities or just food if I can't get a delivery for what we need. But that's been pretty good. But I put the mask on just out of respect for people that have compromised systems or older people. I've noticed that definitely not everyone here is wearing a mask, but probably maybe 60% it seems like are wearing the masks. I mean, I think a couple of things. When people aren't being aware or they're not abiding by the social distancing in public. Is one, they're either kind of checked out, their stressed, their mind isn't concentrating on that as what they're concentrating maybe doing what they're there to do. It's kind of an innocent thing but still they need to try to remember. Sassa: Yes. Carey Sperry: I think the other thing is unfortunately some people just aren't paying attention as much on a daily basis as would help. I think they just maybe are watching movies and I don't think watching the news all day long is healthy at all. I've limited myself to just staying in tune every day, but not watching hours upon hours of it. Sassa: It stresses you girl. Let me tell you, I did that at the beginning of this whole pandemic. It was stressful. I had to get the phone out of... I mean, the television out of me and the phone for a side because I was just watching news. If I didn't get on the computer, I got on the cell phone, I got on the television. It was just too much and it comes to a point where it also stresses you and you're like, "Oh my God, it's putting too much on me." Did you feel that? Carey Sperry: That's right. Oh, totally. I was doing the same thing at first, because it was just such a big change from normal life. Like you said, being a business owner, thinking about, "How am I going to take care of my family and what is this going to mean and how long is it going to be? What does it mean in my community and just the children having to be home for school." We just have one left at home now who is 17 so he's pretty independent, but he still has some needs that definitely, I worked about two hours with him yesterday on his goals and his grades. They only have like four weeks left of school now. So, it's just a lot. Sassa: Yeah. Texas. We're actually not going to have no more school for the rest of the year, they announced that. The governor said that all Texas schools will be closed. So you can just imagine how... I have one of my children who was graduating from high school this year. I'm also wondering how this is going to work with him and I'm going to work with the school on graduation and things like this. So I could just imagine how many parents are out there also stressing with things like this. But today, we need to just focus on staying safe. Sassa: That's what I told my son, worry about staying safe, healthy, "Don't worry about graduation right now. We'll figure that out." But I'm thinking they'll put something together, maybe in the summer. Hopefully they get something going. Even though... I don't even know how graduations are going to be no more, because Carey here in Texas, I don't know if in Georgia is the same, but I mean, I graduated with 800 to 1000 kids when I graduated. So my son's probably going to graduate with even more, probably 1500 more. How are you going to do it? That's my question, right? Me and my mom- Carey Sperry: I believe... Oh sorry. Sassa: No, no. Sorry. I was going to tell you, my mom, my father, my brothers, myself, his mom, my younger son, I mean we all want to go to the graduation and see my son graduate. Maybe it's hundreds of other families who want to be at the same place. So that's going to change a bit, right? Carey Sperry: Yes. I believe, I'm not 100% but I believe our high school where our son attends is doing a virtual, they call it very special virtual experience for the ceremony for graduation. Sassa: Wow. Carey Sperry: Like I said, I'm not 100% because my son is in senior, but I believe that's what I saw, which reminds me tomorrow night, which is Thursday, is the NFL draft and for the first time in history they're doing it remotely. Sassa: That's right. Carey Sperry: So I'm going to tune in because I'm just interested in how that's going to work. My son and I were talking about it the other day and I was saying, "You know what, I think is going to kind of feel like a news program when you're watching the news and then they bring in a weather caster or guest..."- Sassa: And the sport. Yeah. Carey Sperry: But the players will be at their homes and in front of their computer. Sassa: I mean, Carey, look at what ESPN did. I mean, they don't have sports. So they put the Michael Jordan 10 episodes, which I watched it and it kind of brought me back to my time when I grew up watching Michael. I'm from the '90s and '80s, so I saw that and everything I was watching just made me forget COVI9-19 and started thinking, "Man, I remember when I was listening to the song. I remember when that happened. I remember this." So it brought something good. I think that's what sports probably are going to start going into because I mean, we can't be in crowds and I just can't wait to go see a sports event and see how many people are going to wear masks because it's going to be so many people. Right? Carey Sperry: Yes. I mean, I don't even know if there's going to be contact sports with audiences in the hall. I hope there will be, but they said today that they're the outbreak in the winter, the CDC came out and said today that the outbreak in the winter might be worse than what we're experiencing now. Sassa: Yes. Carey Sperry: I can't even imagine, but we just have to take it a day at a time. That's part of the acceptance part of this, I think. Because, I mean, I don't know what your perspective is Sassa about Americans, but anyone that lives here, it's such kind of high intensity pace that we have. In Europe, they take a couple hours in the afternoon, businesses shutdown for an hour or two to- Sassa: Yes. My country, they do it too, they close. I'm like, "Mom, why are people close here to 2:00." "Oh, they're in their lunch break." I'm like, "Can they just open?" She goes, "No, they said once it hits 11:59 they're telling you, you need to leave because we're taking our lunch." Two hours, they close. Why do they do this? And they're gone at 3:34 o'clock. They don't work an hour or a minute afterwards. I understand them because I mean, they don't get paid as much as we do here in America, but they're just ready to go home. I think we need to start looking at doing things like that more. I personally as a business owner myself, Carey, I actually am in the process of doing a transition of my company, my office, my studio at home. Sassa: I have a house where I have enough space to build a room and maybe another suite there. So I'm considering doing that. I mean, yes it's going to save me some money, but working at home these last few days has also made me restructure some things of my business and think differently, but also in the way where I'm thinking like, "Man, if I have to start all over, because that's what we want to talk more today. I'm pretty much starting all over as of now." My company went in marketing and advertisement, 70 to 80% of my clients cancel my contracts because they can't afford them right now. They don't need the marketing because they don't have their business open. I feel we all need marketing. I feel we all need to continue doing this. But your average business owner, they got to survive. They got to have family, they got to pay other bills than for me to do marketing and sponsorships. That hit me hard about 80%. Now, you can imagine, and I'm probably not the only one in this, I can tell you that right now. Carey Sperry: No. You're absolutely not. Not alone. Sassa: How am I going to start? I want you to also share with your audience and my audience and I want you to share with me as a friend, how are you planning on restarting if you're doing a business or what have you heard from friends? Because, what I did this last few weeks, it's just continue brainstorming, thinking, "What kind of business can I open now? I mean, what can I do now? Do I need to create another app that does this, does that? Do I need to put a little bit of money here more? Since I'm pretty much going to restart all over." Sassa: I might just do something new. It's kind of a new life, a new change. Because we were talking earlier, remember when I told you girl? Two or three months we've been with no work, it's going to take me another two or three months to kind of get back on my feet. By then winter comes. Guess what girl, boom! It hit me again because like you said, CDC said it might come stronger. So I feel from here to December, I'm pretty much... It's all going to be a loss for me. What do you think about that friend? Carey Sperry: Oh, I totally understand. I have clients that are going through the same thing very strongly and with the compound effect. It's what you're talking about. I admire you and applaud you for thinking ahead like that because if you just get paralyzed in your mind and in your attitude and say, "I'm just so overwhelmed, I don't know what to do, my business is losing. So I'm just gonna wait, I'm just not going to... I don't know what to do and I can't ask for help because I'm embarrassed or I don't know who to ask." Or all these things. I mean for my business personally, it absolutely hurt. The new business prospects that I was working with decided to hold off, because... They happened to be brick and mortar that were touching people, like an eyelash extension company and another was a computer security that had to do with face-to-face, like someone actually looking at the computer. Carey Sperry: So, I of course 150% understand their decision even though I encourage them to brand during COVID so that then when the economy did open back up and they were able to do business again, like Georgia and Texas is opening up now, that then they could convert faster to appointments. If they did the branding online upfront and then people are like, "When it opens up, I'm going there." I understand the decision either way. As far as my business with... I started pivoting back in 2019 where I wanted to become a podcaster. I launched the podcast in November, of 2019. I'm so thankful I did that because now I have had a studio at home this whole time and now, I'm just continuing that and I feel like podcasts are just right on the bottom. If you picture yourself on a roller coaster and you go down the big hill, I don't ride roller coasters myself, but- Sassa: It's been a while since I ride one too, so don't feel bad girl. Since I rode. Carey Sperry: Then you start to go back up that next incline. That's where we are with podcasts as far as saturation. People think that YouTube is completely saturated. It is not, it is not saturated all the experts in that space say so. So I became last year a YouTube channel manager and I'm working on a channel with my daughter. It's called conservation Schick. And she launched the day before Easter on April 11th. My son wants to start his own channel and as I'm actually doing this myself, I'm also helping businesses with that as well with. So that's something that businesses can do, is reach audiences. Now as far as conversion to payment and a product that varies business-to-business- Sassa: Yes. You're right. Carey Sperry: I think one thing that is going to happen with this new way of life is education is absolutely, I believe going to transform to more online, more digital. All these teachers now are learning how to do it and the ones that like it are going to want to continue to somehow offer that in school. They're going to find, "Oh my gosh, people want to learn at home." But with that, so do business people. Business people want to learn from other business people and consumers want to learn from home. Sassa: That's right. Carey Sperry: So courses are a huge thing. I haven't- Sassa: And you're right about that because for example, restaurants that didn't have an app, they didn't think digital was the key. They didn't think internet was... If you weren't in this platforms before let's say January, 2018 you were already way Flintstone era, old already. Because this is where you got hit the most because you weren't on these digital platforms, these online services, all these apps and things like that. Now they are seeing, "Man, I should have had my one app. I should have had this. I should have had that, because maybe my business would have strived during that time and now it got hit harder because I didn't think that was coming anytime." Sassa: It took a COVID-19 for them to see this, in a different way because now they're going to have to integrate whether they wanted or not digital stuff into the platform. I think that's one of the things that COVID-19 will change on some of these restaurants now. Another thing that they said here in Texas, check this out. They're trying to open the economy, right? To the To Go, the retail To Go. One store manager, some of the challenges he's facing. I don't want to face financial ruins yet also, I don't want to get sick because we're still in the early stages. Right, Carey? Carey Sperry: Yeah. Too early. Sassa: How is retail going to work now to go, remember... I mean, you as a woman, you got to go out there, maybe try the dress or tr the shoes. I understand online was getting big and it was popping in is still going to continue, but a friend of mine told me last night, "I still like going to the mall and I still like going into different stores and trying this. I spent more money going in the mall than online shopping." So I think that's going to impact a lot of many places in a lot of businesses. So a lot of these mom and pop shop stores, like you were saying, the eyelashes and things, man, especially hair salons Carey, how do you think hair salons and eyelashes and all these spas are going to work now? Because number one thing, they got to touch the person. Right? Carey Sperry: I know. I was thinking about that yesterday because that's one of the things that is opening up in phase one, is hair salons and nail salons and I'm wondering- Sassa: How? How is that going to happen, girl? Carey Sperry: Yeah, you're actually touching people. But I think they're going to wear gloves. And really, I mean, since consumers aren't required to wear the mask, I feel like they should be, if they want to go get their nails or hair done because all it takes is one cough while maybe the hairdresser's trying to trim your bangs and that's it. Sassa: I didn't tell my hairdresser, "Oh maybe I was sick, just a few days ago." Or, guess what? I don't even know if I'm sick because remember you might have it and not even start showing the symptoms till later on. So how is this going to work? Especially how do you think that's going to evolve in this industry, in the hair salon. I mean, I can give you my ideas, but I don't know if it's going to happen that way. But you tell me, you as a woman, how do you think that's going to change? Because I know those businesses, they have been hit hard. Carey Sperry: Big time and my hair looks horrible. Because I've been trying to do it myself and it is not working very well. Sassa: Don't worry. I used to cut hair when I was in high school. So I did my friends at high school and I used to do my taper and things. So I kind of do it on my own with a mirror but when I do need help, I kind of call my friends, "Hey, can you come over and kind of fix a little bit?" But yeah. We were talking and let me tell you what I think. Basically I told her, "You might have to wear protection." She's like, "Right?" It's going to be difficult. You're right. Maybe use a mask because she has to use a mask. I said, "What about gloves?" She goes, "I can't cut her hair with gloves. It's uncomfortable." So you tell me, Carrie, I mean, you as a woman, would you want to sit there and see that the hairstylist during this COVID-19 phase one, she's not protected and you're like, "Man." Carey Sperry: well, I love being a woman and I love the differences between men and women. I support all people's choices with gender identity and all that. Personally, I love being a woman, but I am different in that way, that I call the mall the dungeon. Sassa: Okay. Carey Sperry: I do not like going to the mall, but I love those outdoor malls. We have one here. Anyone in the greater Atlanta area will know. It's called Avalon. We live like a mile from there. It's just beautiful. I love to stroll around the stores outside there. You can carry a drink, if it's an evening. Sassa: Oh, okay. It's good. Carey Sperry: It's so nice and I enjoy shopping like that, but I feel stressed out when I shop. Because I have so many criteria and so many just... Yeah, I have so much criteria, I have too much criteria. So it takes me a while, but it's almost as hard online. But I am a huge, like I said before, well, first of all I love to learn and I love to teach and share with people knowledge, resources. I think that's a lot of what podcasts and YouTube are all about. And so what I think is going to happen is these beauty YouTubers and hair specialists YouTubers, I think more of those are going to evolve and there's going to be some kind of a blend between more that you can do for yourself at home really well. That's going to explode the product offerings and then I think more studios are going to start opening up in hairdressers homes. I know a couple. One was doing it before and one is starting to open her own now. Carey Sperry: I think there's going to be more of that, which just means more control over the traffic. If you go to a hairdresser or nail salon that's in the home, they can space out, they can clean, plenty ample time to clean. I'm not saying that the brick and mortar traditional ones aren't going to survive anymore. I think those will still be around too. But I think there'll be this new evolution of- Sassa: Evolution. Carey Sperry: Doing more for yourself at home and more and then- Sassa: And they've got to be more cleaner. Right, Carey? They've got to be... I know a lot of times, it's so busy one after another, one after another, but they have to be more cautious and more cleaner. They have to kind of be more of a show the client, "Look, I just cleaned everything so we can get started." So you as a customer will make yourself feel more comfortable because you feel like, "Okay, a little bit more cleaner. It kind of gives me a little bit more of a trust to get my hair done or things like that." Right? Carey Sperry: Yeah. You know the first time you went out with COVID-19 and you saw people actually wearing the masks for the first time and how weird that felt? Now when we go out and we see the mask, it feels a little less weird and it feels a little more normal. So I think as time goes on and we have these protective measures, whatever those may be in the future, that we're going to adapt and we're going to get more used to it. I think that what looks like... Remember when you were a teenager in your 20s and you kind of tried to picture what it would be like 20 years from now and you had a little bit of an image? Sassa: Yes. Carey Sperry: It's pretty different than it was. I mean, they're making cars now that can drive themselves and they're making flying cars and stuff are even happening. And so our kids are going to be ordering groceries almost 100% if not 100% from Alexa and audio devices. They're not writing down a list and actually going there. They're going to be like, "What? You used to do that? Are you crazy." Sassa: "That's old school, right? Yeah. That's old school. I even think a lot of things change. Like you just said, they're going to be ordering more if they weren't ordering already. It's even going to get bigger and bigger and bigger, more and more. Correct? But grocery stores, for example, they're going to have to be competing also with restaurants. So here in Texas, let me tell you what, some of these restaurants have been known to survive. They have what's called the restaurant To Go. You just coming pick up and go or order To Go. But they're also starting to sell like market, groceries. Okay. Fruits, vegetables, meat of the same stuff that they used to cook. Sassa: They're selling it to them like, "Hey, we got groceries if you need some. You need some broccolis, you need some tomatoes, you need some steaks, you need some chicken, you need fish. We have it, so we can sell it to you." They're doing that transition from the restaurant. They're called restaurant grocery stores now. So it's kind of like they can't survive just only on a to go right now. So they have to put in all these little groceries in there. So grocery stores- Carey Sperry: Interesting. Sassa: Yes. So grocery stores are now competing with the restaurants in that area too. Because well, guess what? A lot of grocery stores apps are so loaded that their delivery takes about two or three weeks before it gets delivered to you and you're like, "I don't have no food. I need to eat." So they might be going to this restaurant and maybe they have the groceries that they needed so, "Let me get them, let me go." They're even selling paper toilet in there and paper towels in those little restaurants, can you believe it? Carey Sperry: Yeah. Whatever they can do to help people. Sassa: Exactly. And also generate an income because they lost so much, they lost everything. There's a lot of folks like myself who've lost pretty much everything who are restarting. These brick and mortar restaurant chains or restaurants are paying 25,000, 10,000, 8,000 a month on rent. It's a lot of money for that and put a plus the expenses, the employees, all the other. I mean, one of them sent me... It actually took him about 30 to 40,000 to generate every month to keep this restaurant going in and I'm like, "Wow, that's a hit." You know what I mean? Sassa: They have to sell the things. So, that's one of the areas where evolution of restaurants are going to be. I want to ask you, maybe Uber and taxis, I mean a lot of people might not want to go ahead and go on a cab no more, because... I mean, do you think this is going to probably have the chance where self-driving cars, like you say, maybe come in and maybe something of the future? What do you think? Carey Sperry: Sure. Well, I think that Uber and Lyft have such a strong hold on the convenience, a need that consumers have. Consumers want, they want it to be easy, they want it to meet their needs and they want it to be a little bit fun, easily. And so the Uber and Lyft are great because it's easy. It may not be fun, but you know how sometimes in the app it asks, "Did you enjoy the conversation with your driver?" So I think that's kind of tip tapping into the fun aspect of it, because that's what creates loyalty. So I think it has such a strong hold on our culture that, that's not going to go away. Probably what will happen is that there will be some maybe questions that you have to verify in the app before you booked the call. Just for legal... Not the call but the ride, just for maybe legal reasons. Carey Sperry: Then there'll be probably made plastic barrier between the driver and the back seat and maybe even drivers will be required to have perhaps larger cars if they want to be a driver. I don't know, but that's kind of what I see. But I don't see that going away. I just think it has to... People love it too much and with drunk driving, people can now opt to have fun, go out, have a few drinks and then not have to drive.  

Welp, what else would I talk about? Right? Let's get down with the synchronicity.

Ok so we've known for awhile how soap works in a general use sense, like how it cleans dishes (see episode 1). But these weird times call for a deeper look at soap. How can it kill a virus? Or more importantly, how can it kill a little, wretched, mischievous virus like COVID-19? Like really, how? How is it that we can use soap to both get spaghetti sauce off a plate, and kill a dangerous virus? We're always told to wash our hands well, and that it's important, but if you think about it for a second, it's crazy that we put something on our hands, and rub them together under water, and then we're good to go. Right? Let's get into it.

Laura & Amy discuss the key messages for this year's National Nutrition Month® slogan "Eat Right, Bite by Bite"

Red Hook Rye... that bottling might be what made LeNell a household name among bourbon unicorn chasers, but LeNell has a story to tell when it comes to the spirits industry. Her story is filled with fortunate encounters that propelled her name and eventually put her little shop in Brooklyn on the map. Like any endeavor, her story has highs and lows. LeNell shares what owning a store in Red Hook was like back in the day and how she has gone back to her roots in Alabama. We also touch on secondary pricing of her famous private label. Now, before you go any further, this podcast does contain some explicit language so don't say we didn't warn you. You get to hear the real LeNell Camacho Santa Ana. Show Partners: The University of Louisville has an online Distilled Spirits Business Certificate that focuses on the business side of the spirits industry. Learn more at uofl.me/bourbonpursuit. At Barrell Craft Spirits, each batch is it's own unique expression of their blending process. Find out more at BarrellBourbon.com. Receive $25 off your first order at RackHouse Whiskey Club with code "Pursuit". Visit RackhouseWhiskeyClub.com. Show Notes: Jim Beam Article: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-beams-are-americas-first-family-of-bourbon This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about the Super Bowl. When was your first taste of whiskey? Do you care about Alabama football? Where did you get the idea of LeNell's? What were your early days like? Did your store ever experience any crime? How did you get into the liquor business? Why did you focus on bourbon? Talk about Straight Bourbon. How did Red Hook Rye happen? Tell us about the process of selecting Red Hook. Do you have any Red Hook left? What are your thoughts on the secondary pricing? What hurdles did you face opening up a store in Alabama? Why was this store so important to you? Do you feel like it is better now as a women in whiskey than in the past? Tell us about the success of your store. Are you helping other businesses open in your neighborhood? What is your newest project?   0:00 I love bourbon, but I'm not ready to restart my career and be distiller. I have a bachelor's degree and I want to continue to use those skills in the whiskey industry. So check this out. The University of Louisville has an online distilled spirits business certificate. And this focuses on the business side of the spirits industry like finance, marketing and operations. This is perfect for anyone looking for more professional development. And if you ever want to get your MBA their certificate credits transfer into u of L online MBA program as elective hours. Learn more about this online six course certificate at U of l.me. Slash bourbon pursuit. 0:38 Now hold on Kenny we have to anytime I talk to someone from Alabama. I gotta find out. Are you an Auburn fan? Or tide fan? Neither I don't give a shit. 1:01 This is Episode 238 of bourbon pursuit. I'm one of your host Kinney, and it's time for a bit of bourbon news. Lou Bryson and acclaimed bourbon journalist and author wrote a captivating story called America's first memory of bourbon, the beams. I'm going to give you a little bit of context about the article and hope that you go read the rest of it because it gives a historical timeline of James bullguard beam, better known as Jim Beam, and distilling bourbon before prohibition, what he did after prohibition ended, and how this family lineage just as tie spreading all across the bourbon industry. Now during Prohibition, he tried other businesses including a rock quarry, and an orange grove that ultimately failed. So he found investors in Illinois to fund a new distillery after prohibition ended. Along with his son and two nephews. They built a distillery in 120 days and open on March 25th 1935. Jim was 70 years old at the time, and before prohibition, the beam family brand had been a 2:00 Old tub bourbon whiskey. To Jim's dismay, he learned that the rights the name had been sold during Prohibition. Despite this setback, he was undeterred. And that's when the whiskey officially became Jim Beam bourbon. The story then dives into this mid 1700s with Johan is Jacob beam. And then from there, the family lineage starts really spreading and talks about how they helped create early times distillery toddies liquor, heaven Hill, and their ties and estates of Weller Maker's Mark Frankfort distillery JW dance for roses, mixers, and so many more. You can read the full story with the link in our show notes to the daily beast.com wilderness trail one of the founding distillery destinations on the Kentucky bourbon trail craft tour has advanced to join the Kentucky bourbon Trail Adventure becoming the 18th stop on the world famous journey that showcases America's only native spirit. co owners Shane Baker and pat heist are recognized globally as leading fermentation specialists to their original company. 3:00 firms solutions, consulting with distilleries around the world to develop products and enhance production. And you can listen to Pat and Shane back on episodes hundred and 21 and 130. They're open for tours Tuesday through Saturday, and the visitor experience includes a 45 minute walking tour and an educational tasting seminar in the tasting room. You can learn more at wilderness trail distillery.com Talladega Superspeedway has announced that Clyde maze whiskey has become its official whiskey. Roy danis Chief Executive Officer of konica brands, which has Clyde maize and its portfolio said the partnership with Talladega Superspeedway is particularly resonant for Clyde maze because they have a similar origin. Stock racing was invented by moonshiners who use fast cars to escape the law. Clyde Mae was an Alabama farmer and a moon shiner who dodged Olam self a few times. They are the official state spirit of Alabama and Talladega is one of the most famous venues in the state. Clyde may himself 4:00 What has been proud to know his legacy continues through this Talladega partnership? 4:06 Now you heard it when we start started the podcast but I want to say thank you to our returning sponsor, the UFL College of Business and the online distilled spirits business certificate. We had a few listeners enroll last time, so perhaps it's time for you to give it a look. Make sure you go check it out at U of l.me slash bourbon pursuit. Now, Red Hook rye. That bottling might be what made l&l a household name among bourbon unicorn chasers over the years. But lamelle has a story to tell when it comes to the spirits industry. Per story is filled with encounters that propelled her name, and eventually put her little shop and Brooklyn on the map. We hear the story of owning a store in that area back in the day, how it was like and Holly she has now gone back to her roots, opening up a store in Alabama. Now, before you go any further, this podcast does contain explicit language. So don't say we didn't warn 5:00 You, you get to hear the real lyndale Camacho Santa Ana. All right, it's that time. Let's see what jover barrel has to say. And then you've got Fred minich with above the char. 5:12 I'm Joe Beatrice, founder of barrel craft spirits. each batch is its own unique expression of our blending process. Find out more at barrel bourbon calm. 5:23 I'm Fred MiniK. And this is above the char. Here we go into the Super Bowl. Oh my gosh, this is a great matchup if you're a sports fan, you get to see two amazing rushers in the San Francisco 40 Niners up against one of the most explosive offenses I have seen and some time. I mean, Patrick mahomes is this guy that you know, he may be down 25 points and he's like, Oh, yeah, I'm going to show you and I gotta tell you, I am so so glad that we have the matchup that we have because it is a 6:00 It is kind of like a football fans dream, great offense against great defense and one really good offense against a really good defense that you know what's going to give here. Anyway, this is not a football podcast. This is a bourbon podcast, so I should probably get to it. The reason why I bring up the Super Bowl, it wasn't until 2017 that the NFL even allowed spirits advertisers, so for years they had a ban on distilled spirits advertising within the NFL. Now, you got to remember to spirits had not been advertising on television until 1996. The industry had put a self imposed ban on advertising from spirits having this kind of notion that you know, if they promoted themselves, they could be drawing the ire of the prohibitionist this this held true until the mid 1990s until a small group 7:00 From Crown Royal that we call a code breakers broke the code of the distilled spirits Council and did a small little test ad in the Corpus Christi Texas market that went into like the spirits council changing their basically changing a lot of their their code. And so now you see spirits being advertised consistently. However, sports teams still struggle to bring in booze advertisers because what happens at these games people get really drunk. They make fools of themselves. I mean, there have been many incidents of people getting hurt. I think there are many people being killed by you know, drunken assholes before. And so it's often a bad look in the eyes of people who on these NFL teams to associate themselves with the liquor brand. Well, in 2019, the NFL actually changed their their belief they relax their policy on alcohol sponsorships, and allow the league to expand this game. 8:00 expand the use of basically allow a brand like Jim Beam to partner with a player. And that's the first time that anyone had ever done that. And if you recall a few years ago, you had Richard Sherman on the podium talking about how the NFL wouldn't allow people to partner with alcohol brands. So I'm glad to see that the NFL has relax those policies. I hope that it will continue because there is not many things better than enjoying a great football game with a good bourbon. So while you're watching the Superbowl, think about it. You're actually kind of witnessing a little bit of spirits history too, because I'm sure we're going to see some cool spirits ads. Let's just hope they're not blocking. And that's this week's above the char Hey, if you want to learn more about the history of bourbon and advertising, check out my book bourbon, the rise fall and rebirth of American whiskey and make sure you're subscribing to my YouTube channel and checking out my new podcast. Just search my name Fred minich. Until next week, 9:00 Cheers 9:04 Welcome back to another episode of bourbon pursuit the official podcast of bourbon getting in Fred here today. And this is going to be talking to really it's it's kind of like two facets of it. We talk a lot about having retailers on the show and sort of what has that meant in regards to the bourbon boom and the business and, and really how they are changing their strategy of going forward and how they're, they're really marketing the products inside of their their walls to these newer consumers. But on the other hand, our guest today also comes with a pretty storied past. She's had her name on sides of bottles and all these things before that has kind of took her to a new level of fame where she's had write ups in multiple magazines and articles and blogs and stuff like that. So I'm really excited to talk to our guests today. Fred, how did you come to know our guests 10:01 Well, I think, honestly, it was through will it like I, I, I learned of her very early on 10:10 when I was writing my book, whiskey women, and she was kind of became like this, like this kind of like folklore legend, within, like, within the legends of bourbon, you know, I, I find 10:30 our guest today to be one of the most 10:35 underrated heroes of bourbon, and I'm a really American whiskey. And I genuinely mean that because she's very humble. She doesn't like attention. She doesn't want to be in the limelight. She just loves whiskey. And at the end of the day, I think that that's why most of us adore her. Yeah, I think I think he's 11:00 said it, right? It was funny when we were when I was talking to our guest lyndale today about getting her on the podcast and I was trying to say like, oh, like, you know, I promise like it'll be good like, here's our number she goes I don't give a shit about your numbers. You know, it's really funny. She's like, I just shy she didn't care. And and most of the time you talked to a lot of people in this industry and they kind of want to know what your reaches like, what are you going to help them and she's she was she's very humble about it. And hopefully that that's really going to shine through as we start talking here. So without further ado, let's go ahead and introduce our guests. So today on the show, we have Lynette Camacho Santa Ana, she is she the boss of one L's beverage boutique in Birmingham, Alabama. So Linda, welcome to the show. Thank you. Well, we're very excited to have you on and kind of before we get into the story of you and Lynn Nels and the Willetts and all that kind of stuff kind of talk about like your introduction to whiskey. Can you were 12:00 Remember that sort of first bottle that first taste, you know, we've had other distillers on and they say oh, we've had my, my grandpappy gave me a wee nip when I was a little little young lad like what's what's your what's your story there come from a teetotaler background so there was no drinking in my youth had an alcoholic grandfather so my introduction to whiskey was him coming home drunk, beaten the fuck out of my grandma. So there's some reality of our business right there. 12:28 I did not drink until I was 21. So my best recollection of like a first whiskey would have been 12:37 probably jack daniels passed around a campfire, like many folks and in the south. 12:43 kind of talk about your, your, you know, where you come from your youth and all that sort of stuff as well, because I think you kind of talked about a pretty interesting background. I grew up here in Alabama, in North Alabama. I left Birmingham 12:59 in 2000 13:00 went to New York. I was in Birmingham for 10 years before I went to New York. I was in New York for about 10 years before I moved to Mexico. And now back in in Alabama as of 2011. Now hold on Kenny, we have to anytime I talk to someone from Alabama, I gotta find out. Are you an Auburn fan? Or tide fan? May there I don't give a shit. 13:24 Would you say you might be the only Alabama that does not care about college football? Well, I've always been a critical thinker. And growing up I never understood why my family were Crimson Tide fans when nobody in my family had graduated from high school, much less gone to college. So I always question like, Where did that start is some kind of like heritage thing, like who woke up one day and said, Oh, Roll Tide. 13:50 That's hilarious to me. So I kind of want to also touch on sort of the history of you and how the 14:00 Brand kind of got started, can you can you really kind of take us back in the history books and and sort of like where did the idea come from to open up the first boutique? When I mentioned in your My goal was to really just deep dive into the industry and fate and figure out my path and I didn't move to New York in 2000 with the goal of opening the store, but I worked in retail, I worked in restaurant and done bartending. 14:25 I had a master's degree in Public Administration, I was in university admin before I left Alabama and went to New York, but it was time to really pursue my heart and just take the risk to jump into the industry with both feet. So 14:41 after work and pretty much all aspects of the business including sales, 14:47 rep five different wine books in New York 14:51 before I opened the store, and I didn't know whether I was going to do the store or bar first. 14:58 But it just fell into place. 15:00 made sense for me to go with the store first my goal has always been to open an on and off premise business situation at some point but the the on premise never happened in New York. 15:12 And in 2003, I opened the store and Red Hook Brooklyn after finding a little hole in the wall that I could afford to. To get started with it was boarded up. storefront actually had concrete blocks in the window. 15:30 It wasn't just boarded up it was concrete blocks. And the neighborhood that was 15:36 pretty rough around the edges. There was a meth clinic around the corner and 15:41 a whole lot of shenanigans in that neighborhood. The median income was $10,000. three fourths of the population lived in subsidized housing. 15:49 But it felt like the right space for me and they turned out it was incredibly successful in red Hook's crazy now with real estate but um 15:58 Wow, it's it's amazing. 16:00 seem to think about this. But, you know, you were part of the story of turning around. Red Hook. Yeah, I was part of that story. I wasn't. Yeah, I can't take credit for all that went on in Red Hook, but I was definitely a part of it. 16:15 Good or bad. I mean, the word gentrification has lots of connotations and I don't ever feel like a ginger fire because I think there's a certain level of income has to come with that. And I've scrapped a whole lot in my life to be where I am today, but I did come with a trust bond open up anything. 16:35 But yeah, I think the same thing here in my neighborhood and Birmingham, I found this property and it felt right and everybody thought I was crazy, just like they did in Red Hook Brooklyn. And I said, why not? What Why doesn't every neighborhood deserve a good liquor store? No matter what the economics are? Yeah. What were those early days like me who was like your average customer? What were you selling? There in Red Hook? What was that like? 17:00 was all over the place and it's really funny to go back and look, one day I run across some some old notes from the like the first few months it was hilarious because it was like 17:14 well painted my nails sold a bottle of Pappy 17:21 was just like slow and sleep because I nobody knew me you know and opening here in Birmingham was just like, night and day like we hit the ground running and we've been just packed from the beginning. But um, you know, our early customers were a lot of neighbors in Red Hook, spanning the demographics, black and brown and young and old and all economics. And then once people discovered what I was doing, it just became like this Mecca destination spot where people came from all over New York as well as you know, when I'd be trapped people be traveling to New York, they make the effort to come out Red Hook was like a 45 minute 18:00 schlepped from the closest subway stop, so it wasn't an easy place to get to people had to really want to be there. 18:07 Now in that first in that first year, like we we see on the nightly news of, of liquor store robbing robberies all the time, and that was certainly the neriah at the time when you you mentioned, you know, some of the shenanigans that were going on when you were moving in. Did you ever have any incidents early on or was there any like times you you like you were afraid to open up or closed or anything like that because of I never had any crime and I fully believe that you attract what you put out. And if you walk in fear, then you attract reasons to be afraid. I walked out of that store many nights with thousands of dollars after midnight and walked in my apartment. I never had anybody bother me. And this is a great story. I love telling this story because there were you 19:00 A lot of people like I said three fourths of the neighbor population lived in New York's biggest housing project 19:05 and there was a gentleman who came in the store in the the early days of it opening and 19:13 you know, the kind of guy that might my warning bells would that you know, you get the racist shit with you grits everybody does it don't matter what how much you gonna say you ain't racist. We all have stupid, runs their heads, he walks in the door and I was like he's backed me up. 19:29 Gold grill he just looked like he was ready to come in there and race somehow with me. I'm 19:36 trying to just suppress all the crap that was running through my head and treat him like I was going to treat anybody else and he became a great customer. He was a man of few words. He would bring his friends in. He bought the banana vodka to begin with. We finally moved him up the Shark Bay so 19:53 he's buying like sharp I blood orange like it 19:56 but the end of that story is 20:00 One night, we got over here him talking to some friends. And he said, 20:06 Yo, man, have you been to that woman's store? She treats you with respect. There's no bulletproof glass, and she's got really nice things in there. Boom. I mean, 20:20 here's a man living in the housing projects. And it looks like he might be the kind of guy who's gonna like, take you down. And yeah, he wants to be treated with respect, just like anybody else. 20:30 Yeah. 20:32 And again, I think that kind of goes back to what we were talking about earlier. And just, you know, the personality you kind of show it through there and what that means. But you know, one thing I kind of want to touch on one more time before we go too much into the your time here in New York. Because you said that you were going to go all in, but what was what was that like? pivotal moment or what was that idea that said, Yeah, I do want to go all in. Because you know, you had you had come from a background that 21:00 Didn't have any any alcoholic you know you didn't drink anything growing up you kind of abusive in the grandfather era. So kind of talk about like what made you want to do that as well? Well, I got custody of 14 year old sister when I was 21 years old and 21:17 I needed like many people who get into the liquor business and some form of bartending to make money and so I was bartending and cocktail waitressing on the side, just have some income to better support our household. 21:32 got bitten by the bug and for years, I just kind of dabbled in that way. I wasn't doing it full on. 21:40 But you know, sitting in my office at university one day pushing a bunch of papers around my desk, I realized I was really spending a whole lot of my office time plucking off and researching drinks. 21:53 I was like, you know, maybe I need to really rethink this had a very cushy job with great benefits, but I'm 22:00 Friend of mine who's a librarian once gave me a book. It's been around for a zillion years in a million iterations called What color is your parachute. And if you actually go through that book and you do all the exercises, which are not easy, it really makes you sit and dig deep. It will give you an idea of what your heart's passion is career wise. And so at the end of that, I was like, I need to be in the liquor business, and I need to move to New York. So I literally just like yeah, I quit my job, sold my house, sold my car, and then packed a moving truck and went to New York. But now 22:33 as there's often in a story that involves involves New York, there's there's a romance aspect of that because I was dating a guy long distance for a long time in Indiana, and he had to said, let's finally get together. We've been together for four years. He's like, you want to go to Atlanta or New York and I was like, fuck Atlanta, let's move to New York together. And he broke up with me before I actually did the move, but I took red lipstick and wrote on my mirror for me and I did it anyway. 22:58 That's awesome. I mean, cuz 23:00 That's actually I was getting ready to ask like why New York of all places, right? Because sometimes, you know, my wife she spent a an internship in New York one year, it's not an easy place to live it'll it'll chew you up and swallow you up because it's, it's, it's very, very expensive to live and some of the parts of it and stuff like that. So, interesting story and just, you know, if you want to be in the liquor business, because everybody wants to be in New York, so you have tremendous access to things but um, I went to New York when I was 18 years old or seven, I was 17 for a high school senior trip, and it was the first place I ever felt like I was home. Yeah, I mean, it's it's a melting pot of all kinds of races and cultures and, and everything right there. And I think the one thing that I love about New York is least when you go is you could go to a different restaurant every day, your life and you could never run out of places to go eat. Yeah, I wish you could run out of money. Yesterday real quick. 23:54 Well, you could live in New York. I mean, yeah, everybody wants talk about rent and real estate, but you can live in New York. 24:00 economically. I mean, I did it for years. Hmm. Alright, so let's get back to whiskey business here. So what was let's let's talk about, you know, it's a package store. And we understand that most of the time that it's not whiskey that sells and keeps the door open. It's everything else that's that's around there as much as Fred, to his chagrin, he has to understand how that works, right. But kind of talk about now, unless maybe unless you live now. So kind of talk about like, was there a, like a niche or a market for whiskey that you saw when you were pushing it, like kind of talk about how you you started getting into that business? My main thing was how I started focusing on bourbon. When I opened my store. I didn't know shit about bourbon. That's just being honest. But it was my Southern connection. And so when I was sitting down and just trying to like, vision board, my store concept was like, it just makes sense for me to make a big focus 25:00 Because of this store be my Southern connection. And so of course, you know, bourbon, why else not? Um, so, you know, those first month the store was incredibly slow and I would, we were open till midnight, things were definitely slow from 10 to midnight. So every night 10 to midnight, I would pop sounds and taste it and I be on straight bourbon calm, like, What the hell was everybody saying? What is this, you know, get out there. Just try to like, soak up as much as I could. And 25:29 it just sort of, you know, I was preaching bourbon before it would became cool. And it wasn't even that, you know, I wasn't like trying to create a trend or whatever. I was just really just trying to be true to myself and raise. Well, I think if you're on straight bourbon, you were one of the early people that were really talking about it. I mean, that's that's the big board, if you will, well, you know, it was General Nelson. Everybody would gather for every bourbon festival and and so did you kind of foster because I know that a lot of people from straight bourbon still hang out there. 26:00 They'd still do the the kbF kind of gatherings and stuff like that. It Were you a part of that that early group in those sort of gatherings too. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you know, I always had rumors. 26:14 Yeah, Sam I met Chuck Cowdery. We had his 26:19 straight bourbon book launch at one of the members houses there in Kentucky and 26:25 but once the store became so busy, it was just impossible for me to stay as active on the board. 26:30 I had to pull away of course, I couldn't, couldn't sit around and fuck off on the computers. 26:38 Absolutely. And so I guess was that just business taking off just in general? Because you had mentioned at the very beginning? Yeah, you painted your nails soda bottle. And then I guess I guess at some point you hit like the inflection point. Yeah, I made. A mentor told me when I opened you're going to think you're dying for three years. And then something magical happens in the third year. 27:00 And that's exactly what happened. It was like, third anniversary came around and then all of a sudden they just took off. 27:08 So you start getting into whiskey. Talk about like the selection that you you started off with and did it grow over time like as you got into bourbon and you tried to 27:20 get my hands on in New York, and there's, you know, a lot of availability there. And it didn't matter what it was. You know, if it said Barban on it up, put it on my shelf. 27:31 We did what we call cats and dogs, tastings and do whatever it wasn't just all about, you know, trying to have Julian Van Winkle come in store. Um, you know, even a funny story. The first time I met Julian was at 27:46 one of the whiskey festivals in New York and I was scared shitless 27:51 I was like, I said, I just gotta rock this I just put on some like pink suede pants and black. Hi Oh birds, Walker Banyan. 28:00 A sea of drunken men and walked up to God and and handed him my business card and said, You don't know me, but you need to and I just walked away. 28:09 We, you know, made friendships over the years. And we tell these stories, and it's hilarious, but he was like, I just like, hell is this. 28:18 So yeah, we came to my store, and we did a bottle signing in those early days. And I had people just like, packed and then the black cars came from lower Manhattan. And he just was looking at me, he's like, what the hell, I've never done an event like this. And I was like, well get ready. It's common. If you don't know it, you're about to just be blown away and he was like, Okay. 28:42 So, you know, I was an early believer in what he was doing with the Pappy label, and when I close the store 2009 I still had I still had Pappy on the shelf. I started right around the show. Wow. You know, it was that in my basement for years. 28:58 So speaking of Red Hook, right 29:00 Let's let's get into that. How did that happen? Uh, much in the same way as anything. I believe it happens. It just happens naturally. That wasn't anything I clamored for drew and I became friends through the industry. 29:16 I remember the first time I met him, he came to one of the whiskey festivals in the room was all a buzz because, you know, Evan had been a hermit for so long. And he was there's a Causeway near Oh my god. Andrew, like me was very Matter of fact, just like, cut through the bullshit, just tell things like it was and we hit it off, stayed in touch. And once I think we were just like hanging out in Bardstown and he said you should do we should do a barrel we should we should do a label for you. 29:45 And we didn't did and wasn't a whole lotta not a whole lot of thought process. Just say Sure. Why not. Let's 29:53 kind of created this iconic label. You know, first of all, Red Hook ride just has such a 30:00 Beautiful name to it. And even if you're not familiar with the Red Hook area, like you could live in Boise, Idaho and not be familiar with that area, you're like, wow, Red Hook is such a cool name. And then you see that and you see that arm with the tat it just was that your idea? I mean, who came up with the name and that art? I came up with the name because I was trying to do something to honor my neighborhood. 30:26 Amanda alliteration, so that was a natural thing. 30:31 The artwork was the the Brooklyn artists who did my postcard artwork, and I don't know if you ever saw him on postcards, but they were incredibly racy. 30:42 He was just hilarious and he would always push even for me would push my boundaries of racy 30:49 that 30:51 I was talking to marketing forums about design and the label and he just showed up and he was like, Can I give it a go? Can I just like, throw something that 31:00 Gather and you tend to whether you like it or not, before you like commit to these big firms to design a label for you. And he showed up at the store one day, and he was like, Well, you know, I'm trying to be you, you're trying to be true to the neighborhood. I call it red and grind like to be true to the history of the neighborhood. And 31:16 this being on the waterfront of Brooklyn and stevedores being a part of the history of, you know, big burly man on the Datsun loading ships and whatnot. And so yeah, he just presented it and I was like, done. That's the label right there. 31:30 I mean, seriously, it is. It is a kind of a showstopper, you're walking around, you see that label, even if you don't know anything about whiskey, or you want to taste it, you want to look at that beautiful piece of art, because that's what it is. It's art. So it's gorgeous. Yeah, he was so much fun to work with and just trying to do things outside the box. I mean, there's so many boring whiskey labels out here. 31:54 I'm working on another one right now. That's going to really make you 32:00 laugh a lot. Oh, they like nails crazy as hell. 32:05 It took a break. She was like, we just got to do this. And it's using a local artist here in Birmingham. 32:11 And I'm keeping it under wraps for that. 32:14 Well give us till the end of the show to get it out of you. 32:19 Take us take us through the process of selecting the whiskey for Red Hook, right because yes, the label is gorgeous. But I've got Red Hook rise one of the top five rise I've ever tasted. I mean, it's it's incredible. So take us through selecting that whiskey. As you know there were four barrels and the first barrel drew a night with a couple other folks are just in the warehouse, literally like just walking 32:50 over barrels and 32:53 popping bongs and tasting whiskey and passing it around like yes, no, yes. No, yes. No. And that number 33:00 One is still my favorite of all four barrels. I mean you know what's really just being able to paint kind of the cream of the crop the the barrel was phenomenal. Do you remember some of the the ages that were on these? Cuz I can't I can't bring up my notes right? That first one was 23 years and the rest were 24 you know, not a lot of people know that to make happy 2030 stocks. I don't even drink it. 33:26 The age of bourbon it at that level is usually mean it's over worded and it won't hold up in a glass. tell people all the time you can spend a fortune on Patrick 23 like let it sit on your counter for half a second come back and it's like, you know, oxidized and cloudy and funky. 33:43 But you know what made that whiskey so special with that he said they had dumped the barrels that they had initially bought and refilled bourbon barrels with the rye so that whiskey could sit there for a little longer at that age. 34:00 not be so over the top with wood. And we didn't really talk about that we didn't market it. But that that's one thing that made those all those barrels so special. And then the, you know, it's been so long I don't remember who was with me on each pit, but at one point I drove down with Don les from New York who had worked with me a little bit in the shop, and he's now you know, cocktail rock. He's like a Barton and God is he's amazing. And I really treasure him. He came down with me and another. Another guy got started just kind of working with me in the shop. We had one at one point. They each came I can't remember which barrel that was. 34:46 It's been so many good barrels. He came. Well, when he was there. I remember you know, we were just passing glass around. We all had to agree on it. It was you know, it was I had to pass my lips first and I thought it was worthy and then I passed 35:00 sit around and we were all like, man, yeah. Or maybe it had to be like a like all out like, Yeah, that one. So very scientific process kind of. 35:09 It sounds like exactly what happens in barrels selections nowadays. So it's just, you just, you know, you just had the luxury of being in there quite early when Yeah, like that was around. Yeah, yeah, that's never gonna happen again. You know, I've had so many people reach out to me. There's a store in Red Hook that asked me if they could buy the rights to it. And I was like, dude, that's not going to exist anymore. I that label is done. There's a Red Hook rye beer. Like if somebody's been trying to launch that today they'd be sued by somebody making beer that wouldn't like that label to be around. 35:43 So now I'm going to be your agent here the the asking price they so they want to come in and they want to buy that the the Red Hook right rights. What do you think and Kenny started out a 15 million. That a good that a good number? That's up there. 35:58 Right. Maybe maybe five 36:00 That's a five. Okay, so we're going I was going to high. Alright, so now we'll we'll come in and negotiate this for you get a 5 million deal. We won't even we won't even take a cut. We just want the whiskey. 36:14 Well, what Red Hook right? Red Hook right? do you have left? I don't even have any. I don't have any left. I'm not I sold all of it to raise money to finish my store. I had such a struggle getting the money I needed to finish construction. 36:30 It took me seven years to get open here. Wow. I really didn't even realize what I was sitting on. I've been out of it for a bit as a new mom and haven't been out of the country for two years. And my ex husband kept saying you have got all this whiskey out. You have no idea. It's like everybody at my bar is asking me if you if you'll sell it to them and I'm like whatever. I come on. Got some Pappy and some record Rob big deal. And then one day I called and talked to drew and I was like, Hey, man, I'm really hurt and I need I need to get this business. 37:00 I've been 37:01 divorced and you know, things were really tough. It's a single mom. And he's like, Well, I know, Doug sold some of his bottles for like 3700 or something. So I know you can can get around that, you know, and I put the whole set of four out 37:17 bottles number two, and I couldn't get anybody to offer me more than 20,000 for all four. And I had everybody under the sun messaging me and, you know, some even like calling me names. It was it was a side of the sex is bullshit in this business that I hadn't been exposed to in a long time and kind of threw me I was so disrespected in that process. And you know, and then you see now like those same guys who were like, call me a con or trying to sell for number two's for $20,000 or turn around now and sell one for 16. 37:52 So I'm like, Okay, well, I'll just stick to my retail and y'all can play around with the bootleg. And I'm done with that. Yeah. 38:00 Isn't for that is unfortunately a really 38:04 nasty side of our culture that you know it's very much very pocketed to the enthusiast side like you don't really see that but I'm sorry you went through that I really am sorry you went through that as as as somebody who loves this community and 38:23 i'd love I'd love it if that would stop but sadly it won't and and i will tell you that they they attacked you for being a woman you know they say similar things to man they just that I've seen this time and time again and those groups is like when it comes to this stuff people go overboard and the private messages and then they get very dirty very mean. And I'm very sorry you had to go so different from the environment of like a straight bourbon com or bourbon enthusiast calm experience I'd had. Well, yeah, there 39:00 Be a TIFF, Aaron there, but it was overall a very civilized and yeah, the level of bourbon mania going on in these secret pages is something that really disgusts me. And here's the thing to live now, how much of those people really know? And what do they really add to the conversation? Yeah, I mean, just wanting money grew, you know, Drew and I've had many conversations about that kind of thing. And you know, I'm grateful. I'm grateful that that exists in many ways. 39:31 Because I did end up selling my bottles and that money put the roof on my store, but at the same time, there's a I don't know, I've always been about building the relationships. It's never been about just the business or barely whiskey for me. And when it gets to this level of just doggy dog, who's who's got the biggest collection and who can get the most money for it. I just bores me. 39:57 Yeah, absolutely. And it's 40:00 And I think you'd kind of hit the are you said it right there. Last time I checked, I think some of those red hooks were 15 even up to 18,000 bottles, something like that. And I guess like what is what's your thought on that valuation or price? 40:19 With the careers of master distiller spanning almost 50 years, as well as Kentucky bourbon Hall of Famer and having over 100 million people taste his products. Steve nalli is a legend of bourbon who for years made Maker's Mark with expertise and precision. His latest project is with Bardstown bourbon company, a state of the art distillery in the heart of the bourbon capital of the world. They're known for the popular fusion series, however, they're adding something new in 2020 with a release named the prisoner. It starts as a nine year old Tennessee bourbon that has been finished in the prisoner wine companies French oak barrels for 18 months. The good news is, you don't have to wait till next year to try it. Steve and the team at Bardstown bourbon company have teamed up with rack house whiskey club rack 41:00 Whiskey club is a whiskey Month Club on a mission to uncover the best flavors and stories that craft distilleries across the US have to offer. Their December box features a full size bottle of Bardstown suffusion series, and a 200 milliliter bottle of the prisoner. There's also some cool merchant side. And as always, with this membership shipping is free. Get your hands on some early release Bardstown bourbon by signing up at rack house whiskey club.com use code pursuit for $25 off your first box 41:30 what is what's your thought on that valuation or price? I mean, is that something that I know you probably never dreamed it would be like that but like what is your What is your really like your gut thought? Do you really think you really think it's worth that you kind of like man, it's just that's just crazy shit. Like, you know, you've heard this a million times is anything worth it? I mean, that's object and if you think it's worth it, you got that kind of cash and it's worth it but you know, I spent 41:58 $17,000 on my 42:00 Business property $5,000 on my house I'm living in. When I say these kind of numbers, it makes me quiver a little bit because I'm like, wow, like that's, that's like a place somebody could live and you're just going to piss that in a couple of hours. So yeah, it's a little disturbing sometimes. But then, you know, if that's the kind of cash flow you have, who am I to judge you for spending that kind of money on? escape? I mean, there's people who had that's just a blip in their bank account. So you know, I bless it and saying, may you be even even better and and more well off to benefit somebody. 42:35 So Kenny, there's a retailer in California selling a bottle of Red Hook rye for $30,000. Well, you say selling they might have it out there, but that doesn't mean it's being bought. And it's just like the guy 42:51 in New York with 50. I mean, Lee Lee taqman bought that set that I just mentioned, the number two's he bought some other bottles. 43:00 For me as well. And then when you put that Red Hook where I set out $475,000 on this website, it went like wildfire. And I messaged him, I was like, like, I like you. You spent less than $4,000 a bottle on some of that stuff. So like, Where's that number coming from? And he just laughed. He's like, Man, it's just marketing. Everybody's talking about it. And it went viral. And he was a marketing genius for doing it. He brought ton of people to his business because they were all like, Oh, my God brought $475,000 That's crazy. But you know, people came to the store to talk about it or see what else he had. Somebody sent me a link the other day Christie's auction house had a Red Hook. Right? Let's starting bed of 20,000. 43:40 Okay, I think we've we've talked about the Red Hook. rhyolite and just the crazy valuation goes, I know bottle for 50,000 Okay, get my checkbook out. 43:51 got here. 60. Okay, well, let's, uh, let's wait until the next. Maybe that should just be like the new index like it's the Red Hook right? 44:00 index to see like how how crazy is the bourbon Richter Scale getting year after year? Maybe that's what you should do with your stuff. Guineans, the just start pricing it 1000 to $5,000 a bottle and then people go crazy for it. See what happens. I'm all I'm all about it 44:16 is Red Hook ride number one I saw bows for $75 a bottle 44:24 but even back then, this was what what year was this? 2008 nine um I think the rennaker I started in what was it? 2007 I can't remember the year but yeah, even back then 75 is a probably might have been a lot for a lot of folks, you know? Well yeah, I mean, it was but a barrel for went up to 350 and people were like, Whoa, she's getting crazy. 44:52 And so let's let's kind of like move that forward because you know, those those bottles help build the business down in Alabama. So kind of 45:00 Talk about you know, seven years to get this this up and running kind of that. That's That's a long time to really work on something I mean, kind of talk about what was there, you know, other than getting money I mean, were there any other kind of like hiccups and hurdles that you had to face along the way to make that happen? Because everybody knows that an Alabama it's really easy to just open up liquor stores. Opening is pretty easy. I mean, it's, it's not difficult to open a private store here. 45:28 The liquor licensing process is not dreadful at all. Um, 45:34 I figured what control states it'd be a nightmare. It's not at all and it was even cheaper to open here than it was to open in New York as far as licensing and everything. You know, the challenges were it was mostly financial. And I said I would never do this again, unless I own the property. I bought the property thought that it would be pretty easy to get financing having done this before, and I learned real quickly that since I'd been closed for so long, it was considered 46:00 At a new startup, I brought my husband here from Mexico and we had to go through naturalization for him. I got pregnant, you know, there was just a whole lot of stuff on my plate, then, you know, it was a great lesson and what a woman goes through when you decide to start life again 46:21 as a single mother, because 46:25 it was very difficult for me to 46:30 one make living while I was trying to open the store and there were plenty of people were like, yeah, we don't mind you know, come up here and Bartana bartended a shit ton of private parties. 46:39 Like, pamper myself out made things work. But the financing like so many people be like, Oh, yeah, you know what you're doing. But you know, once you've been open for three years, 46:50 get money from us. That's the classic you know, like once you're once you don't need it, you can get it and that there's a lot of systemic racism and I call that out regularly. 47:00 And that doesn't go over real well. Neighborhoods who are predominantly African American really struggle with getting investment money from banks oftentimes. So yeah, there was a whole lot of challenges to jump through. But yeah, I just took it. I took it one day at a time, one moment at a time. And it took me seven years, but I did it. 47:21 I'm glad you did. And I'll tell you, I don't know 47:27 the strength that you 47:30 have exuded in that timeframe. Most people would give up. 47:35 Yeah, it was really tough. But you know, it made me go deep. And I think the biggest thing and going through that challenge. 47:45 I, I had become a caricature of myself in New York in many ways. I had built this business and I had built this character called lamelle. And going through what I did to get open again here, I feel like I am more 48:00 true to myself and more rooted and grounded in the core of my being and ever before so that's good there's always some good to come through those difficult times. So I'm just just just thinking about if I were to put myself in in your shoes if I if I were a single parent and having to go through all that and face the banking challenges I probably would have moved on to something else. And and so I kind of like just the human element of us all you know why why didn't you give up? Why was this store so important to you to start? 48:39 Um, I knew the impact this business can have on this neighborhood and I'm I'm very much a believer and impact of business on social justice have always been that way. And this neighborhood when I came to visit it to look at this property just grabbed me by the heart and wouldn't let go and neighbors just were like, We need you here and we're behind 49:00 You here and I had neighbors who said when I first came here 49:05 I didn't even know me while you're trying to figure stuff out here live in my house or here we've got this you know, I showed up here with a suitcase and next thing I know like people had just like showed up with stuff to like help me get through 49:19 that moving from Mexico period. So I felt that in Red Hook to there was a sense of community and so there was Yeah, there I really did feel like I was being pulled 49:32 by higher calling through that whole process. 49:36 And I knew that was going to be bigger than what I even understood and I many times, I've had conversations with beautiful souls like Brit calls me and just sit and say I just in tears, like, I don't know why this is happening the way it is, but there is something on the other side of this that I meant to do. And 49:57 one of my big things with opening the cafe constant 50:00 Next to the store that I feel so strongly about is that this business is ready to be turned on its head. And we've beat up people in hospitality. We overwork them. We don't respect homelife, you have souls like Sean Brock who claim to shit up and he's been really outspoken about this too. 50:21 We've lost a lot of people in this business. People don't want to talk about it, but it's over consumption and drug use and just not taking care of themselves. And I really want my whole business concept with the store and the cafe concept next door to me about hope and healing and and how can you have an alcohol business and I'm still figuring this out, but have the message that you can build community around consumption and it not get to the level where we're fucking ourselves. 50:51 And I know that's deep but that's where I am. That's where we need to go. I mean, in the last 50:57 you know, from Sasha 51:00 kreski to 51:03 you know, the gentleman we lost and Miami to Anthony Bourdain, and we've lost so many iconic people in the hospitality space. And, you know, I've been covering this this industry for a long time. And we're looking at tells you the cocktail. And almost a quarter of the seminars are about taking care of yourself. So the industry knows that we have to change or we won't have an industry anymore, or at least we won't have the talent. Yeah, no, I'm very thankful that you've seen this and you're pushing for it well, and as a mom, too, I see how hard it is for women to stay in this business and raise a family because I don't care how wonderful you are as a dad. Nine times out of 10 the woman is still doing most of the childcare. And so to still be like the one who's taking care of the babies and more than likely doing the laundry and washing the dishes and running a business or staying in you know, as a manager of a restaurant or 52:00 Whatever it is, it's really difficult for women and I, that's another aspect of what I'm hoping to do with this businesses is proved that it can be done in a way that respects and supports women. You know, I was a breastfeeding mom when I was working 52:16 behind the bar and, like, who offers a woman pump breaks behind a bar? Nobody. You know, my breasts are being gorgeous. I'm like, freaking out, like, What am I supposed to do? Like, like, how do I had a breast pump in the bathroom and a paper towel holder. 52:34 Those conversations need to be had, you know, it's not just about young folks that we just like we're out to their bodies won't handle it anymore. We run everybody out of the business that you know, has a lot to contribute to the business. So 52:47 I have a proposal for you. What's that? Let's do a seminar tells the cocktail next year. Oh, Lord, I boycotted towels back in 2008. 52:57 I know it's now. Yeah, it's just 53:02 Kenya, I gotta tell you, it's it's this kind of a passion that is really outside of whiskey. But within whiskey that to me, is is the future of our culture. You know, so our culture cannot live on whiskey alone. It has to it has to come together as a community and this recognition that there's potentially substance abuse problems. That is huge. That is huge. And she brought up Sean Brock, you know, friend of mine friend of yours, and, you know, he is he's had a very public battle with alcoholism. I mean, Sean, that guy can't even go to the grocery store without getting in the New York Times. But yeah, it's covered a lot but I want to come back to you, a little you something you brought up as you is. 54:00 Is the woman angle and I'm very passionate about this of like, you know creating a an environment in the whiskey industry that is women feel comfortable in its big reason why I wrote the book I did. And then I love going back to your label you kind of have a little bit of the Rosie riveter angle feel to it. Do you feel like it is better today than it was 1015 years ago 54:32 as a woman, uh, taking out the the creepy guys on on the bourbon secondary markets, but do you feel like today is better than it was 1015 years ago as a woman in whiskey. Although, of course there's been tremendous progress and we have more women in the business, you know, in leadership capacity than we ever have. Probably. 54:53 Okay, I mean, of course the answer is yes. Yeah. And it's it's made progress. I mean, there's still like a shit ton of rain. Yeah. 55:00 donating 55:02 what are some areas we need improvement upon? 55:05 marketing? It's you know, I'm sure you hear this from so many women. We're all tired of saying the good old boy marketing when Matthew McConaughey got involved with wild turkey there's always Oh, I'm gonna reinvent wild turkey I'm like, oh, it still looks like I got all boy backslapping club. Okay, well how was that? So like groundbreaking. 55:25 I mean, commercials are beautiful but like what what did that what boundary did that push? 55:32 marketing? Yeah, I mean, it doesn't need to be like, Oh, look at this beautiful space drinking some whiskey. And it needs to be real, it needs to be wrong. 55:43 That's one of the in marketing is powerful marketing not only with with real women, but people of color. 55:52 let's let's let's talk about some, you know, LGBTQ up in here to just throw all that up in there. And so we're just starting to scratch the surface of 56:00 Conservative whiskey world. I agree. Do you see a lot of that today and hopefully we can see more of that change in progress you know as as this comes along and I think having a voice like yours being really outspoken in you know, there's there's a lot of industry people that listen this podcast and they're going to hopefully take note of that too and, and kind of see that change. But we are trying to work on website ideas. My website is still a landing page and looks like shit. But I'm, you know, talking to companies about website ideas. And I'm saying the same kind of things. I'm just saying to you like now we need images, images that reflect my customers, you know, why can't we have two black hands toasting or 56:42 two women looking like they're celebrating their wedding? And then the market marketing guys at these website companies are like, Well, I mean, those images don't really exist for us and I'm like, Okay, well then let's take some frickin pictures. Let's create the images. I don't just give me this excuse some light. You don't have those images and some stock model. 57:01 Yeah, that's powerful. Like what we say what becomes the norm? I've seen a lot of those photos, I think you need new marketing people exactly right. This is why my webpage still sucks because I haven't found the right company. 57:13 So we are kind of running up on the top of this out real quick. And I kind of want to circle back to just to your story again to kind of wrap this up and, and so seven years the doors open, kind of talk about what business has been like because you mentioned the first store it was kind of like all right, it'll build up there's an inflection point like and you said this one was just hit the ground running on day one, kind of kind of talk about what what that's been in, you know, and whether it's been a blessing or curse with work and everything else. It's been a huge blessing. I'm very grateful. And it's 57:48 it's just a I'm amazed when I opened in New York, really work the store pretty much by myself for three years, and my boyfriend at the time when he got off work would come in and I put in time and 58:00 Well, 58:01 but it took really in New York three years before I could, I could hire a full on team and I have two full time staff right now and I'm interviewing to hire two more so I have a total of four in the first year I'm already there. I'm at sales and in one year here that it took me four years to get to in New York City. Wow, that's impressive to be able to do that in Birmingham in New York, and you know, I just did my employees annual reviews 58:34 with a sip of Appleton 50. No Berman 58:38 It's okay. You're still speaking to Fred spreads heartstrings there 58:43 15 minute good. It wasn't oh my god is so good. I'm makes me want to definitely go do a staff trip to Jamaica. 58:52 Yeah, one of the things that came out of that it's my staff's like, you know, you have kind of been backslapping that you've not been in the store. 59:00 Managing because in New York It was very very difficult for me to walk away and let employees do their thing. Because I had just like I Uz that store for so long I mean I'm many times I slept on the floor of that store and got up and just kept going. But to see the success and just for me to be at a place of growth to 59:20 I've been able to let go and trust employees already to start managing things. It took me years and New York to get to 59:27 it. So we're going to start working on the cafe concept. That's the next thing and that's going to be probably about two years out but it's a huge project we're taking on a big Greek Revival on the store calm it's right next to the store. That's going to be pretty amazing project. 59:49 JOHN brought come down and play with me Ben. 59:53 sent a few text messages. I did but you know, we haven't snagged him yet. 1:00:00 So we had, we did have one question in the chat that came from Mikey Conrad. And you know, because you've got this history of kind of opening up businesses that are more like in impoverished areas. And he asked a question, are you working with other organizations or partnering with other stores to help in that sort of same socio economic background to help start their business and Kickstarter, Kickstarter it off the ground as well? That's a great question. And it's something that I do feel very strongly about. Um, there's been some talk about trying to form like a Business Association, the Merchants Association in this area, this area, does not have a whole lot of business at all, the old business quarter is pretty much gone. 1:00:39 There's a lot of talk of with connecting our neighborhood, we have millions of dollars of deltan development going on a mile down the road. So there's been a lot of talk of time to connect that and 1:00:51 how we do that to keep mom and pop businesses a part of that and not just the whole bunch of chains. But, you know, my goal, my long term goal is to really get to a point where I can mentor 1:01:00 And help other especially women get started in business in a way that I think is so needed. Women have got to support women financially, and getting our businesses off the ground because we understand each other in a way nobody else is. 1:01:17 As far as the I especially, like, balancing home wife and kids and everything, and, um, yeah, I don't have any definite plans, but that's something that I think a lot about. I haven't had it haven't had a free moment to focus on that right now, but I will in time. 1:01:34 That's great. And so as we close this out, I got one more question to ask of you. So, you, you went and you sold all your red Hook's, you know, I'm sure that there's some part of you that that is that has a little bit of a hole in your heart, but maybe maybe that that whole sort of getting filled by knowing that you're building something bigger and better. And then earlier this year, you had done two more well, epics, you done your light side and your dark side. Tell me you kept at least a few bottles of that, and you're not going to 1:02:00 You're not gonna do the same thing again. I did. I had a few friends here like Don't be stupid this time. And I wouldn't call it being stupid. I mean, I just was like, whew, everybody enjoy the enjoy the whiskey before. 1:02:12 But I didn't keep a lot. I can't bottles one through six of each one. 1:02:18 So what is the what is the new project you have? Remember, this won't come out for a long time. So no one's gonna know for a while. I mean, I've talked about it somewhat. I'm not going to give out all the details. But um, there's a distiller here in Alabama that I'm excited about stuff that link and yeah, he's cool project we're working on together. 1:02:38 No, it's not going to be a 23 year old rye. But I went down and met him and tasted out of barrel and he had it he had one barrel it really pulled my heartstrings that it's going to be fun. You know, he sent me some stuff to that, to me was really reminiscent of a couple honey barrels that I'd had from from 1:03:00 Well it so I can see. I could see I could see like your your heartstrings lining up. They're like no, he's a good distiller. He's a good person. And again, it's I like with Dre, that project just happened because we were building a friendship and happen naturally. So I'm not out here trying to replace a Red Hook ride, that's never gonna happen. I just I felt the butterflies when I went down and met with Seth and so I've told him when I feel this feeling, I gotta follow up on it. So let's make this magic happens. That's fantastic. So as we kind of wrap this up here, at least we got a little bit of teaser. We'll see what's happening next. Maybe we'll get back with you here in a year and we'll kind of see where you are with that project and be good to get a kind of 1:03:44 a whole full circle feedback here. But for anybody that wants to go to the nails beverage boutique and find out more about it, how do they do that? 1:03:54 Like I said, the website sucks. Our Facebook page is very active. All our social media is atla now's the him at La 1:04:01 ls BH am? And what's your address because I have a feeling that someone's going to change the direction of where they're driving right now as you're listening to this more. We're at 12 32nd Street North we're a mile up from Top Golf. 1:04:17 There you go. Get your pint and head on over to Top Golf. Save yourself a few bucks. You're trying to fight that in little 1:04:25 man Come on. Oh, no pints there. Okay, never mind. Never mind. Bad Kinney or boozy, or boozy. We don't sell pints over. I call it cheeky. There you go. 1:04:36 So what I want to say thank you again so much for coming on the show. I mean, for us, I mean, it was a I had met you originally at the the willit bar opening about a year maybe two years ago now. And and really this opportunity to kind of really sit down capture your story, and really be able to spread the message of really what you're doing not only just for whiskey whiskey is one aspect but the human 1:05:00 element and what you're doing to really promote that. I think it speaks a lot for yourself and and what you're trying to do to help impact and change the industry. You know, it's just one person trying to try to really kind of scale that up too. So thank you again for coming on the show and doing that. Thank you for being a gentleman in your chase to get us to sit down together. Absolutely. I do my best for that. And if you want to know more about us, you can follow bourbon pursuit on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, if you liked the show, you want to support the show, you want to ask questions and see this live as we do these recordings, you go and support us@patreon.com slash bourbon pursuit. And if you want some good reading material, make sure you go check out bourbon plus magazine as well. We've got a we've got some things going on with our Patreon community and getting perpend plus subscription. So make sure you go and do that. Thank you everybody that was watching this live. It's been a pleasure. And we'll see everybody next week. Cheers. Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Welcome!   Today there is a ton of stuff going on in the world of Technology and we are going to hit a number of topics from how Colleges are using Social Credit Scores to change college students behavior, Social Media Influencers and why we need to pay attention to them, How the internet is changing, The insecurity of location tracking and why you may want to turn it off, Russian Hacking of Elections -- not really and even more.  It is a busy show -- so stay tuned. For more tech tips, news, and updates visit - CraigPeterson.com --- Related Articles: How is your Social Credit Score? It turns out that some American Universities use them to track their students The New World Owners — Influencers Vulnerable Location data — It does not take an Expert to Spy on your Every Movement with Your Phone Biological Warfare Against Chinese Pig Farmers Pesky Apps That You Need To Delete ASAP  Intermittent Fasting and its Perks  Can fasting add years to your life in addition to helping you lose weight?  Did the Russians get Anywhere close to Hacking our 2016 Election? The Internet we grew up with is Long Gone — What we lost, and what we can learn from the Experience. --- Machine Automated Transcript: Hello, everybody, Craig Peterson here. Thanks for joining me spend a little bit of time with me most of the people listening on Saturdays, I have been, of course, on WGIR and a whole bunch of other radio stations now for many years, it turns out it's like 25 years, long time. So thanks for joining me today. We're also, of course, over on YouTube and Facebook, and online at Craig Peterson dot com is where you'll find me. You can go to Craig Peterson slash YouTube to see me there, and at Craig Peterson slash Facebook as well over on my site. Well, today we've got a lot of fun stuff. We are going to start by talking about the old dead internet and what does that may mean to you. You can see the headline behind me on the screen if you're watching us on video. We're also going to get into the Russian hacking of our elections. Was that real? How close did those guys get to us when it comes to the hacking. So we'll be talking about that. We've got a beginner's guide, we'll be talking about, and it is something I've been doing along with my wife for a few years now, Intermittent fasting. It is unbelievable the difference that can make. It's the diet that isn't a diet, and it is just so easy, at least for us. And we've tried everything. We're going to talk about the 27 plus apps you should probably delete from your smartphone here in early 2020. What is going on at our American universities? Did you know they are using social credit now to track students, we'll be talking about that? Don't scoff at influencers. Here is kind of a cool article from Kevin Roose. What are the Chinese farmers complaining about and why. Frankly, criminals are using drones. Then we'll talk about the New York Times and how they were able to track President Donald Trump, and what happened with him. What was that all about? So, we'll be getting to all of those articles and, of course, a whole lot more as we do every week. So thanks for joining me, everybody. So I am kind of running the entire show here today. It's funny when I look at some of these podcasts and videos and things that people are using, and how many multiple people are helping to run everything. In my case, it's not a lot of people; it's my wife and me. She helps prepare a lot of the stuff you see online, but she's not the one who is sitting here that is all me. So, if you're watching, it may be a little bit rough, so I apologize for that. So, let's get going here with our first article. We are doing a tiny screen in screen thing here. You can see me, and that article as well. If you're watching, let me know by the way me and Craig Peterson dot com. Let me know what it is you think about what I'm doing? Does it make sense to put the whole hour and a half in one video in one podcast? That is what I've been doing for a while now, my podcasts, but this is new for video. Should I break them all up as well? I'm starting to do some of the training videos and things beginning soon. Let's get to this article about the old internet you see here on my screen. I've got pictures of a bunch of the early internet properties Myspace and course you're familiar with Twitter, right? Well, some of these places have died. Snapchat, TikTok, Vine. We're all using them today. Will they be around in years to come? That little f logo that you see there? Friendster? Have you been using Friendster lately, if you uploaded videos, what happened to those MySpace, Flicker? Flicker is still around, but they kind of got shot in the head when they were purchased by our friends over at AOL slash Yahoo. Verizon bought that. Webshots, Photobucket. How about blogs? I certainly have a blog. I have over 3000 articles up on my blog at Craig Peterson, dot com. WordPress. wordpress.com. If you have a blog over there, Zynga, Tumblr, they lost all their adult content, AOL Instant Messenger. We signed up for all of these in the 2000s. Now it's 2020. What's happened to all of our data? What happened to all of the videos that we hit upload. All of our pictures? Some of them just went, poof, they were just totally gone. Today social media is on a roll and just keeps growing. But are we going to be able to get our data in the future? I think it's an excellent question. And it was one posed by Katie Notopoulos over on BuzzFeed news because she's lost a lot of her pictures. I lost a lot of my photos. I had put together a website using one of these pieces of website software that lets you go in and create your photo album. I had this beautiful vision, right, and I was going to have all my photos there, the kids were going to upload their photos for generations, you know, the grandkids and great-grandkids. And I was going to be able to go there. We make a beautiful calendar every year and have it printed and put that calendar up on everybody's refrigerator, right? Of course, it didn't happen as the software crashed, and the backup did not work, and I lost all of these photos, hundreds of them. And it was just such a disappointment. But what's going to happen to you when Facebook disappears in just a few years. It is not going to be around forever, right. Facebook today is not going to be what Facebook is five years from now. We already see with California is new privacy law, how it is affecting Facebook, and how it keeps your data. Where it puts the data. We've seen the privacy laws changing other sites as well. So, what are you going to do? Right? What are you going to do? How about those texts and emails? They say anything you put up on the internet is up forever. Now we're finding out that's not true. It's just this stuff. We don't want to be out there. That kind of gets kept up forever. Friendster, we want that. Friendster has been around early since early 2002. At least it was. It was a social network that was pretty popular for a while, and then it fell out of favor. It even got mentioned in some movies. I remember one Seth Green was talking about Friendster, back then back in the days, but it turned into a gaming company and wiped out all of the profiles. Then there was my space, and it didn't go away as quickly as Friendster did, it had a more painful death. But by 2013, it was completely music focused. What sites are music-focused anymore. He might have, you know, a couple, but really, you're going to Amazon or Apple or Spotify. Pandora. One of those right to get your music by the way, when it comes to music sites, I would recommend you stay away from Spotify. Okay. Then just last year 2019, there was a server migration that messed up and all of their pre-2015 profile content. There were hundreds of thousands of photos that were lost. They're gone forever. Flicker. Now flicker was being used by a lot of people, and I remember stories of people who had uploaded photos to flicker. were driving down a highway, and saw one of their photos on a billboard for an advertisement. Not a flicker advertisement but one for a third party company. And they were pretty upset. Then they read the terms flicker had. And any of these photos you uploaded could be used by flicker could be sold by flicker. Well, in late 2018, flicker was sold off by this AOL Yahoo conglomerate that was bought by Verizon. It was bought by Smugmug, which is a photo hosting printing site, mainly used by professional photographers. They only gave you a few months to download your photos if you didn't download them, or upgrade to a paid Smugmug account you were completely out of luck, which kind of is a bad thing, right? You lost all your photos except for the most recent 1000 photos. And how many of us only have 1000 photos in this day and age. It'll cost you almost nothing to take a picture. It's not like the days when we were using our Nikon camera. With 35 millimeter film, and he had to decide if I was going to use Fujifilm or Kodak film. Should I use a professional-grade, black and white, you know none of that anymore, right? So, we have hundreds of thousands, so they were all lost. Webshots founded in the mid-90s hit its stride in the mid-double OOts when digital cameras became affordable, CNET bought it. Then American Greetings bought it and then it got sold back to the original owner or owners, who in 2014, relaunched it as Smile by Webshots, became a site for desktop wallpapers. You only had two months' notice to download your photos, migrate them to a new paid account or guess what? They all got deleted permanently. Photobucket. They announced that they were hotlinking in 2017, would only be allowed for paid accounts costing 400 bucks a year. Hotlinks, of course, feel very archaic now. That's where you have a direct link to a photo as opposed to your album. But man, completely gone. The whole internet got pockmark. I love that word, by these missing photos, and we still see those today online. Blogs exist. But you know, the scrappy new medium to get your story out is a lot less useful. 2013 I can't believe it was that long ago GoogleReader went away. I used to use Google Reader from my blogroll. That's how it kept track of articles. So much harder to do nowadays, RSS is gone. Man, I loved RSS, and Google's RSS readers are gone. Pro tier blogs like Gawker video, all gone. Right Gawker writer, Alex Pyrene best described the changing economics of the media business. Plus freakishly bad luck as the death of the rude press. Isn't that true? Remember Gawker and the big lawsuit wrestlers pulled Minnesota into it big, big, mess, okay. Anyhow, remember all of these, and the many more that went the way of the world. Think about what you're using today. Will your data be around in the future? Think about the free sites you're using right now? Like free sites like what? Well, Facebook, among others? Is your data going to be around in the future? You know, very, very good questions we all have to ask ourselves. So keep a backup yourself on a medium that you control. And that you can read in another five or ten years. Your listening to Craig Peterson right here on WGAN and online at Craig Peterson dot com and Craig Peterson.com slash YouTube. You can see me, Oh no. We'll be right back.  Hello, everybody, Welcome back. Craig Peterson here on WGAN and online at Craig Peterson dot com. If you want to join me, you can see the whole show as I recorded it at Craig Peterson slash YouTube. Well, now we're going to talk about Russian hacking. Right? Hasn't that been kind of all the rage over the last, what, two or three years? The Mueller report, and what did the Russians do? How could they have done that to us? Should we be worried about it more worried than we are have been? All frankly, outstanding questions. We need to know because we've got another election coming up soon. 2020 is an election year. We've got less than a month, from today, until we cast the first votes in the first in the nation primary. That is if you're in New Hampshire, which is the first primary. There is a caucus in IOWA, then the New Hampshire primary, and then I think it's Nevada followed by one of the Carolinas, and this just it accelerates from there, right? You got the Super Tuesday, which has got moved up and everything else. But how safe are our elections? I think it's a v good question. What did the Russians do? What did they know? How did they hack it? And can we do something about this in the future? Now we've got all kinds of voting machines. If you've been listening to me for a while, you know, I like the manual ones. Those have a sheet of paper, right, with all of the candidates with a circle you fill in. They give you a felt pen, a flare pen, right, a little felt pen to fill in to vote for the person. And that's as simple as it gets, isn't it? And then you put it in a machine, and the machine reads it the machine is pre-programmed to know that, that this circle filled in here means a vote for this person or these people or for that particular thing that's on the ballot, whatever it might be, right? The reason I like those is it gives us the best of both worlds. We have the world of, oh, wow, isn't this simple. I can go ahead and vote. Today wonderful times had by all, and you can vote quickly. The votes get tabulated, and we know by the end of the day, the results. But what if there's a problem? A contested vote. Well, with a paper ballot, again, that ballot can be sat in front of people who are ballot commissioners or whatever title your county or your state gives them. They look at those each ballot one by one and to see who was selected. They can take them and put them into literal stacks. These are the people who voted for this person, these voted for another person. And then they count them up. And now they've got the winners. And you can have a Republican, a Democrat and independent, whoever. Often police officers looking at these and counting them. But so many places have gone to these electronic voting machines. And the electronic voting machines are a nightmare and a half because of these electronic voting machines. Now, you're looking at the ballot trying to figure out okay, who voted for who. It gives you a screen, but you don't have a ballot. At best, some of these machines have a little paper audit tape that comes out, and they can go through and think of what you get from the receipts from buying something at the store. Right? So I've got one, let me pull one out here for you. Okay, so this is a receipt like you'd get at the store, right? This one particular one is from Walmart. And you know so there you go you can see what I bought at Walmart. Well, simple enough, but you've got sheets of these things that are affected by heat. They may get torn and, in my case, been sitting there my pocket right as I'm trying to keep track of them for the accountant, right. So I can do my taxes at the end of the year or the end of the quarter for businesses, so I'm just trying to keep track of all of it well how if the machine is just a tablet, how you are going to keep track of it. How are you going to know what the actual vote cast? People reported hitting a button for a zone on the part of the screen to vote for Candidate A, yet it registered their vote for a different candidate. At least they think it registered for someone else or might have registered properly, and it might be the right vote. For the right person who they wanted, but in reality, they don't know because it looked like it was registering the vote for the other guy. And now, after the end of the day, how are they getting audited? So with the paper ballots, you can go in, and you can look at them. And you can do a spot check. You can say, okay, is this make sure this machine was doing it? Right? Let's make sure we didn't mess up stuff when we sent it out to people. Well, when we're talking about this here with this whole Russian involvement with our election, we're not talking about these machines, although potentially could happen. What we're talking about as a couple of other things, first of all, meddling with our election where they're buying ads on Facebook, or they're buying ads somewhere out, and people get upset, you know, frankly, for a good reason. Because now it's a Russian ad saying vote for Hillary or Russian ad saying vote for Donald Both of which happened in the last election cycle model. Most of them happened to after the election, which is just totally bizarre for me. Anyhow, there was a technology company that got hacked in Florida according to some government reports. Now, here's what happened. They used a phishing attack against this company to gain access to their computer systems, and then get passwords and then get inside the machines. Now, that's where the problem comes up. Because it's not necessarily even the voting machines like what I'm showing on the screen here. What can happen, frankly, is that the voting machines' information gets sent ultimately to the state, right? Ultimately the whoever's in charge of you know, various new Hampshire, we have Bill Gardner and his Office of the Secretary of State's office, but it varies from state to state. So ultimately, these tallies go to our friends at the Secretary of State's office. And then they're posted on the website. And then what happens in the national elections is they go to the various individual Secretaries of State, and they say, who did your people vote for, and they add them all up. So the Russians could hack the Secretary of State's office, the Russians could hack the voting machines. And the Russians could influence us by buying a head-on Facebook or these other social media platforms on Google to try and get us to vote differently. Well, this is from Politico, which is, you know, political was a very left-wing leaning website out there. It's kind of a political organization that masquerades as news, But this is a pretty good article here. So they're saying that people were going to vote in North Carolina. In North Carolina, there had been a court ruling that said that people did not need to prove who they were, were to vote. You know, they have to prove who they are for everything else like to buy a glass of Beer to prove your age, right. Some places even you're 60 years old, they want to card you, and you say, Are you kidding me? No way. I'm going to do that. So in Jerome County, they were using laptops, and those laptops had the voter records on them. And those voter records were used to determine if they had already come and voted. Or if they had shown ID. Well, they had all kinds of problems with these. When they started digging in, they found that a company called VR systems had allegedly been targeted by Russian hackers using a phishing campaign three months before the election. and phishing is what Russians and others are using, not just to influence our elections, like what we see here. But to get into our bank accounts, our business account, it's just absolutely crazy. So this article goes on and going back to 2016. And what had happened, you might find it very interesting. But the bad news is things just haven't changed much. So expect similar problems with our 2020 election pay coming back, I'm going to tell you about something my wife and I did to lose one hundred pounds between the two of us, okay, I'm not selling anything. It is amazing, and I don't even consider this a diet. So we'll get to that when we get back. I got a couple of great articles on that that I think you will like, so stick around. We'll be right back.  Hello everybody Craig Peterson, here. Thanks for joining me here on WGAN and online Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube. You can watch me there. I record this live, but, of course, it's on YouTube so you can watch it anytime, right? And we're putting the whole show out there so if there's something you missed, have a look there. I think you might find it interesting, at least I hope you do. I have a lot of fun putting together it's a lot of work, and I love to hear from you too. So Craig Peterson dot com.   Hey, man, have I got something for you? It is something that my wife and I have learned a lot about over the years. That's dieting, right? Diet exercise. I have done almost every diet. I've tried them all, and they've all worked to a degree or another. The Atkins diet was huge, and man, I had gotten up to almost 280 pounds. And I went on Atkins and got all the way down to I think it was like 192 at my lowest, so I lost 90 pounds, which is a lot. And then slowly but surely I put it back on. By the way, when I got up to 280, I was a vegetarian. You know, vegetarian, oh, you're fine. You can eat as much as you want whatever you want, as long as it's vegetarian, right? And that's what I did. And I put on a lot of weight. Then I had to take it off. Then over the years, I put weight back on, I got up to about 245, and I said, Oh my gosh, it's happening again. So, this was about three years ago now, and well, little over two years. And I started to do some more research on this thinking, Okay, it's been 20 years since I did the Atkins diet, things have had to change over that 20 years, right? It has got to be different than it was back then. So I started looking into it again, and I found an article about a Nobel Prize in Medicine given to a Japanese researcher, Yoshinori Ohsumi, about three years ago now a guess who had figured out this process called autophagy. I've heard it pronounced a few different ways. I'm probably pronouncing it the wrong way. However, that is how it is spelled right. That's how I found it was in the written word. So this process what he discovered and the reason he got the Nobel Prize in Medicine was he saw how cells repair themselves, which is a very, very big deal, right? That's the goal. We want to be healthy. We don't want cancers, Parkinson's, or any other of these diseases that are associated with old age. And we certainly want to keep our weight down. And he did a lot of research into this. I read it, of course, he won the Nobel Prize on it. And then I started branching out from there, as I often do, and I found this doctor up in Toronto, University of Toronto, and he was he's a practicing doctor who takes care of patients with kidney problems. Well, who are the patients that have the most kidney problems? Well, it's people with diabetes. And so I looked at it and thought, Man, this is kind of interesting. He had also found out about this whole autophagy thing. And he was tired of having his patients die, because ultimately, type two diabetics, particularly, you're going to die of a complication associated with your diabetes. So his patients just died. Right? And he did everything he could to help them and the founder, you know, what would, what's the treatment while if you have diabetes, it's because the insulin can't get into the cells to open them up to accept the sugars, right? So what do we do? Well, we give them more insulin. So what Dr. Jason Fung found out in putting two and two together was that insulin is, in fact, the problem. According to the research on autophagy, there's only one time that your body repairs itself, and that is when you are not eating. So think about when you've been sick in the past, what do people tell you to do? What does the doctor tell you to do? They say, well, go to bed, right? Get some rest, get some sleep. What are you not doing when you're sleeping? You are not eating. So he kind of put all this together and came up with this whole concept a little bit further, because it's not as though fasting is something new, but about fasting. What got me going on it more was that I had read a book about Blue Zones, these areas of the world where people tend to be healthier and live longer. When I read that book, and this is long before I found out about autophagy, or fasting, I figured out something that became very obvious to me. That was that every one of these areas where people live longer and healthier lives was a religious community. Shinto people were in Okinawa, Japan. They were Greek Orthodox in Ikaria Greece, a small Greek island in the Agean sea, where we got the whole concept of the Mediterranean diet. You have Seventh Day Adventist in Loma Linda in Southern California. All of these people are part of the Blue Zones. Add up also add to that the Mormons who are known to be healthier than average. And all of a sudden, I realized, wait a minute now these are all religious people, what do they do? Delving into it more, I found that the most religious Greek Orthodox are fasting over 180 days a year. Now fasting and the definition of it varies. It certainly differs religiously. In the case of the Greek Orthodox, it was a calorie-restricted diet. They could only do certain things, particular wine, certain cheeses, and to Through where I do this every once in a while where I don't eat anything. All I have is water and clear liquids in that set. So there are some real advantages to this diet because you're not eating your body has the opportunity to repair itself and get back to that kind of homeostatic state. Then I started thinking wait a minute, and what happened in the 70s. If you look at the curve of where we started having all of these obesity problems and health problems, it is back in the late 70s. When they introduced this whole food pyramid. We need to eat more carbs. This whole thing about six meals a day you eat your three meals, you have your snacks. Then I thought about the kids. Right they get up and have breakfast, a mid-morning snack, then lunch, an afternoon snack before soccer, then dinner, and maybe even have a snack before they go to bed. We're continually stimulating our bodies to produce insulin, which is causing significant problems in our bodies. I read what Dr. Fung had written, and I read at least a half a dozen other books and then thinking about the Blue Zone thing thinking about what the whole Nobel Prize in Medicine had been about with autophagy put them in a pot and stirred them up, which is what Dr. Fung did as well. And Dr. Fung was able to put his patients these people with type two diabetes on and their intermittent fasting schedule. Now, remember, I'm not a doctor. I was in emergency medicine for a while in the EMS. So I know a little bit about it. So I might sound like I know more than I do. But I can tell you that this works. It's worked for me, my wife, and every member of my family because we've all tried it to varying degrees. So I want to get into this little bit more because over the holidays, there was an article that came out talking about intermittent fasting. I found it fascinating, absolutely fascinating. So we're going to get into that. There were a few articles, CNN had a thing on it as did FOX. We're going to get into James Clear what he has to say he has a great article about it as well. So we'll get into all of that when we get back. There is no charge. I'm not selling anything. Remember that you're listening to Craig Peterson. Right here on WGAN. You'll find me online, Craig Peterson.com. Slash YouTube. That's Craig Peterson with an O slash YouTube stick around because we're going to get into it when we get back. Hello, everybody, welcome back. Craig Peterson here on WGAN. And online, Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube. That's where you can watch me you can see me waving and right now Hi to and see all of the episodes of today's show online. Also, of course, I podcast this and try and get the information out to as many people as I can.  Well before the break, we were talking about something that's a huge deal to me, and that is intermittent fasting. I think I've become one of the world's most prominent proponents of the thing. It doesn't matter what kind of illness somebody has, and I always seem to end up saying, you have to try intermittent fasting. You just got to try it, because it just plain works.  So what is it? Before the break, I mentioned some of the religious types of fasts. Now, Intermittent fasting is when you don't eat, right? That's what fasting is. Now, we're not talking about the biblical fasting, although some people do that where it's like 40 days and 40 nights with no eating, right, the whole temptation thing. I'm talking about is a daily regimen that will keep our insulin under control. Now, remember, I'm not a doctor. I've read a lot of books on this. I'm doing it myself, as is my family. We have had excellent, excellent results. But you're going to have to check on this yourself. If you have diabetes, Dr. Fung, actually has a whole book written for diabetics and how to do intermittent fasting and you're going to want to talk to your doctor about it, as well, because you're already going down that road, but you can get off of it. Dr. Fung has a cure. I think it was every one of his patients, like 1200 people with type two diabetes, have stopped their diabetes by doing one thing, and that is getting people not to eat. So, we're going to talk about what that means in just a second here. When you think about studies, there have been some studies done on intermittent fasting. You can see behind me here, the reference to this particular study I'm going to pull it up on the desktop here, there you go, should be able to see it. And this is from Fox News. Just this last week's fasting diets may add years to your life, as well as help you lose weight new study suggests there are also similar things that are available some articles that are up on CNN and many other sites out there. And it may help you lose weight. But here's your problem. Who's going to pay for a study that says, Don't eat, don't take medicine. Don't even see a doctor right, who's going to pay for that study. Obviously, there are a lot of people who are sick and who need doctors and medicine. Some people need to eat. You got to figure this stuff out for yourself. Now, here's how the basics work. There are two standard types of intermittent fasting regimens that people do. And there are frankly as many regimens as there are people. But the two basic things are one, you fast for 16 hours, and then you eat during an eight-hour window. That's probably one of the most common there's another widespread one, which is almost the same, which is you fast for 18 hours, and then eat during a six-hour window. So what does that mean? Well, for most people, it means you skip breakfast. So remember, you finish eating at like six o'clock the night before. You should never eat after seven, by the way. If you finish eating at six o'clock pm then at 6 am, the next morning, you've already fasted for 12 hours, right? And if you're doing 18 hours, you know what to noon news another four hours. So 12 plus four is 16. That's why it's kind of simple. So all you do is you skipped breakfast now you can have black coffee, you can have tea, but you're skipping breakfast, which many of us have done, but you're not snacking, you're not eating a snack. You're not having that smoothie. You're not having that Carmel mocha frappuccino thing you're not doing any of that, then you have lunch. When you eat, you eat, freely during that two-hours. So the meal, if you're going to have dessert, have dessert, eat whatever you want. If you like bread, if you like pasta, if you like fats, if you like steak, eat it during that two-hour window, and then you can have one more two-hour window later on that day. About four or 5 pm, you eat again. Then you're done for the day. Just doing that will change your life, your cells will get a chance to rejuvenate, you will lose weight, and you will become healthier. Again, if you have any medical issues at all, make sure you talk to your doctor first. And you might want to talk to your doctor first before doing this anyways, but this is a great regimen, and I've tried it myself I've been doing it as I said for a little over two years as has my wife, as have some of my kids and my brain is sharper. I'm even better looking. As you can see it Craig Peterson comm dot com slash YouTube. And I am losing weight and losing it nicely because over two years I've lost one about a half a pound a week. Isn't that nice? And I can eat whatever I want. The question is when I can eat what I want. It's just when I eat, and it becomes an issue. So that's the first type of unwritten fasting that most people follow, which is 16:8, and 18:6, which is the number of hours that you fast versus eat, not like you don't eat for six hours straight. Okay, I made that clear. You might eat one or two meals, and each meal should be no longer than two hours. So, you have your soup and your salad, and then you have your meal, you have your dessert, all within two hours, then you're done. The other type is what's called a 5:2 diet, very, very popular. 5:2 diet is where you normally eat for five days out of the week, and then for two days, you don't eat. Now, there are variations on this. We'll talk about that in a second. But the main idea is that your body needs a chance to recover and to recoup and if you normally eat for five days You're recovering. Remember, no snacks, no snacks, you'll never have a snack again, I know you need all the chips, whatever, eat it with your meal. Okay? You can have a chocolate bar, eat it with your meal, don't eat it afterward, don't eat it as a snack. Okay, so you have your, maybe you could start with your Doritos right and then move into the rest of the meal. You are trying to keep the insulin reaction down to a limited timeframe. That's what we're trying to do. Now, the five to some people will not eat for the two days, and by the way, those days should be randomized. So, as your body doesn't get used to a schedule. Those two days, your fasting can be" fasting-mimicking." A fast mimicking diet where you eat less than 500 calories. So two days a week eat less than 500 calories the rest of the time eat normally. Now, what does this do for you? Well, it's amazing. It could add years to your life, and it could cure you of diabetes. It could cure you of all kinds of brain issues from brain fog through the kind of name it right Snell at all timers Parkinson's it is they got diseases that people have celiac. The list goes on and on. I want you guys to read up on this and study it because it's amazing. doctors aren't taught much about this. It's relatively new, as I said, that Nobel prize that kind of led me into this is only three, maybe four years old. Okay, so it's all relatively new, but check with them. But I want to pull up here, this thing from James clear. Let me pull this up. Okay. So he has this little thing on his site that he calls the big Beginner's Guide to intermittent fasting. And he says I skip breakfast each day and eat two meals, the first around 1 pm and the second around 8 pm. 8 pm later than Dr. Fung recommends, okay. But as I said, everyone's different. Then I fast for 16 hours until I start eating the next day again, but at 1 pm surprisingly, since I started intermittent fasting, I've increased muscle mass, up 10 pounds from 205 to 15. Decreased body fat down 3%. He was at 14% body fat, now down to 11% increased explosiveness. He said a personal best with a clean and jerk of 253 pounds and decreased the amount of time spent training down from seven and a half hours per week to two and a half hours per week. So he's cut his training by about what two thirds and increased his muscle mass and decreased his fat. That's all that he did. Okay. So he has this quick start fasting guide. I didn't use any of his stuff, okay, but he has some good information. He talks about intermittent fasting how it works. Benefits. Number one, it makes your day simpler boy does it because you're not making three meals. You're not eating three meals plus snacks. Okay? intermittent fasting helps you live longer. We already know about calories and calorie starvation, how he will live longer on a low-calorie diet than if you are on a regular calorie diet. Now, most of us don't want that miserable life to have only been able to eat 500 800 calories a day, right? Not me. I love bread. I like chocolate every once in a while, right. It helps you live longer. Okay, and enjoying life, you're my joints don't crack walking downstairs, they don't hurt anymore. It may reduce the risk of cancer. And there are some serious studies out of Cambridge, Boston area just last late last year, showing that a five day fast every year will pretty much guarantee that you will never have cancer. It's just amazing. Much easier than dieting. It isn't a diet; all you're doing is cutting out snacks and one meal a day for most of the time. Right. And he's got a lot more detail on this too if you're interested. But he's got some schedules of different people do I think you're going to like this? Okay. There is a lot to know and understand here. But let me see. I'm going to bring that up. Okay. So here's our article again from Fox News. As I said, it's on CNN, and it's kind of all over the place over the holiday. Today's, and this is a new study at John Hopkins University, finds that diets involve intermittent fasting may add years to your life. And it's not just yours, and it's good healthy years. Studies have linked fasting to improve metabolism, decrease blood pressure, and improve control of blood sugars. So take a look at these guys and do a little exploration. Talk to your doctor if you're on medications because this will affect your medications. If you have diabetes, there are plans for you, maybe look up Dr. Jason Fung out of the University of Toronto, read up on his stuff, and present it to your doctor. See what they say, if this is the right thing for you. I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice. I'm encouraging you to do your research. You're listening to Craig Peterson on WGAN. Hello, everybody welcome. Craig Peterson here WGAN and online. Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube. You can also check out Craig Peterson dot com slash Facebook. On my Facebook page and you can see some of the training, I do the pop-up pieces of training and, of course, my weekend shows, and I've been doing more lives lately too and answering people's questions. We got some big things coming up this year. So make sure you are on my email list. I have some special things for you. some surprises, prize giveaways. If you sign up for my email list, it doesn't even say anything about it on my website and lets you sign up. But it doesn't say anything about all of these giveaways. I've got some amazing things for you. So if you're not on my list already, make sure you check it out. Right now, Craig peterson.com. All right, right now, we are going to start by talking about the new year. So what are some of the things that you might want to do for this new year? Well, this is a great little article that came out in Fast Company this last week. And it is about the 27 smartphone apps you should delete. Now they're saying before 2020, but you know, it's a new decade. Let's get around to it right now. And what we're talking about here isn't just smartphone apps, we're going to talk about a whole category of apps. Now you know that there are a lot of apps that do nasty things to you, right, and to your data and your information. We talk about those all the time here on my show, but let's talk about them a little bit more right now. Number one app That depresses you. Now, in many cases, what we're talking about here, kind of the behind the scenes inside information, are apps that are, frankly, social media apps. Because social media apps are many people look at those and say all my life isn't like that my life's terrible. Right? It's like these. Have you seen these influencers online? that had come out and said, Yeah, I took 1000 pictures before I got that one. the perfect picture that one picture where it was from the writing goal, and she had the right luck and the stars lined up, right. That's the reality of things. The reality of things. Isn't that everyone's a multimillionaire and I mentioned earlier, right? The reality is I'm not right I'm, I'm the guy that was 280 pounds, and I was in Two twice, lose, lose the weight, which is kind of cool. But none of us are perfect. But we think because of the way social media is portraying people and the things that they're putting up there that somehow we should have a better life a different life than we have. Okay? So when people are trying to curate this perfect image of themselves in their lives, it's a bad thing. Okay, so research has shown that this can make you feel depressed, it can make you feel lonely. And now we're seeing that the younger generation isn't getting married until they're 33 on average. Can you believe that? You know, I was married ten years earlier than that started my family. There they are wondering about themselves, and they're wondering about whether or not they can get married. They're judging their potential partner against This perfect facade of a person that they've seen online and social media, and the guys are doing the same thing. They're, you know, they're judging this woman against Kylie Jenner or whomever online. They're their favorite Stars that have the perfect bodies. And they're available 24 seven, whenever they want, just look and bam, there they are. And this woman, she's not as nice that I'm dating as she should be, because I see all of these women that are just so tolerant and wonderful. And, you know, my gosh, she weighs too much, or she's not pretty enough. Her teeth aren't straight enough. I've seen this before, and I've seen it with my kids, their friends as well. You know, I'm not a big believer in a perfect match. I think there's a lot of people that frankly, we could marry and be quite happy. So don't go crazy. Don't try and match everybody up on social media. And we're talking about Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, of course, TikTok, which we've talked about before. Just delete those things as they are not reality. Too many of us are sitting there scrolling through our phones every day, looking at something that just isn't real. So there's number one. Number two to get rid of these are app categories and going to mention a few of our apps and don't protect your privacy. Now, we've talked about some of this stuff before, right? It basically Hey, if it's free, it's not the product, you're the product. I think that's a simple enough thing for people to understand least I would hope so. There are some major apps out there. The people are using billions of people are using every day that don't protect our privacy. And of course, the big one I'm thinking of right now is Facebook. It is not protecting our privacy. It's selling our information. Now, not all that bad, right? I understand the marketing side. I was in the whole marketing business years ago, decades ago, many, many decades ago. And what I was doing back then is finding people who read this magazine and that newspaper and, and put them together to come up with people that might be interested in buying my clients stuff, right? Well, it's the same thing nowadays you said to know a lot more about you than which magazine subscriptions.  But look for businesses that are building privacy into their business models, Facebook Messenger That's something you don't want to use as it does not have an end to end encryption. What that means is the message you type in on your computer gets sent to Facebook and then to the other person. So Facebook being in the middle can see the message knows what you said, and is now using that to target you by advertisers. Okay, so be careful with Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, which is another messaging product from Facebook. The Facebook bot does provide end and equipment so that you might want to encryption, so you might want to look at WhatsApp. There are some better ones out there. Some good ones signal one of them that encrypts all of your data, its end, and then everything. Google Chrome, I still use it sometimes because browser extensions But most of the Chrome browser plugins and extensions will work on opera. Many of them will work on Firefox as well, and there are adapters, if you will, the let you take the chrome stuff and run it on other machines, right other browsers. Now, Chrome harvests so much of your data that the Washington Post is calling it the spy software browser because it is just continually uploading your data. If you want a browser that is protecting your privacy, look at the epic browser API. See, and if you want more about this stuff, send me a note. I'll be more than glad to let you know more little bit more details of all of this stuff, right? Because some of the browsers out there like epic are great. Some of them are good like Firefox and Opera, and others are bad like well Chrome. And you already know what I think about Microsoft browsers, which is they're pretty weak. Apps that are free, but aren't Okay, free is great. But just keep in mind, they got to make money somehow has to keep the lights on, right? You got to keep the heat down in the winter and the air conditioning in the summertime. These face morphine apps that we've seen, and the big ones are actually out of Russia. We've got other apps that are out of China. They're not free, that is getting our information and are using it against us and using it against the country. So be very careful. And then the last category is apps that are compelling you to spend money. So what we're talking about here are apps like Amazon, Walmart, eBay, those are the obvious ones. And Amazon, Amazon, and Apple are the two companies that have at least up until now kept your privacy kind of paramount. In front of them, but that doesn't mean they don't use your data themselves. And that's very, very true. When we're talking about Amazon, they use your data that trying to get you to buy something from Amazon and you know, that can be good, that can be bad. And Amazon also has plugins that you can put into the Chrome browser that let Amazon spy on you when you're on other websites and buying things, so keep that in mind. You probably don't want to install those browsers. Games like Harry Potter Wizard, Fortnight, Candy Crush Jelly Saga, Pokemon GO, Marvel Contest of Champions, and hundreds of thousands more each have options that let you buy your way into a higher score, or give you play the game more. I advise you to get rid of those. I know people hooked on Candy Crush. Nobody enables you to play so many times a day, and I have fun and Candy Crush, right? But I stopped playing it about a year ago because it won't let you play so many times a day, then I wanted you to buy stuff from them. And it just isn't for me. It isn't worth it right. I'm not a big video game thing. And then the last thing to consider is the Office apps. Now, these are the things that kind of get you to work 24 seven, I kind of work 24 hours. But that doesn't mean it's a good idea. And that's not necessarily something that you're going to want to do either. So there you go. There are some categories. You might want to delete apps to depress you and those that don't protect your privacy. Those that are free, but on are not and those that compel you to spend money listening to Craig Peters on here on WGAN and online. Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube. Hey everybody, welcome back. Craig Peterson here on w GN online at Craig Peters on comm slash YouTube. You can find me there all of my videos, and I'm starting to post them more and more. And you can watch me as I recorded them. I put them up as YouTube lives. So you'll see them up there. Well, let's talk about social credit and some of the things that are going on. China is the world leader right now when it comes to facial recognition. And what China is doing is not only recognizing people's faces, and then this case mostly their citizens, but China is also taking that data and using it for what they're calling the social credit system. So if you jaywalk in China, there are enough cameras and enough facial right ignition artificial intelligence software out there to identify that it was you who jaywalked you specifically. And then what it does is it puts that onto your permanent records. And that becomes part of your social credit score. And if your score gets low enough, you're out of luck. You won't be able to get another train to travel a bus, and you won't be able to get to work, you definitely won't be able to leave the country. So there's a lot of things China's doing on social credit. Now I want to go back to my last segment here where I was talking about the apps that you want to delete, and I looked at it from a category standpoint, what are the different categories of apps that you probably should delete? And one of the ones I mentioned was TikTok, and remember I mentioned that TikTok was a Chinese based company, and TikTok allows you to put together these little short videos and have fun haha sharing with your friends. And there are some pretty cute TikTok videos out there Will Smith did one and put it up on TikTok. So you know, that's all well and good. Here's the problem when you use the app you're sending your face and anything that's behind you in the environment and your location information - to China. They know what you're wearing, they know your face, your hair, they know everything about you even where you are, which lets them know, by the way, hey, you're at home. You're at work, you're out with friends, right using the location data. And because China is the world's leader in surveillance technology and facial recognition, technology, and social credit systems that they're trying to sell to other countries. What's happening, They're using TikTok data. And they're likely using it to train their artificial intelligence systems for even better facial recognition of Westerners. And people here in the US and the UK are our facial recognition software in the US has problems with oriental faces with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, right? It has problems with those. Some of theirs have problems with white faces with negroid features kind of goes on and on. So they want as much as they can get when it comes to data. They want as many faces as they can get their hands on, right to use those faces Now, to frankly be able to train their systems. So enter this article from the DailyCaller. that says American universities are starting to use social credit systems. So these are likely to be coming here to the US. China's already using them. They're probably using them to identify our military personnel. We know some things they've been doing that are to identify our military personnel. But a handful of colleges us colleges, according to Chris White, who is over at The Daily Caller, are using a type of social credit system through various technologies designed to track students as they attend courses and walk across campus. They're using something called SpotterEdu, which is an app that connects with the student's smartphones, and it has as its purpose the ability to boost attendance points. So it knows that you're on campus and it knows you're in the right building and it knows you're in the right class. Some now you get social credit points for attending class, heaven forbid that the professor has to keep track of that sort of thing. Syracuse University Professor Jeff Rubin told The Washington Post that the students want these points if you can believe that, right. They know I'm watching and I'm acting on it. So behaviorally, they change. This professor is admitting that he uses this app to engineer the behavior of the students socially. Now that's nothing new. We've known for a long time that teachers use all kinds of techniques to get students to agree with them politically, to do things that they want them to do. Well, now it's kind of getting out of hand apparent Lee This is according to The Washington Post, not every student's on board with the app, and it's in it and its implications. A sophomore here, Virginia Commonwealth University said, we are adults, so why do we need to be tracked. Why is this necessary? How does it benefit us? And is it just going to keep progressing until they are micromanaging every second of the day? I think it's an excellent question. The SpotterEdu is working with about 40 schools, including Central Florida, Missouri, Indiana, that's according to their guess he's their CEO, Rick Carter. He's a former basketball court quote to develop the app and 2015. I think this is a bit of a problem. You know he's talking about students having a lot of distractions and, and they need a system like this to make sure they're doing, and I love this quote, right. He wants to make sure that the students are doing the right thing, according to him. Okay. He prefers the term monitor instead of the track because you know tracking has a negative connotation. Schools can turn to a startup called degree analytics, which uses Wi-Fi check-ins. That is something that technology something's been out there for a long time. businesses use it. When you get free Wi-Fi at a business, they use it to track you they know your back, that it's you who's here now, they even know where you are in the store. They watch you. They know what shelves are in front of you and how long you were there, what you might be looking at, okay, just from the fact that you use their Wi-Fi. So they are tracking a quarter of a million students across 19 different state universities. Over 98% of college students can be measured to Analyze your degree analytics. Yeah, because the students are using the WiFi that Sarah, the school. Now sometimes you have to use their Wi-Fi because that's the only way you can connect to Blackboard or something, whatever software they're using for the professors to share the courses with you. Sometimes it's the only way you can get on to submit some of your materials to the professor that we're doing is your assignment, right? But most of the time here's my advice to you. Use the WiFi, not the Wi-Fi, but use the data plan that comes with your phone. And that means Verizon T Mobile etc. Use tethering nowadays is usually no additional charge for tethering. If you have an unlimited plan, use the tethering on campus, use it when you are at work, use it when you are At the local coffee shop, use a tethering. Don't use the Wi-Fi provided for free because now you can be tracked. Okay. Very, very big deal. And I'm concerned about these American universities Now, using social credit systems to track students on campus as this sort of thing that you expect out of a socialist government like socialist China is not the sort of thing we expect here in the United States. So, stick around because we are going to talk about those influencers I mentioned earlier in the show, what they are doing and what the future will look like for advertising and us. You're listening to Craig Peterson on WGAN and online at Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube. Hello everybody. Welcome back. Craig Peterson here online at Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube. I'm heard on multiple stations every week. And right now, I'm on WGAN, and this is the show that I take, and I put up on YouTube and share it on Facebook as well. So if you're interested, you'll find me right there Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube and Craig Peterson dot com slash Facebook. We're going to talk about influencers right now. Many of us kind of have a little bit of a chuckle when we think of influencers, right — these people on social media. Haha, you know, the Generation Z, who are just making fools of themselves. Last hour I was talking about how you should be deleting most of your social media apps, if not all of them because frankly, they are depressing. Well, if you want to know what I find sad, I want you to think of Kylie Jenner. Here's a girl who can even order a beer in a restaurant who's already worth over a billion dollars. So that shows you what multi-generational can do.  But why is she worth so much money?   Why are so many of these influencers worth so much money?   Why are they paid so much?  Well, the New York Times had a great little article on this. I've got that up on my screen right now. And they're talking about these social media influencers, and how dominant they are in our culture today, and how they can get people to think twice about products. By steering the direction of online conversations, as the Times puts it. So this article by Kevin ruse was written because he went to a conference called VidCon. An annual social media convention down in Anaheim, California, yay. And there were a few thousand current and future internet celebrities who were there. And it's increasingly apparent to him he says that the teenagers and 20 somethings have mastered these platforms. And those people are going to dominate not just internet culture, or the entertainment industry, but society as a whole. You know, we've had presidents in the past I can think of a couple, frankly, who have been entertainers we've got, of course, currently Donald Trump, who had a show called The Apprentice show. I valued it because it gave me a lot of business ideas and taught me a little bit of business acumen. And we had Ronald Reagan. Remember, people an actor who is president. Both of these presidents seem to have been outstanding Presidents as it turns out, but how about the future? When will our first social media influencer be president? And that's a great question. He's asking it in this article. Now, this came out a few months ago, but I just found it fascinating. Most of the time, you said these people were filming what they called collabs with other creators complementing one another on their drips. Drips are influencing or speaking for clothes and accessories. In some of these cases, we're talking about head to toe Gucci and all kinds of outfits. Some I can't even pronounce, as I never heard of before. Diamond necklace. Designer sneakers because they're all promoting these things they're wearing. Another day he says he witnessed an awkward dance battle between two budding TikTok influencers, neither of whom could have been older than10 years old. Okay, TikTokagain, that's one of the apps I keep saying delete, delete, delete, and okay. But if you look past what he calls the silliness, the status he can many people add VidCon is hard at work being an influencer can be an exhausting burnout inducing job. People who spent years working were up the ladder I've been on the radio now for 25 years. I don't have anywhere near the influence of a Kylie Jenner or most of these other top influencers out there. It's just absolutely crazy. So he's saying how a lot of these influencers they've got him, real business people, because frankly, they're dealing with your money. Some of them are doing media politics, either different fields, you know, I tend to do technology and security. But these people are influencers. Brazil YouTubers are winning political elections by mobilizing their online fan bases. So what's establishment going to do when these guys and gals start winning out there? You look at AOC Alexandria or Cassio Cortez, and how she's been able to use social media to build a following and build her power and influence. It's massive. Glossier is another company to look at the recently raised 100 million valuations of more than a billion way is a luggage startup who has Instagram ads, and it reached an evaluation of 1.4 billion. They make luggage. They are a startup. How are they worth $1.4 billion. And a lot of the social media stars are making this endorsement deals with these major brands and these startups. It's just crazy. Here's another one, a YouTuber's named Natalie Alzate. She has more than 10 million subscribers. She calls her channel Natalie's outlet, an online brand building a business frankly, for her rather than just a fun hobby. Four years ago, when she first came to Vid Con, she was a marketing student with fewer than 7000 subscribers. So in four years, she went from less than 7000 subscribers to 10 million. She decided to study her favorite YouTubers. She watched how they made their videos, tested videos in multiple genres seeking which ones perform the best. She says she grew up watching people like Michelle Fon that were building legacies out of honestly just being relatable online, it was always an aspiration. Then she hit on formats like beauty tips, life hacks, performed well. And today she's a full-time YouTuber with a small staff and production studio and the kind of fame she always coveted. New York Times article this thing's just amazing. In truth, influencers have been running the world for years. Yeah, we know that, don't we? We haven't just called them that we call the movie stars to talk radio hosts, Davos, then these are really with devils. The ability to stay relevant. So these people get that type of audience. And with 10 million followers, she's making millions of dollars a year. It goes on and on. The culture General Manager, oh my gosh, what you call culture is people watch this stuff, right? I don't. And maybe that's a problem for me. Perhaps that's why I don't have 10 million followers. I just started my YouTube channel again I was doing a few years ago, but I've been too busy taking care of my customers and helping you guys out, right? So I'm starting it up again. And I would love it if you guys would subscribe to my YouTube channel or and follow me at Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube, share these videos, get them out there I'm providing you with excellent information, that type of thing. I think everybody needs to know. And the only way it's going to get out there now is if you share it right and I know most of you guys, I'd be surprised if I have any real Gen Z's in the audience. There's probably a few. I know there's a lot of millennials and a ton of baby boomers. What is my audience for please subscribe if you have a YouTube account? Just go to Craig Peterson comm slash YouTube, we've got to be able to compete with these social media influencers out there, we've got to get the messages out. Because Heaven knows their words are not the same as our messages. And I want to get it out. And I would appreciate it because, man, I've put thousands of hours into this over the years anyhow, stick around, because we are going to be back here in our last segment, we're going to talk about Chinese farmers. Let me pull that up right now. There you go. Criminals using drones to infect pigs. Why are they doing that? And we're going to talk about the New York Times also tracking Trump's movements. What's going on out there? You're listening to Craig Peterson, and you'll find me online Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube. Hello, everybody, we have been busy today. We just talked about YouTube influencers and how much money they're making. We started by talking about the old internet, how it's died, and what that meant to us. The loss of all of our pictures and the things that we wrote and that we put up online. What happened to all these old sites and what to do about it today and into the future. How close did Russia come to affecting and hacking the 2016 election? We talked about that, and we talked about what could happen here in the 2020 election because Russia was able to get their fingers into our last election. So we talked about what we discovered over the last three years from that. We talked a lot about fasting and fasting diet, because my wife I've been doing it and how it is not a diet, but intermittent fasting is a lifestyle that lets me eat whatever I want, whenever I want. Well, past summer issue, isn't it? It's not whenever I want. So I talked a lot about that, of course, I'm not selling anything here. I just want to let you know what I'm doing because it hit the news again this week. I told you about 27 smartphone apps and four categories of apps, you're going to want to delete from your smartphone this year. American universities using social credit, and I talked about what chip or excuse me China is doing with social credit, and why they want your face what they're probably doing with TikTok pictures and others. American universities using social credit for that it's a shame. And, of course, the last segment, we talked about influencers, and you can't scoff at these kids. They're making a lot of money. They may be young, but wow, they are booking it in. Let me tell you making bank, and if you would, I'd appreciate you following me. You can follow me on pretty much any podcast, podcast platform out there, bar none. And you can follow me online, and Craig Peterson dot com slash YouTube. I'd love it if you'd subscribe to my channel. So let's get to our last two articles here of the day. This first one, I think it's fascinating, but it is talking about a trick that is in use now. The word trick is a misnomer because this is nasty nastiness. And leave it to criminals, right? It doesn't matter where in the world they are. They always come up with a nasty way to try and ruin our lives. But here's what's happening. We have drones, and many of these drones are big enough to carry. Fully automatic weapons. We know China's selling those to the Middle East right now. So, a drone

Without sales, you will FAIL. Sales are the lifeblood of your marketing agency. Tim Conley, the #1 marketing agency consultant shares the 5 best ways to get more sales and grow your profits, fast. If you want more content from Tim, subscribe to his channel here: www.youtube.com/channel/UC9dk_Gpjekbus6P0r9gAgHw Previous videos with Tim Conley are filled with gold for marketing consultants, freelancers and agency owners... How to start a digital marketing agency - www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKCQdp5sq38&list=PL0sOKzn__yK3IyPK2y7-Hxnh4VbIkBG4c How to make money with a digital marketing agency - www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsSJNiN4lq4 And a full live Q&A interview with Tim Conley - www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXiNH0NrFXM it is important to keep the number one most important funnel step in mind for your marketing agency which I share in this video- www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGWpjIlJMwA in this video you are about to learn the five ways to get more sales for your digital marketing agency. And to help with this, I got my friend Tim Conley here. Tim, thanks for being here man. It's always amazing to be here. Great to have you on. So I've had Tim on for many videos. Tim is one of the foremost experts in the world of building, growing and specifically scaling digital agencies. He speaks on stages around the world and I'm grateful to have you here. If you haven't seen our other videos, there'll be in the comments below. They'll be all over, they'll be in the end screen. Watch all of this if you're building a digital agency because really so one of the fastest ways to generate cashflow online for someone who has some skills. Would you agree with that? Yes. And it's a longterm business model. This is something you can get started quick, but ultimately you can build a multimillion dollar business that has systems and you can literally build a business and not just a hustle. Right? Let's talk about money now versus building a longterm asset because these fall into different categories and I think we need to give the viewer a little framework so there's getting more sales and what's the difference between a short term and a long term sale and when do you need which types in the business? Okay, when you're first getting started, the only thing that matters is getting a customer. You've got to get money or you're not in business. That's easy definition. You're in business when people are paying you money. If you don't get money, you are playing it business. So that's the first thing. So the early stages is all about going out and getting a sale. Don't worry about your content marketing, don't worry about your brand, don't worry about anything other than making a sale. You're going to have a number of pitches and you're going to have a percentage of those that you close. The more pitches that you make, the better you get at the close, the more sales that you're going to get. But literally all day, every day, it needs to be focused on that pitch side. And then so it's almost like hunting in the beginning and then, you know, building a longterm asset. We want to build systems, we want to build potentially other, we'll talk about the things we want to build, but you want to be at more of a farmer. You want to start getting people showing up to you. And really I think that's, that's marketing, right? Versus sales versus say in the early days, all in on sales. Then as you start to get cashflow and you start to get your kind of legs beneath your sea legs on at that point you want to build marketing systems and we're going to start with sales and go into marketing. So number one on the five ways to get more customers is cold outreach. Now, Tim, are we talking like email stuff here? What do we mean by cold outreach? Currently cold outreach really falls under. What are you good at? Are you good on the phone? Well then you should do cold outreach on the phone. If you have a great a list that you can connect with through email, we'll then do email. But what I'm seeing is that it's getting really hard to get people on the phone. It's getting even harder to get people to actually respond to an email. So the one thing, and it's temporary, but it's working amazingly well right now, is reaching out to on LinkedIn who fit exactly the kind of business that you wish to work with as a business owner.

What’s up guys? Brandon Olson Rank Daddy TV. Today we’ve got an episode that I’ve wanted to shoot for a while. Why should you start an SEO agency in 2020. So I’m going to give you all the reasons I know of all the reasons why it’s working. By the end, you should be like, “No brainer. Let me do this.” Right? Let’s go. So here’s the question. How can marketers like us working only part-time and running our entire business from our laptop or smartphone? How are we able to guarantee insane results to our clients when the mainstream internet marketing gurus say the guarantees are impossible? That’s the question. And this podcast will give you the answers. My name’s Brandon Olson and welcome to Rank Daddy. All right, so why should you start an SEO business in 2020? What is the deal? What is the popularity? Why are so many people rushing to start an agency and digital marketing SEO agency? I’ll just take this off the top. This is kind of an unscripted episode. So for me, I was always stuck behind. Maybe not so much, always a time clock, but a place, right? Running a retail business stuck at a location, having to go to that location five, six days a week because that’s where work was, right? That’s where the income was made. So for me, I wanted to be able to create an income that I wasn’t stuck to that location, right? Be able to work from anywhere that I wanted. So I call that spacial freedom, right? You’re not having to go to a specific place for work. A lot of people want time freedom and I wanted that too. But for me, more importantly was I was tired of going to that same place every stinking day. So SEO gives you that obviously spacial freedom. You’re not stuck with working at one particular place. You can take your laptop, you can work from your smartphone, you can work from wherever you have a data connection. Time freedom. A lot of people want time freedom. You hear about the 10 hour work week. I’ve been able to shave my down to about two hours a week or less in my SEO agency. And that’s run in 30, 40 clients. All of them paying $1,000 a month on average or more. So time freedom is insane when you can get and build a business online that you can work from anywhere, but you can also do it extremely, extremely part-time, ultra part-time in your spare time even. I’ve never worked more than 10 hours a week even starting off, even building it because I didn’t want that. I was more determined to have fewer hours then fast success. Yeah. I could have built this thing a lot faster had I have dove in and gone 40 hours a week building this thing massively quick, but I probably would’ve got stuck in that rut of thinking I’ve got to work 40 hours a week to keep this thing running. So I wanted to build it completely part-time from the beginning. That’s what I did. It took about six months to get to $10,000 a month. Now with Ranked Daddy, we’re seeing people hit that in 30 days, sometimes 60 days, sometimes longer. Sometimes people don’t even want $10,000 a month and they’re happy with an extra $3,000 and $4,000 working part-time to supplement whatever they got going on. They like their job or they’re not ready to retire, whatever. That’s totally fine because you’re able to do this part-time, you’re able to do it whenever. If you got 30 minutes a day and maybe five days a week, four days, whatever. You can apply whatever time that you have available to start your business and still have it runs perfectly smooth. Another way that this works or the reason this works is because we’re teaching you how to outsource, literally, everything. So we show you how SEO works, right? Why rankings happen? Why does Google rank a website? There’s one reason it’s because it’s trusted. If Google trusts your site, it’s going to rank you higher than other sites that it trusts less. Simple. That way you’re ahead of the algorithm game. It doesn’t matter what algorithm change comes, penguin, panda, chihuahua dog, whatever decide they decide to make an algorithm about. It doesn’t matter because Google is in it for the end user. Google wants the end user to have the best experience, otherwise they’re not going to use their browser. They’re going to go over to Bing, or they’re going to use Yandex or they’re going to use another search engine. Google wants people to stay on Google so they can capture their attention, capture their money with their other properties. Google wants the end user to have the best experience, so they got to trust your site. We show you in Rank Daddy incredibly fast, how to get trust to a site and a natural, methodical, step-by-step process. It’s five or six steps you can have trust to a site in 30 to 60 days. That’s why we give them money back guarantee to all of our clients. If they don’t see a massive increase in rank within 30 to 60 days, they get all their money back. So we teach you to do this not only what Google wants, but now each of those five, six steps, we show you how and where to outsource those to reliable, guaranteed, trustworthy sources so you don’t have to worry. Then once you know all the steps you’re comfortable with, okay, here’s what happens when I get a client, I plug them into this, these steps. Now you’ve got to know how to land clients. We covered that too. We show you step by step very quickly how to… For example, you can send out Screencast videos. A Screencast video is a little short, two, three minute video. You’ve got the client’s website right there on your computer screen and you’re pointing out two, three little things in a few minutes on things that that customer could change to instantly get more trust to instantly show Google what their site is about. Because if Google doesn’t know what your site’s about, it can’t trust you, it can’t rank you. So very quickly we show you how to send prospecting videos to teach people. You’re educating people, you’re giving value first on how they can make a couple of little changes to get Google’s trust and some quick ranking improvements. Now is that the end all? No, that’s the only step one of the process. Tweaking some little on-page things. But now these people, these business owners are seeing you giving them free information and you’ve got a little call to action in your video. If you need help with this, just reply, call me whatever. I like to do it all by email. I can do it all from anywhere by email. I can shoot videos from my iPhone using the screen recorder and bust out several of these things you know? So we show you that. We’ll show you how the process works, how clients sites get ranked. Then we show you how to land clients and all you do is plug them into the system. So for example, $1,000 a month client is the average across the board. We’ve pulled our members multiple times and $1,000 is the number one answer. Second answer is $750. Third answer is $1,500. Fourth most popular answer is $500 a month. So you can see the range of average billing across new members, old members, whatever. So for example, say [inaudible 00:07:37] take $1,000 a month. It’ll take you 30 minutes of outsourcing a few of the steps for month one and costs you $500 or less of that $1,000 you collected from the client. You’ve got $500, it took you 30 minutes. Month two is even better. You’re going to spend $300, $400 of that to do month two’s outsource steps. Take you another 15, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you’re not just waiting and watching, you’re landing more clients. If you figure this out quickly, when you get in every client you land is about a $1,000 and it takes you 30 minutes to plug them in. How fast can you scale? How many clients can you land and just plug them into your system that Rank Daddy shows you how to do and where to outsource each step. You scale fast. We have a little deal called white label, rankdaddy.com/whitelabel. If new members come in and they’re land clients and they want us to do all of the work, we’ll do it for half the money. You give us $500, so that $1,000, we do all the work. We assume all the expenses of ranking. We’ll fix the on-page, we’ll do everything it takes to get that client ranked because we want them ranked. You make money, we make money. They keep paying when they see the results after 30 days. Month in, month in, month in, month out, clients keep paying. 80% to 90% retention rate with our clients. These are all local businesses: dentists, landscapers, roofers, plumbers, estheticians. The list goes on and on. Any kind of local business. Perfect. If they’re not ranked on page one for their number one core competitive keyword like, New Braunfels roofers, New Braunfels roofing. If they’re not on page one, hey, anything to page two and downward is open game. They want to be on page one. They know who those top three roofing companies are. They see their trucks around town. They know how much business they’re doing. They have no idea how to get there. We do. We can create a scenario where Google comes in, they recognize what their site’s about. They trust their site, the rankings begin to launch. The customers see these ranking reports. You send them at the end of each month before their next billing is due and they’re like, “Yeah, I see it. The calls are coming in.” They don’t want to stop paying. In fact, few months into the campaign, they’re coming to you saying, “Hey, can you rank me in these outlying other areas because we also serve there. We can buy more trucks if we have to.” Whatever. They’re coming to you to ask to pay you more money because it’s working. On average clients paying us $1,000 a month. It’s because we’re bringing them an extra. Extra added revenue of $10,000 to $30,000 a month or more that they didn’t see before. See, when you’re talking to these prospects, they know how much money they’re doing a month now. They know their business revenue. So when they see that double or triple, man, that you’re the first guy they’re going to pay. This is how our retention stay so high. So I’m back to white label. Back to the white label. You pay us, we do all the work. You continue to learn the process. You’re quickly going to say by month two three that you can be doing all these outsource steps just like we are. You can keep more of the money because month one we gave you example, $1,000. You’re going to spend about $500, so you’re going to spend about half, maybe $600 if you’re really trying to impress these people, month two it’s going to drop to $300, $400. Month four, it’s going to drop again to $200 to $300 that you’re spending out of that $1,000. So you’re keeping $700, $800. By month six, it’s completely normal for you to keep 80% to 90% of that $1,000 as your profit because the site is now ranked. It’s being held in place by web properties that you own that we show you how to acquire. You’re building this network of sites that are keeping your client sites ranked. You’re now in control. A lot of people ask, what do we do? If we get a client to the top, it’s been six, eight months. They’re ranked in the top, number one for many keywords. What keeps them there? Why should they keep paying you? You got them number one ranked. There’s a few scenarios. This has come up rarely, rarely. I mean over the total of 60, 80 whatever clients we’ve dealt with in our personal agency, maybe twice. A guy decides to stop paying or asked, “Hey, why do I kind of keep paying this $1,000 a month, $2,000 a month if I’m already at the top? You already got me there.” So we remind them that the monthly fees that you’re paying goes to offset the fees that are incurred on our end for keeping your site ranked. Remembe we are linking to your site from these properties that we own. These are expensive sites. They take aintenance, we have to put money into them. So we don’t tell them the figures or how much work, how much maintenance, but in their head they begin to remember that they’re ranked number one because of the web properties that you own that are linking back to them. Control. That’s you’re in control. So if they decided to stop paying and you’ve tried everything, maybe dropping their rate for a little while if they’re uncomfortable, whatever. This is completely rare. The guy who decided, yeah, I’m just going to cancel and take my chances. Fine, he stops paying. You remove all those links. Now you can use those sites for another client. You haven’t lost your money, but his site rankings, bye bye. The trust is gone. Suddenly Google sees all these websites that were linking to them that are trusted websites, passing trust to him and now they’re gone. Why would Google keep that site ranked? They don’t. The rankings fall. So you’re in control. You don’t want to use that as leverage unless it’s completely less case scenario. It’s just doesn’t seem ethical. But I always tell them by month three, I’ll send him a little video or our emails and emind them how we’re doing, what we’re doing. How we’re accomplishing the massive ranking gains and how we’re holding their ranking to the top. It’s because we own a network of sites that are incredibly trusted by Google. They have high trust, and because we’re linking from these sites to you, we’re not linking to anybody else, only you. They’re dedicated to you. Google sees that trust and they reward yoursite because you’re trusted. Your sites trusted. They know what it’s about. And you have more trust than any other site in your industry, in your location. So they keep you there. You got to put that little seed in their brain so that if that ever comes up, you can instead of threaten them,”All right, you want to quit? I’ll just remove all my links.” That’s ugly. You can bring it back to their attention. You can remind them. That’s the ethical thing to do. And because it’s true. You want control and in the beginning you can tell them, “Look, most SEO agencies, they’re outgoing link swapping. They’re going to try and get you a link over here, but you’re going to have to give that guy that link.” That’s like awash. You put a link to your site, to somebody else, your trust is passing to them. Why would you want that? You want all the links coming to you. So ordinary SEO and we see this month in, month out, year in year out. Every client we get that says,”Hey man, I’ve been paying SEO for a couple of years and nothing’s happening.” We look at their site. First, normally, they’re on-page isn’t done. Google has no idea what their site’s about. Simple fix. Second thing, they’ve been getting all these back links and links that they’ve got to trade for link swapping. You ive me a link point to my side, I’ll point to yours. None of that helps, right? That’s just passing juice around. Or links from spammy type of sites or link farms or footers of sites. This is the concept of mindset of old SEO thinking. All this stuff you used to work. Google is way smarter than that. Google will trust your site if they have proof of one, they know what your site’s about. It’s clear. Two, there’s other sites that have authority and trust with Google linking to them pushing that trust. That’s what Google wants. That’s what they get rewarded for. So you want to make sure that your customer knows that you’re not doing these things that every other SEO player on the market is doing. We’re not going out to trade links with people. We are getting links from sites that we own. These things we control. So we get to control your ranking. You go out and get links from other websites. Now you’ve got to go monitor all those things because if they ever get pulled down, now you’ve got to replace it with something. Or if that website, this guy decides not to renew his domain, you’ve lost that link. Why not have everything create a scenario where you’re in control of all of your links or the most powerful ones, right? So part of the part of the campaign we’re getting links from or creating links from sites with very little power, maybe no power. Some do follow links, some no follow links, but it’s a variety, right? Google wants to see link diversity. They don’t want to see every link coming to your site be a 100% trusted site home run. That looks totally unnatural. So we kind of mix in these sites that we own and control and we show you how to own and control and obtain. Mix those few links in with links that are built daily. That’s one of the steps that we show you how and where to outsource. You’re going to have a team that is building links for you and building sites for you that you own and control on a daily basis. So Google will see link consistency, right? So that’s how we get people to keep paying month in, month out. Why start an SEO agency in 2020? It’s that you’re not using your own money, you’re using none of your own money. What business is there that you can go in and make $1,000 a month a pop on each client on average? You’re not using your money. You’re not using your money to advertise, to market, to prospect, to do the work, the fulfillment. You’re using the client money to do the work after they’ve paid you. That’s hands down. This is one of the biggest reasons that people get into it because they’re looking for a way to create an income online and they don’t have any money to go out and get a college degree or even a technical degree or the time delay into that or buy a $5,000 training course online. You start with no money. So huge reason. Let’s recap a little. Spatial freedom, time freedom, you do it from wherever, you can do it part-time, spare time. You don’t have to use your own money to start the business and you can scale this thing. I’ll show you here in a minute, some examples of members doing this in our group day in day… Let’s look now. Here. Let’s move over to our computer. I’m going to show you some success stories of people doing this day in, day out. It’s going to blow you away. $1,000 a month, multiple times over $2,000 clients, $3000… How fast can you scale? Check this out. All right guys, this is a webpage you can go to. It’s rankdaddy.com/success. So this is kind of like you’re peeking into our private Facebook coaching group. We’re grabbing some of the success posts we see members put in and we grab them and put them here just for case studies. Here’s a guy. This client was nowhere to be found on Google. This is after his on-page SEO. He started to share it showing up two days later. This is their rank for the keyword. Obviously, he’s hitting the keyword. Number one rankings. Number two rankings. Number three rankings. After days. These are all on page one. Becca, she started just about two months ago, I believe. And she is killing it. She’s closed two clients today. “Seven meetings set up for next week. Picking a check on Monday” and on and on and on. Here’s Will again, posting about rankings that are crazy killing it. Becca again, “Signed up five clients to last night.” Here’s another new member. Restaurant onboarding, $750 a month for three months and then goes to $1,500 a month. This goes on and on. These are just regular people posting in our group. Here’s Tamara picking up a check for $7,000 and she’s pretty new too. So you can go to this and just check them out yourself rankdaddy.com/success. Robert landed another $24,000. He’s probably our highest earner. He’s only been in for about nine months and he’s near $100,000 per month. I’m going to show you a cool shot here in a minute of what he recently posted. Anyway, you come all the way down to the end of this. You click more members’ successes and it pops up in a cloud folder that I just throw them in. These are some new ones, so we saw this one about his client. This one is a Becca. Again, close to client for $3,400 from the airport parking lot. “Sent the invoice from the cafe and got the deposit before she gets on the plane.” Regular people, dude. Seth Brown. Rank Daddy success. “Just landed a $30,000 contract, which is $2,500 a month for 12 months.” He’s on top of the world. I can imagine. Who is this? Ben Ryan. He’s killing it. He’s only been in for a few months. Rank Daddy success. “Three months ago signed two clients in Perth. One in roofing, one guitar teacher. Both were on page eight now they’re both on page one.” So when do these people stop paying, right? You take them from page eight to page one. And then the top of page one and they’re tripling the revenue. You’re the first guy they’re going to pay. You’re going to keep paying you month after month. Here’s Israel landed a $1,200 a month client and these are just in the last week. This looks like maybe an older one. Oh, here’s Ed posting a couple of checks. $2,500. This is a $500 deal from a Phung. This is Ed’s. Ed’s been a regular. He’s been in since the beginning. This is a site that he built is a leadgen. Just killing it, just killing it. Here is Ben again. Another Perth Brake Industry client, $2,800 a month plus a website redesign. And don’t get stressed out about this redesign stuff. You see things like that. These people are not doing the work. We show you inside who to outsource the website redesigns for. I mean you might charge $3,500 like him, but you’re only paying about $500, maybe a $1,000 on that kind of a site to get it done. So you’re pocketing the rest. Cray, crazy profits these guys are seeing. Becca, again. 40 degrees, closed more and she’s just got three more coming this week. Eight more in the pipeline. And look at this. “I’ll be closing on my dream house Friday. Share your wins with me.” She’s new. Crazy. Here’s Peter. He’s been in for about six months. “Dream versus reality.” So this guy decided to go spend six months in Thailand on the beach to see if this digital nomad lifestyle would work for him. The hardest part is, well the distractions, because this is the view from your office, right? So you can readily literally run this business from anywhere guys. These things just go on and on. This guy’s been in the group since April. This guy’s biggest win today with a $5,000 a month deal. Okay? This is totally realistic for you. I like his phrase here. “2020 is about to be a massive year.” Make 2020 a massive year for you. Go to rankdaddy.com, we’ve got an insane deal to join. Let us help you. Take you by the hand step-by-step to start an SEO agency that you can start from your laptop in your spare time. That will quickly replace whatever day job situation you got going on or just add some extra money to the table. Whatever level you want to take it to, do it. Here’s Robert. “I never thought I’d be on stage in front of millions of dollars. The Rank Daddy process processes helped me to become the expert. This is me giving a lecture to hundreds of doctors at the largest medical assembly in the Southeast.” He has been in for about nine months and he’s killing it. He’s about to hit $100,000 a month in recurring revenue. Okay? That’s a case study. That’s a case study and this just goes on and on. So come on guys, go to rankdaddy.com. Go to the homepage, hop in and let me add you to this Facebook group and we’ll help you be successful until next time. Hey, catch us on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, all the other platforms that you just search Rank Daddy podcast. If you’re looking for a podcast platform to hear us on. Give me your feedback on this video if you’re catching it on video on YouTube. Let me know what you think. If you have questions, go to brandonolson.com. It’s like my digital business card. Every way that to contact me is there. brandonolsen.com. You can see my agency rep video and all the other stuff that I’ve got going on at anytime. That’s always updated. Have a good one guys. Until next time. Have an insane day.

John Little and John Foster of Smooth Ambler are good friends of the show. We’ve had them on before and they’ve been doing a lot of stuff recently to keep their audiences engaged. They have a new video series, divulge their plans for future whiskey production, and talk about their latest launch of their MGP based Old Scout. Tune in to hear their take on what’s happened to American Whiskey in the past 2 years. Show Partners: Find out what it’s like to taste whiskey straight from the barrel with Barrell Craft Spirits. Learn more at BarrellBourbon.com. Receive $25 off your first order at RackHouse Whiskey Club with code "Pursuit". Visit RackhouseWhiskeyClub.com. Distillery 291 is an award winning, small batch whiskey distillery located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Learn more at Distillery291.com. Show Notes: KDA Press Release: https://kybourbon.com/2-barrels-for-every-kentuckian-distillers-top-9-million-barrels-for-first-time-in-modern-era/ This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about blind tastings. Tell us about your video series on YouTube. What's been happening in the past two years? When are you going to use the new make? What is the game plan for Rye? What's the plan for the American Whiskey? Let's talk about sourced whiskey. Do you see Big Level as always evolving? Do you consider yourselves a craft distiller? What impact has Smooth Ambler made in West Virginia? What's the Whiskey Wagon? What benefits have you experienced from the Pernod Ricard deal? Where does the name Smooth Ambler come from? 0:00 We can play a game of like, which john is not wearing pants right now. 0:04 Neither of us are. 0:18 Welcome back, everybody. This is Episode 227 of bourbon pursuit. I'm one of your host Kenny. And we've got just a little bit of news to run through. And that's because last week, I forgot to report that the Kentucky distillers Association came out with a new press release that was pretty impactful. And that's that they are announcing that there are now two barrels for every Kentucky and aging in Kentucky last year by filling more than 2.1 million barrels of bourbon and aging 9.1 million total barrels of spirits. That is now the record of the highest inventory in the past 52 years that has been kept by the KDA. And this is the first time since 1967, that distilleries have failed more than 2 million barrels of bourbon 1:00 production has skyrocketed more than 350% since the turn of the century, triggering a $2.3 billion building boom expanding production and warehouse capabilities and growing the tourism experience that you have seen that is now significantly boosting Kentucky's tourism profile. But distilling still remains one of the highest tax of all 532 industries in the state and distillers this year are paying a record $25 million and barrel taxes, which they say is discriminatory tax that is going to hamper growth and investment. You can read more about taxes and its impact even more with tariffs and safety and responsibility with the links to the press release in our show notes. After winning the 2019 World Series last month, Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman decided to celebrate with his favorite drink. Of course you know it bourbon. He had a group of friends that spent the weekend in Kentucky choosing their own personal selection of Woodford Reserve and 2:00 Zimmerman said he planned to celebrate the World Series by gifting a bottle of Woodford Reserve of his personal selection to all of his teammates and also is going to give them this friends as well as other people that came to Kentucky and also for other wedding gifts down the future. You can check out Woodford Reserve social media for the pictures from his visit where he got to hang out with who's been on the show before assistant master distiller Elizabeth McCall heaven Hill is unveiled a $17.5 million expansion at the bourbon Heritage Center in Bardstown and this now includes new tasting rooms, interactive experiences, and much more. The expansion which is only phase one of a multi year multi million dollar project is marked by three new tasting rooms, the Fitzgerald room, the library, and the founders room, all which look out on the Kentucky countryside. There are now two exhibits featuring the story of the Man of Steel. He credits as the father of bourbon, Elijah Craig, and the larceny exhibit where you can learn more about Johnny Fitzgerald. Lastly, guests can get 3:00 More immerse themselves by doing it all new you do bourbon experience. And this allows you to be a quality control agent and heaven hill where you get to look at bourbon in the microscope, learn how to nose taste bourbon in bottle and label your own bourbon to take home. But there's still more to come as they just added a roof top restaurant and bar that overlooks all the barrel warehouses. You can plan your trip now by booking your experience at heaven Hill calm. This past weekend, Ryan and Fred were invited to emcee the auction at the bourbon Crusaders barrel through hunger event. This is an annual event where the incredible single barrels and other older bottles get offered up for charity. And there's a few special barrels that went up this year for auction. First is a nine year will that went for $55,000. Next is the oldest private selection of four roses bourbon ever, that one for $65,000 and a very unique single barrel of EH Taylor that we've know if you're been around long enough 4:00 Never seen any more. It's only happened a few times on rare occasion but that went for $75,000. There a few more barrels overall as well as other bottles, but this event in total, raised $375,000 for God's Pantry and dare to care food banks. This event happens in Louisville every year so be on the lookout to purchase your tickets when 2020 rolls around. Now for today's show, we've had the John's a smooth Ambler on and you can catch those episodes back on 79 and one to four or you can go to bourbon pursuit calm, sort by distillery and click on smooth Ambler. We love having these guys on because they're fun, light hearted and very transparent on how they operate. Definitely what we would call role models of the bourbon whiskey industry. Now here's a quick message from Joe over barrel bourbon. And then you've got Fred Minnick with above the char. 4:53 Hi, this is Joe Beatrice from barrell craft spirits. Tasting whiskey straight from the barrel was truly a life changing moment for me in 2013 5:00 I launched barrell craft spirits so everyone could have the experience of tasting whiskey at cask strength. Live two spirits with barrell bourbon. 5:09 I'm Fred Minnick, and this is above the char. If you've been watching my YouTube channel, you know about my Pappy versus the field series. Well, I want to take that a little step further. What I'm doing is is I'm tasting these whiskeys blind up against Pappy Van Winkle, which is largely heralded by many to be an incredible iconic bourbon that people spend booze and money on. I have this belief that what you taste one day, you may not taste the next day. And that belief was proven true in the first two episodes of Pappy versus the field. And one week I picked Pappy Van Winkle to be my favorite out of the flight which had some heavy hitters in there like old forester birthday bourbon, and then the next week, I pick Pappy Van Winkle to be dead last now. 6:00 The week that I picked it dead last, it's worth noting that I did come off a vacation. I had been traveling a lot, and I wasn't really consuming a lot of bourbon. So my palate was, I would say more was fresher, cleaner, less hardened by, you know, bourbon tastings and days previous and the first time I had tasted the field. And so you have one piece of evidence that you do indeed taste differently every single day. And then in my comments section, a geneticists wrote me and said, You're absolutely right, and that your taste buds are like fingerprints. So everybody has different taste buds, and I find this whole concept fascinating. Now, it's worth pointing out that for years, I have written reviews and I have stated that I believe that you really shouldn't, you shouldn't give a score unless you've tasted it three times and that way you can 7:00 Really make sure and confirm those tasting notes. I've gotten busier. And it's more difficult to tastings three times. And so you don't see as many scores from me as you have in years past, but I want everybody to do this experiment on their own. Find a bottle of bourbon that you really enjoy, and you taste frequently. And I want you to taste it on three different days in three different weeks and just jot down your notes, tell me what you're feeling what you're tasting, etc, etc. I think what we might find here is we might find one of the great puzzles in not just bourbon, but really everything. Why is it one day you want a hamburger? And the next day you want to talk? Oh, why is it some days? I think the Big Mac is the most beautiful, delicious thing in the entire world. And there are other times that it makes me want to hurl, you know so I think we, as humans, we have this incredible fluctuation of what we want on a constant basis. 8:00 I want to nail it down for us in bourbon. I'm going to find out what days that I like certain Bourbons and what days I do not. And so this this experiment begins and I hope you will join me on this journey. So that's this week's above the char. If you want to follow me on this journey, make sure you're subscribing to my YouTube channel. Just go to YouTube and search Fred Minnick. And if you have an idea for above the char hit me up on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Just look for Fred manic until next week. Cheers 8:38 Welcome back to another episode of bourbon pursuit the official podcast of bourbon getting here talking to some of the guests that we've actually had on the show before but we're here wanting to get an update to kind of see what's been happening because the last time we talked to the John's of smooth Ambler we were kind of talking before the show started and I was looking back and, you know, we talked to Joe 9:00 Little it was back on episode 79 before we start even hitting that, that three digit count back in December of 2016. And we talked to john foster back for a few minutes, it was part of a series of interviews that were taking place at whiskey live that were in Louisville, back in July of 2017 is when that one was released. So, you know, coming here today is really an opportunity for us to kind of get an idea of like, what's, what's new, what's happening, what's been changing, you know, they got bought out, are they driving Porsches and Masada is everywhere nowadays, right? So it's, it's it's going to be interesting to kind of see like, what the influx of capital and everything like that is really doing. We've known for a while that the MGP days of the old scout brand had been dwindling down and now they're revamping and something new and so we'll kind of get an idea of like, what the differences and where the go forward mentality is. We've got a lot of fun questions and a lot of good catch up to kind of see what's been going on with with me 10:00 Ambler out on the West Virginia side of the side of the nation over here so I'm happy to do welcome back on the show we've got both of the John's here so john little the CEO and head distiller and john foster the National Director of Sales and Marketing fellas, welcome back. Thanks for having us, man. It's gonna be back. Yeah, that'd be back a lot of changes mere into since the last time we spoke. You know it i mean it's it's been crazy it's it's it's finally I think it's like finally happening. People start taking podcast a little more seriously. So it's like I feel like I feel like we finally made it at this point. I don't want to seem like I'm kissing up here but people say good podcast seriously. There you go. Yeah. 10:42 And so but you guys also you do something fun as well. You guys do your own kind of like video series that you post on Facebook and YouTube. You want to talk about that one a little bit? Yeah, that kind of started is really a couple things. It was it was 10:58 the idea of sorta 11:00 Talking to talking to people and talking to customers the way that john and i sort of normally shuck and jive when we're together and to talk about 11:13 let people have a little insight into our brand and what we're about in, in our personalities and kind of do something different. You know, it's like, what what, what can we do that other people maybe are not doing or maybe, maybe won't do, which is, you know, put themselves out there and answer these silly questions about you know, what would you rather be a ninja or a pirate or, you know, what's the proper way of installing a roll of toilet paper? And you women have been we've been having fun with it. It's got a huge, huge reaction. And, you know, we'll we'll get around to talking about whiskey eventually. But you guys are doing a pretty good job with that already. And we thought you know that that end of the spectrum is covered. So let's, let's answer the real hard pressing questions. Yeah. 12:00 Would you rather fight a horse sized duck or duck size horse? Right, exactly right? 12:07 things that are really going to be important, those are the topics we want to discuss 12:12 here around the distillery like that, that dumb shit comes up all the time, you know, 12:18 john and i walk in the bathroom, the toilet papers installed incorrectly. And so we have to have a big company meeting and review the proper way to install the toilet paper or, you know, like, just that kind of stuff comes up here all the time, and we just thought it'd be a little little slice of that and it that'll keep going and just keep get better. It reminds me of just like, like Seinfeld a little bit, you know, you're trying to find just like the humor in everyday life that you deal with and try to make it make it like the really the big topic of what it is. Yeah, well, you know, the most recent one that we did, involved, involved quite a bit of bad language that was bleeped out and of course, we 13:00 passed it through through our legal department, let them look at it. And at that point, I realized that it really didn't matter to me whether they allowed us to do it or not. I was just satisfied that me and john had forced this billion dollar, you know, thousand dollar an hour legal team to sit down and watch, sit down and have to watch this thing and analyze it. were like, just that alone is worth the price of admission. 13:24 I mean, that's, that's awesome. Because we don't have a legal team here. We just we basically sit there and we record we're like, all right, is this gonna piss anybody off? Because 13:35 we understand there were enough podcast discussing, but you know, what makes what makes the, at least in my opinion, what makes a video interesting in the in our world is is not necessarily the discussion about the whiskey. It's the discussion is the story that makes it interesting, right? 13:55 I think you can do a review of whiskey to a fairly short thing and it's an ad All right, but the stories are what 14:00 I really enjoy whatever that is whether it's a personal struggle or finding history about, you know, how, how a brand came to be or, or, or some history about how the whiskey came to be. And so that's really what we did. And we felt like there was enough of that out there. And, of course, it was hard for, you know, for guys like us to have our own brand and to talk about just us all the time. So we decided just to do something that was a little entertaining, right? There was not so much stuff and so much about the whiskey. And there's plenty of people already doing the story. So, you know, like, you guys, so we thought we would just do something a little bit funny. That was kind of a break from the norm and let people see inside about the silly stuff that we talked about here or, yes, it's a good way to do it. And a lot of that is serious whiskey made by mostly serious people. 14:47 That you know, we're we take our business very seriously. We take the quality we put in the bottle very, very seriously. We take it very seriously that that hopefully people enjoy what we do, but we sure as hell don't take ourselves too seriously. Well, that's good. I mean, 15:00 is really what this is all about, you know, the idea of when we started this podcast to was to was to really bring the personalities behind the brands. And and that's something that you all have been doing for a long time, because you've got, you know, of course, you've got dedicated Facebook groups that are all about smooth Ambler. And you come on there and you'll talk Exactly. I mean, you make you have fun with the community, right? The community that's built around it. And you're also very transparent in what you do. Whether that's somebody that says something on one other form, you know, I know I've seen john in there, and we'll go and correct them or anything like that and be like, no, this is exactly what's happening. Right. And so what you're doing is, is providing a good value to the customer base. And not only that is we think of a customer base, we think of like what the Facebook groups really are. And that's like, it's like the one percenters of bourbon. Right? Let's be real. Yeah, right. Then we sure sure it's an important 1% but you're right. There's for everybody that knows me and john and you and, and and knows every little thing about 16:00 Whatever we put the bottle there's a bunch of people that don't know any of that stuff. And it's just a delicious whiskey that they like. 16:07 So let's let's kind of talk about the whiskey and the brand and kind of what's been happening in the past like two years. Because we've had a few different releases, there was some drainage of the MTP stock. So kind of talk about really like, where, what the timeline of what's been happening here in the past few years. We've been making whiskey for a long time, and we started sourcing old scout in 2011. And, you know, we never dreamed that the amount of whiskey that we own was something that we could actually sell. I'm going to be quite honest with you. When we first started sourcing whiskey it was, I was, I think the most we ever had at one time was about 3800 barrels. And I never imagined that we could sell 3800 barrels. Turns out, it was easier than we thought. 16:53 It happened quicker than we ever imagined. Do You Do you remember the cost that you paid for for those NG 17:00 barrels when you first started. Yeah, they were I mean, I think we had barrels as low as maybe, you know, $650 as high as we can haul money for them but even back then they were 950 bucks is probably a $900 average or something I think. I think I'll work that out one time for Fred minute on story. thing was about 900 bucks was the average and higher prices than that to the crazy crazy ridiculously low prices, given what the prices of barrels go for now, and that's a that's another subject I once had an offer to buy 10,000 barrels and turned them down. The most costly mistake that we ever made that I ever made, and all of us a lot of money. In hindsight, thank thankfully my business partners only laugh about it and don't feel bad. 17:48 pretty lucky about that. Yeah, I mean, that's what we we all kind of see like the MGP priceless nowadays. And yeah, you can't even get any h doc and the stuff that they do have. That's only just a couple of years. 18:00 result. It's outrageous. And so it's it's it's very very hard I think for a lot of people to look at sourcing today is like the main part of their business too. Yeah you know so you're right and it has crazy we're we feel fortunate that years so our business was climbing you know like this and we were buying like this right there was it was it was climbing exponentially and we were buying a much much smaller pace and and that that really came to hurt us right we can we feel the thought we had some deals throughout the years to acquire more barrels wants the market got got hotter and all those things kind of fell through. And so really what happened isn't about to that we were that's why we never really slow the pace that much. We kind of went from was like two steps. We went from wide open to Okay, maybe we'll slow it down a little bit too. We just cut it off. And the reality of it is that we never could just never found that that stop. So in about 2016 we pretty much stopped selling all of the old scout that was old scout 19:00 Everybody calls seven, but we never call it about that. We just call it old scout bourbon. And we had old scouts in. And then we had a old scout rye and pretty much all of them just stop. And then we transition to some whiskey that we had for a while, which is the old scout American was. And so the in terms of old Scout, we had a bunch of things right old Scott was never intended to do what it is done. I think when we first bought the barrels, we were we had bought the whiskey thinking that it was like antique shopping for whiskey. So we would go out and find some really cool barrels. Now very similar to kind of what what you guys have done with this thing. Are you going to find a barrel here in a barrel here, we were going to do it on a larger scale, but the idea was to about 40 years, 50 years at there and 100 a year and that's kind of how we were going to go to market. And what happened is that it just it was really well received. And so we were trying to take advantage of a situation that we had fallen into amongst and and that's kind of what started the the part of the old scout. Now we're in a position that sort of 20:00 About that, that was in 2011 was when we first started doing the started selling old scout. And of course, we stopped selling and 16. So in about 14, we started buying whiskey at New make new make contracts, and we would buy it whenever we could afford it. And then over the years we've gotten some more steady purchases and then of course with the promoters transaction, we've entered into larger new make contracts as well as growing our own plan. So that's why old scout is being reintroduced, is because in 14 we bought we, we bought old scout products as we make so the products that we're buying are not spot purchase, we differentiate between a new made contract and product that's already on the market. So you either have new made deals, you have spot purchase, and those are not spot purchase. These are products that we bought under contract as new money. Okay, so it's the progress is happening, right? It's there. So where do you kind of see the 21:00 I guess the tipping point of when you're going to start bringing in some of your new make because I think that you had been doing that with big level and some other ones you were kind of introducing your own stuff, aren't you? Not in contradiction? I think that was as well. Yeah. So so all scout bourbon, the old scout bourbon that we had for several years and and unfortunately eventually ran out of we just ran out of stocks that's being relaunched and re released this fall at the same age at which we first bottled it and the same proof at which we first bottle it. So it's five and a half years old, 99 proof and that'll that'll return to the marketplace of this fall and that of yours that that's based on five years. That's based on what john was saying. Whiskey we purchased in in 2014. Right, I got you now. Yeah, the American whiskey that we've had for a while will eventually be will eventually go away. The old scout the high rise 22:01 We'll come back in a 99 proof. And we'll also have a little bit of a custom pick a barrel program, also, as we used to do in the past, with that whiskey that will return later in later in the fall or early winter, this year as well. So on the on the sourced end of things, the old scouts coming back on the homemade stuff, a big level will will continue as not highly allocated, but at least partially allocated. It's not as readily available as for example contradiction is and it's getting a little older, you know, as as well, but that will continue this year. So really, all three of the families, as we talked about them are all going to continue to roll into into 2020. The old Scott Bourbons back contradiction continues to grow and be a healthy part of our 23:00 brand and as well as the homemade stuff and the level plus gift shop stuff. Yeah, absolutely. I mean and you mentioned the ryan there because there's a lot of diehard rye folks out you know you know that you've you've got a you've got a big consumer base of these these Ramblers that that love to collect and love to the bodies and a lot of them have the those old rise that are on there so kind of talk about what the game plan is for that. So we come from first of all contradiction is the biggest focus of what we do. Like the fact that it is what we think it's a delicious whiskey is now at a proof that's in price that are easily accessible. So it used to be 100 proof in about $50 bottle. Now it's 92 proof and it's a $40 bottle. And we one of the reasons we like it is because it gives us the ability to scale up and we still have a small plant even compared to some of these whatever mid majors some of these new places right the riffs or rabbit holes of the world. 24:00 You know, we're, we're small compared to those guys. And so the contradiction gives us the ability to scale up. 24:07 We The first thing that we will bring back is in this will in a timeline sense. The first thing we'll bring back as, as john said, the old scout and the old scout custom barrel pick. And then in about a year from now, we will add to the contradiction family. We already have contradiction, bourbon will add contradiction right into the portfolio, which will be a blend of some Bry made and replaces Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia. And we're excited about that a lot of people I know have it tasted right out of Tennessee. So it is delicious. And of course another year of aging never hurts, right. So I think it's ready to go now. But we're going to wait a year so the old scout stuff gets good score sort of settled, and then we'll bring back old scout an old scout right in the future but in a limited way as well. And of course will bring out some of our own right but most people know that we that we only make we did very 25:00 But we've been making a ride based bourbon and we've been making rye whiskey for a number of years. And we'll we'll start to bring that out. It's still relatively young. It's still about four years old now. little less than four years old. And it's good, but I would rather I'm forced, I would rather wait wait for everything to be seven or eight years, all of it. Sometimes that's not financially feasible. No, absolutely. It's sometimes you just got to figure out like, how can we how can we squeeze this out just a little bit to buy us a little bit more time? You know? That's right. And we've had that we've had a market in the past it's been pretty extreme right bottles that are 65 to a couple hundred dollars. But the products that will be launching in the in the near future are much more about accessibility for us. So we really want to be in that kind of 40 to $60 range. Look, I know you you joked earlier about whether or not the deal made us drove miles or robberies and Porsches or, and the 26:00 reality of it is is no, we dropped out as your 2008 Nissan Maxima and I love it on the side of the road, I'll cry a tear and go get another one 26:12 before pickup drive, right? I mean, neither one of us came out in the promo deal, right? And, and so we still go to work every day, just like just like we always have. And in fact, we were motivated to do more than do more than we ever have. Yeah, I wouldn't want to touch on that little bit more here in a minute. But you also had talked about the American whiskey and maybe seeing that you say that's going to start sun setting as well. It is you know, 26:39 you know, as we always thought it was really good. And in fact as a bourbon group out there that's pretty well known and they did some blind taste on it was I think 13 other whiskeys and it came back to be in a blonde score it one hauling it straight bourbon. But it just doesn't. It's hard. It's a hard sell. Right? If people who doesn't say bourbon, it doesn't say straight 27:00 bourbon the store doesn't know where to put it, people aren't sure what it is or sure of the provenance format. And so it's just, it's a hard sale. So for that, for that reason alone, it's going to sunset. Yeah. And part of that reason be part of that challenge is 27:17 to be quite honest, if if the handful of people that had been doing American whiskey for eight or 10 years, whatever had been honest about what it was, and the groundwork had been laid for clarity, for American whiskey, I think it certainly wouldn't unseat bourbon or BB in the same zone, but I think it would be more well respected than it is. problem was, you know, you had you had a handful of brands that had a quote unquote, American whiskey, and you didn't know where it was from or what it was in the, you know, it was just sort of this mystery. You know, I remember in high school at the cafeteria was mystery meat like it was just whiskey like mystery whiskey or is it front row. 28:00 We can't tell you what what's the magic but what we can't tell you that, you know, you gotta waterboard the rep to find out whether it's even she'll filter not the work was sort of laid out that it was a redheaded stepchild from its inception. And we tried to be the opposite of that with our American whiskey. We tried to tell everybody as much as we could about where it was from and the way that we treated and all that kind of stuff. And sadly because it is still in a barrel getting older you know, the best probably the best bottle will ever sell will be the last ball 28:31 Well, I mean, I guess there's there's two sides of this right? I think you you kind of I'm sure it was a tough call to sit there and say like yeah, like we can't we can't fight this uphill battle much longer. Right? Because you are right it with with how hot bourbon is. It's hard to come in and try to bring in a new category. And think Yeah, like, let's try to try to play this and try to capitalize on this because yeah, I mean, it's it's tough when people don't see that that. Just that that seven letter word 29:00 Right there burger, right. And, and so when I when I think about this, 29:07 you know, if, you know you'd also mentioned 29:12 they'll have the last bottle or whatever. It also kind of gives you an opportunity here to say, well, let's just quit selling it will sit on these barrels for I don't know how much you know how longer and maybe the time will come around and then we can capitalize on it because once you get something that's a 10 1418 year old product, who knows from there, it might be something that people are going to go ape shit over at some point. It's the you're right and that's the sad part about first of all that's the sad part about selling any barrel that young Yeah, you really wanted to say a look out what about this five year old barrel taste like when it's 14 years old. But it for even for our size business or especially for our size business. That's a big gamble. 30:00 Right so we basically elected to what a little bit we have left to move all from and, in essence swap that for a high bourbon product in terms of in our, in our source category, right? We're going to we're going to say that and that we know what high ride did us and we're going to use this money let's use it to know what we know what basically was the the thing that got us here, which is the high Rialto and and you know when that person comes out this fall, you we all know somebody is going to taste it and they're going to say yeah, you know, I like it but I don't like it as much as that 14 year old cast drink single bear. Well, no shit. 30:39 Yeah, yeah, it's it's taste different than something that's nine years older. Yeah, yeah, we got it. I think. You know, I think that was part of the things that maybe you were alluding to Robin when people were talking about old scouts select. 30:53 Being you know, not being as good as a 13 year old scout select is not being as good as 13 year old MG 31:00 P. Well, yeah, that's right, right, there's a reason that one is $175 at the gift shop 160 $5 all over the all over the country, right? It's worth about 35% as much as the FTP juice, and there's some skin, that's kind of a joke. There's some scarcity to it as well. But we also we jumped in with that the Tennessee stuff that we have is, you know, is really a pretty for the most part. So one time release, it was a spot purchase, he thought it was really good use. And so we brought that out this 31:30 you know, over the spring and summer as well. I think there's, you know, we've been, you guys know what we've been doing too. So we know that going in and doing a Tennessee product was also going to be fighting a little bit of an uphill battle. But we also think there is the opportunity to help change the minds that are out there. You know, for the longest time people just in building their own people thought Kentucky was God, and then all of a sudden now you've got these MGD groups and now people think MGP is God. And so it's I think there's just going to be a circle and at some point 32:00 People are going to realize like, Oh, crap, there was all this high age, Tennessee stuff that was available. That was really good, too. And so we're going to see this where I mean, and I'm sure that you all are kind of seeing it too is that if you have a demand and you have a market demand for something that is 910 1415 years old, it's not available unless it's coming from a different state. Right? None of that stuff is available anymore. And so if you're looking for something that has that openness, that richness and complexity, some of that buttery tastes like, yeah, like, that's all you're only going to find it in one place now. That's right. That's right. You know, did it bother you when I came out? And people said, Well, you know, we just don't drink Tennessee decided that, that upsetting the dog you pick a really, really good barrel and then people say, Oh, it's just whatever because it's from Tennessee. Of course. I mean, I think like I said, there's the people have this. They have they have a blind think have blind thought about it. Most of them said 33:00 Most of them just haven't tried it. They just don't really know what a killer single barrel could be, especially at cash drink because a lot of the Tennessee stuff that is source there, it's on the market. It's not cash drink. It's not a single barrel and you don't really have that. Really that that background to sit there and say like, Oh, yeah, like now not going to do it. There's too much Flintstones vitamins everywhere. But you know, one of the things that john and I laugh about quite a bit, or at least, chuckle about and find a little bit funny, which is the first time we sent old scout raw out for a really good review. It was crushed. Seven years old 99 prove MGP ry. We stand alongside the 99 proof bourbon and the old scouts in and they were all sort of the two Bourbons were kind of mediocre and the ride was crushed. And I can tell you that if I had a chance to buy 10,000 barrels of old scout rye, I wouldn't leave this conversation right now. And 34:00 Don't 34:01 know for the money because that's how much you 40,000 I don't find to the money for it's just it was in such high demand. And so I think you have to remember that negative review are burdens that burden folks who are as you know, we we call them the whiskey nerds and that's a badge of honor. That's not anything that's that's a sort of, we're trying to diminish them. But they are they are emotionally involved in the brands and they get serious about their whiskey and they have very strong opinions and thankfully they're here because that's what grew our business but you know, there's a whole world out there there's the boat are right at seven years old and would still buy it if we had seven year olds. You know, I'm not I'm not a student of this I'm probably going to get the timeline completely fucked up. But it reminds me a little bit of, you know, the the MTP and now Tennessee and then little guys like us all over the US. 35:00 Where the cream is going to rise to the top with you and not just on bourbon but on some of the the American single malt. So been 50 years ago, good wine only came from a couple of places and it wasn't California. And it wasn't Chile, and it wasn't Central Virginia. Now, go Go tell somebody in California, California can't use good wine. Right? But in the 70s somebody in France would have told you you're out of your mind to think that any quality wine will ever come out of California. So I you know, maybe that'll happen with them. Maybe that'll happen with these Bourbons and rise and the single malts and, and as that cream rises to the top, you know, nothing against nothing against Kentucky. We love Kentucky we wouldn't do we do without an affinity for what they've done with that spirit. But I think the tide will eventually turn when people more people will accept it. You can have a kick ass ride from Maine and you can have an amazing vodka from Pennsylvania. You 36:00 La. I hope that happens. I will say this I think the difference is right is that within your scenario that looking for better to craft beer when craft beer came out the beer guys weren't making necessarily great beer in the craft beer guys were the Kentucky distilleries aren't making bad whiskey. They're making great whiskey. And so the craft distillers have work to do. And as our as this industry as a craft distilling industry evolves and becomes more mature, whiskey is going to get better. I know the whiskey we make today is better than the whiskey we made four years or six years ago, eight years ago. If you're not getting better today than you were six months ago, you should stop doing what you do and go do something else. And that's that's where we feel right. So some big level, a big level has a love it or hate it relationship. 36:49 And we wouldn't put it out if we weren't proud of it. But I can tell you this the big level we made four years ago, and two years ago, and six months ago, continued to get better and it got 37:00 by a long shot because we got better, we also run a different still right? But we got better, we got better at everything we do selecting grains and fermentation, distillation, distillation, style, aging, longer aging, whatever that is. So that's our goal is Johnson really early on our goal is to be really, really serious about what we've done and we've taken every step we've been obsessive about our productions of getting better. That's what that's what hurts your feelings a little bit when somebody tries something and they're just like, yeah, it's a drain pour. You know, I couldn't even drink it with a could even drink with Coke, you know, whatever. Like, I get it. I mean, and just because we like it doesn't mean anybody else has to. I completely understand that. But it's, it's as though you didn't think we tasted that whiskey 100 times before we put it in a bottle. It we just went out and blindly just chose some barrels and didn't pay any attention to how they tasted and put them I mean, not at all. Like we panel everything and no 38:00 anybody's gonna like it. That's okay. But, you know, trust me, if you don't like it, that's okay. But that because we didn't like it, because we don't bottle anything. We know what I mean. So I guess you kind of talked about that because big level was sort of that like hit or miss with a lot of the community. Right. And I know john, you mentioned that it's even kind of getting on location in some states and stuff like that. So do you see big level as kind of always evolving or transforming with releases as it comes out? 38:33 From forest to still, Bull Run distillery whiskeys are using some of the best water in the US. They're also experimenting by agent them in different types of barrels, including cognac, Madeira, and Urbino nor barrels to their whiskeys are being featured by rackhouse whiskey club in their October box, made from 96% corn bull runs American whiskey is the lightest and sweetest product they offer and has very little barrel character to it. A company that in the rock house was 39:00 Club box is a penal new or finished whiskey. It's the same American whiskey but finished in French oak barrels, you really have to try these two side by side to see what barrel aging can do. And you can do that by checking out rock house whiskey club, their whiskey the Month Club on a mission to uncover the best flavors and stories that craft distilleries across the US have to offer rock house boxes ship out every two months to 40 states. Go to rock house whiskey club. com to check it out and try these unique whiskies. Use code pursuit for $25 off your first box. 39:33 What defines distillery 291 Colorado whiskey is it spirit passion permeates every city since day one distillery 291 distillers from grain to barrel to bottle by hand, distinctive Colorado whiskey, utilizing grains from the Colorado plains and water collected from Pikes Peak reservoirs 291. Colorado whiskey is handmade the Colorado way everything matters 291 Colorado whiskey has earned both 40:00 of national and international awards for its spirits with the unique character in the flavor of a bygone era. Named world's best Bry in 2018 by World whiskey awards, seven liquid gold from Jim Murray's whiskey Bible, 291. Colorado whiskey embodies the traditions of the past, married with the boldness of the future, find a bottle near you at 291 Colorado whiskey.com write it like you stole it, drink it like you own it. Live fast and drink responsibly. 40:31 So do you see big level as kind of 40:34 always evolving or transforming with releases as it comes out? Absolutely. Well, maybe not always evolving, but over the short period. I think in a couple of years, it'll reach its you know, where, where it wants to live in age and discipline and everything else. So I wouldn't say it always has got involved. But yeah, I mean, if the first big level you ever had was batch three, and now we're on batch 50 41:01 Give it a shot you I think you'd be really surprised at the change. And you know, it's it's not that we have this 41:09 badge of honor that it's improved now over maybe the first couple of batches. That's just a natural progression of our business as john said, you can't do something over and over and over again without getting getting better at it and, and I'm not ashamed the batch one big level, no matter how much anybody may or may not have liked it. We tasted it. We're in love with it. We made it with our bare hands. And I'm not ashamed of it, just because a later batch is better. 41:37 Absolutely. And so there was something that you still talked about a little talking about craft. I mean, do you really guys still consider yourself a craft distiller? I mean, because you guys are pretty big now. Yes, of course. I'm not sure. I'm not sure what the definition of craft is. 41:54 Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if there's like a minimum or volume or anything anymore. Yeah. 42:01 I think my first of all make it a habit to never talk poorly about anybody but 42:05 this is not talking poorly but I usually don't talk about other brands with me as Buffalo Trace craft is four roses craft, yeah, who's making better product and some of these other brands right. So I think that they're really good at their craft right. 42:21 There a lot of brands like that. But if you look at the way that we used to think of craft distilling as being some small plant think all of the whiskey that we have on the market right now is definitely sorry, all the whiskey that we made is on the market right now is definitely craft was right. It's whiskey that was made, you know, loading bags of grain, 50 pound bags of grain and us still and turn it vows by hand and, you know, the sort of more hands on really handmade product, right? There's this definition of like, what is handmade, these were really made really handmade, we still do a lot of hands on stuff, but it was a lot of labor and a lot of love. And you know, if it didn't work, john and i don't just go get other jobs. 43:00 We move, you know, there's not a lot in West Virginia. So we're putting a lot of risk. That seems very seems much like a craft to me. We have certainly evolved. I don't even know what our term is. Now. We're not even a mid major, maybe we're, I like to say that we're a large craft distillery. So that's kind of the way I think about it. So it's a hard term that we don't really use it anymore. It's also been talking here, we don't use it any sort of publication. I don't think we use on our website and yeah, I mean, nobody knows what it means. And as you know, there's so much BS in the market with market fluff right now, which is, which was the whole other problem that we have, right. We don't have a more our marketing story as we don't have a marketing story. 43:41 Yeah, um, yeah, we, I usually refer to us as a small producer, which I mean, you have to we don't use the word craft a whole lot of craft distillery a lot. And that's the distinction right, there's a quote unquote craft distillery and then there is the craft of making great whiskey and 44:00 Buffalo Trace and heaven Hill are good at the craft of making really great whiskey we think we are too. But sometimes you have to say craft distiller because other people expect you to, or you're introduced as, Oh, Johnny foster from craft distillery, but I really think of us as it's just a small, small small producers by the way. Yeah. So there's a you also mentioned West Virginia I think we kind of talked about at the top of here that you know, that's where you all are based kind of talk about what you know, over the past few years, kind of what smooth and was done for the area done for the community and stuff like that, too. 44:35 is interesting. We, I missed a meeting at the CDB today. I double booked myself for a 10am the convention Visitors Bureau year and one of the one of the things I was going to talk about, so I wrote some notes on that, or vows. It's interesting that you vows doing that for us Valley runs our tasting tasting room. Yeah, well, I think, Well, I know we're is proud of the impact that we've made in our small community. 45:00 As we are of the whiskey that we put out and at the end of the day, in any business you want to do, you'd like to make someone's life better. And whether that's with your podcast with whiskey that you guys go out and source or, or what we do the the goal that you're making you're improving someone else's life is something that you should always take with great pride and honor. And so we know we started with three employees, john and i and and one other person and we now have 23 employees, and those they pay we pay them way more than anything in the geographic norm. They get free vision and dental and that's how they subsidize medical care and they start with three weeks of paid vacation. And it doesn't seem like maybe doesn't seem like the world but we feel like we're doing a really good job. Our employees love what they do here. We treat them well. We just took a group of salespeople. They come in remember visiting here we took them whitewater 46:00 rafting and got sporting clays. And so we bring some of our employees to go along with those. Those things, I think we have something that's pretty magical. When when promote comes over, we bring the sales people in here and we're getting hotel rooms or we're spending money at bars and restaurants or say going to shoot sporting clays or spending money at the rafting companies that in essence, which is some agritourism 46:23 and the visitors right, so we have Graham Larry, and so there's gonna be 175 people from out of town, they're going to come in here and stay to room nights. And that's a big impact in a town of 35 people that they're going to this will be 350 room nights over two days spent here. And and that's a big impact for us, or for our community. And so those things where it's really super brought up and, and somebody Anna yesterday, so may that. Thank you for making me. Thank you for having some for having something for us to be proud of. And I said what are you talking about? And she says, You know when I go somewhere 47:00 I tell people that oh we have the distillery smooth Ambler in our backyard they go oh, we love some of them. And so they feel proud that they're from this little bitty town in rural West Virginia and they have something that is export across the world and is a really good product and that people can be proud of and that doesn't motivate you to be better every day. 47:19 We've also you know, when opportunities arise, to try and raise money for good causes. We've done that I mean, we had a terrible flood here in West Virginia as you may remember, a three years ago and we pulled out all the stops to raise some money for that. We had a live bottle auction in Kentucky. I think it's one of the one of the only places you do that legally anyway. In in Northern Kentucky, couple of years ago raised a bunch of money that we would 20 grand that we that we gave to an organization called Team Rubicon that deploys experienced first responders. 47:59 Usually 48:00 former military personnel in disaster situations, 48:04 the smooth Ramblers got together and raise some money for Val so that she could start a local dog rescue business which is her, which is her passion. 48:16 We helped out a friend of ours who used to sell used to be one of our reps with a different distributor and we moved away from from that with the porno thing. But you know, her brother was was having some medical issues and we saw an opportunity to try and, and and use some of our leverage helpers like we really believe in in giving back and doing everything that we can to help our community far and wide. Sometimes that community is here in West Virginia and sometimes that community is anywhere we could affect some change in and help people out if we are also in the middle of rural West Virginia and there's not a lot of diversity here. So we're proud of the fact that there are four or five members of our 23 person crew here that are in same sex relations. 49:00 Right, you want to be welcoming to everyone. And we we've been really bad about not talking about those things, the money we raised for flood relief twice the other community things that we've done that patients, we make charities in West Virginia, we've been we've been we've done a really bad job of doing that because we felt like we were pandering to people and we never want to feel like we're doing it just for the business. We do it because it's the right thing to do. That's a good way to put it. It's good to see that you all are advocating a lot of diversity because I think that's something that this industry is really lacking and and there's a lot of push forward as well. So it's great to see you all being on the front lines of that too. But there was one thing that you all talked about that I kind of want to do with you all and I'm going to go whitewater rafting with the John's maybe that'll be fun. Come on there we we love that. We do it again in two weeks. We got we got a crew from Texas coming in. I'm not kidding. Yeah, that we have people when people come here they go oh, this is they're amazing. I've been on 35 of these or I've been on the street 50:00 trips for 35 years is the best we do. And I tell them, this is what we do for for us, I want to tell them that we're treating them special, but the reality is we're not we just treat them like we would treat our friends, if we have the money personally to go do those. 50:15 That's kind of what we do, you know, that talking. 50:19 That's not talking about any other specific brand. But I one of the reps told us when they were here, like, you know, we get on the trips, and sometimes it's overseas, and sometimes it's here, whatever. And he, he was just, he's like, I really appreciate the time that you and john spent with us, because normally we go and we get if there's a founder some of those big brands, you know, the founders have been dead for a long, long time. But if they're around, you know, he was like, they might come down from their mansion in their body for a little while and like, hang out with you at a dinner and then leave. He's like you and john are like driving us around and cooking burgers and like, you know, we don't we never experienced that before. We just 51:00 treat everybody like like family here because it will say this for real reason, but I like shooting sporting clays. I like going whitewater rafting. Yeah. 51:10 It's not laying bricks. Yeah, we're not digging ditches. Yeah. And let's consider how lucky we are. But it's also not a it's also not just a marketing ploy, but it's who it's who we are. It's out it's how we roll so it comes very naturally and again, at the at the end of the day, it's like well what what can we do that that maybe somebody else can't or won't do and you know, we can buy we can buy 10 million smooth Ambler cocktail shakers and we can carpet bomb all of our significant markets with those but that's something that's really easy for somebody else to do and very common for somebody else to do we we just try and always when we can put up a personal touch on Yeah, just have a good party at the Johnson hopefully get a good TripAdvisor review after it. Well, and then yeah, so listen, we drive your ass around five stars, five stars. 52:01 You know, that says your Uber rating john Tesh? 52:04 But you know, that's what that's what the the whiskey wagon is all about. I mean that that the whole impetus for the whole idea is, let's take, you know, the way we would treat somebody in my backyard or over John's house or here at the distillery on the road, and that is Turn up the music and lay out some whiskey and put out the corbel. I mean, that's, that's not just a marketing affectations. Hey, we think this is a good idea to sell some whiskey. I mean, I should hope it sells some whiskey because that's what my job is. But it's also who we are. And that's what we do. Yeah, talk about that for a second too, because I remember seeing pictures of the whiskey wagon, but for our listeners who may not have heard of it, go ahead and kind of explain what it is. So it's a it's a mobile tasting room, in essence. You know, we saw a lot of those wagons, people pulled around these air streams and they were more like food trucks right. So bartender sits inside customers outside. 53:00 You serve to the customer and they leave. The whiskey wagon is a is a box trailer a big box trailer that it's got a stage trailer and the doors, the sides of the trailer open up become floors. It comes pretty big when you open it up. It's about 31 feet long by 16 feet once open and it has a guardrail around it and so the idea is that people come up into the vessel and hang out so it's just like well it says much like our tasting room is that box trailer can be so that's red walls which are in our trailer or in our tasting room rather it's real cabinetry real bar, you know saying that people can work in two coolers so we can keep stuff for cocktails or bottles of water in their speakers air conditioning. It's It's It's amazing and the reception has been amazing. We're we're doing crazy numbers we go to these festivals these beer bourbon barbecue festivals and showcase their we're going to want to knock it gets all the way to Knoxville right now john leaves here in one hour. 54:00 goes to Knoxville this weekend, and will have 1200 to 1800 people visited during a six hour span. It's absolutely getting crushed and we we love that, you know that start down fo one of the first of all Kentucky makes a lot of great whiskey as I alluded to earlier. But it also has a really good location, other places that people come to kind of in the middle of nowhere. So if you're here you've made you've made a real effort to get here. If you can't come to us, we're going to come to you and that's what the whiskey wagons purposes it's basically like a you see the one of the some of the Transformers movies. Yeah, like a transformer. If they were like a redneck transformer that like Hank Williams Jr. and whiskey a lot. That's what this thing is. 54:44 That sounds pretty awesome. I'm on board with that. 54:48 So we're going to kind of start wrapping it up real quick. But I you know, we talked about the porno deal a little bit and I'm sure not sure you get into specifics, but kind of talk about really, what more the benefits that 55:00 It really drive for you all. Is there kind of like a sense of relief a little bit that, you know, it's not completely just bootstrapped on you anymore, like kind of talk about what that means to you? Well, certainly from a financial standpoint, there's a sense of relief, right, as though as I talked about earlier, this didn't work, john and i move. Well, now we have a little bit more financial security. Certainly the business does, right has more financial security. They have been really wonderful to us. But that doesn't mean it's been it's always been right. It's always been wonderful, smooth sailing. It's, it's just integrating a small business into a corporate situation is not always easy. But as a friend told me, a friend who'd been in the business a very long time a former master distiller, they were as much like a family business as a corporation can be, and I believe that to be true. The things that they help us with are endless. You're talking about the ability to access everyone from audio 56:00 Ours distillers, to folks at Hiram Walker about production details, everything from grain receipts to bottling they know about it, they've been through it, they, they and we actually send samples here three times a week to them and they test them on some other equipment that we don't have, which is a really wonderful thing to have from a production standpoint. So we're better by a long shot than the way we used to be because of that. And because we now have a an operations manager, because we can afford to have those things. We're better at our legal stuff by long shot because they have a legal team and by human resources and helping us to put together these wonderful manuals and diversity policies and and help us to not just to put them together but to live them even better. So the whole deal for us has been absolutely wonderful. From the sales side, they have a really large distribution footprint and they have a ton of help and there are jobs job is is to find out how a small business is an 57:00 Actually a strategically significant to their district distribution partners or, or to them as well. And so that's what that's what our task is or our job is to find our place and then to grow that become more important in their system. And that that that's the challenge but that's not unique to pronounce that when I say there's not something it's not unique because there's an Oprah knows wonderful, that's the that's the the issue that any small business faces when they try to go when they try to grow and they try to get bigger and and the bigger is not just about money for us the bigger again is about opportunity. We want to share the whiskey with more people we want our employees to have better lives and we want them to go vacation more often and have nice cars and whatever that is that makes people happy in the world. And so all of that comes with with the deal and you first started I know you didn't mean it but when you say we got bought out 57:49 and it is I guess that's one of the terms but we like to think of it as a buy in. Right they own the majority of the business but they don't own all of it and and we are partners with them. Stay 58:00 So that's kind of the way we think of our business. It's sort of you know, whenever those acquisitions take place, particularly in the in the craft beer world, I mean, those guys are and their sir fear when their favorite brewery gets bought out by AB or one of these bigger companies. But the but even I think in the whiskey world, the for people like us the temptation is to think, Oh, well, you know, so now they're going to start, they're going to fit me in job with mind control chips, and you probably, I probably need one or start forcing stuff down our throat and you know, you're going to do this, you're going to do that. And I can tell you, I'm sure john agrees with me from a production standpoint, and certainly from the sales and marketing standpoint. 58:45 It's been like the opposite of the movie Field of Dreams instead of building and they will come. They had been very much like we come to them with a good idea and they'll help us build it. And I don't know what else you can ask for from a corporate partner beyond that. 59:00 Absolutely, and I guess, john or Foster, should I say, I gotta, I gotta make sure I'd say this right? Because you'll probably be like, Huh, what, who's this directed to? But so Foster, you know, little said something about, like how they helped you with distribution? I mean, that was kind of like been that was kind of like your deal for a while, right? I mean, how how was that like kind of really benefited you? Well, I mean, their network is vast and varied. And so it's a little bit of a challenge to because the relationships that they have inside of their distributors can work a couple of different ways. And that that's a has been a difficult navigation, just understanding it and understanding what's important to each sort of layer in that relationship. And sometimes you have teams that are completely dedicated to promote products. Sometimes you have teams that are full book, sometimes you have both sometimes you have combinations of both and 1:00:00 Think as john said that, that layer and understanding how to drill deep into those things. And as john says, and we've said for years to figure out how to become strategically or financially important to to those reps, 1:00:17 everybody's got that problem. That's not a, I'm not taking on PR No, when I say that, that's been a bit of a challenge. But everybody's everybody's got that issue. Because your average street rep at at a at a distributor, or your average manager or your average manager, even inside of PR know, they have some big brands that they're really responsible for making sure continue to be healthy. And so the challenge for all of the small producers like us is how to live in that world and navigate those waters in a way that produce results. And that when we say strategic or financial, the two ways that that can happen is you use a small, esoteric brand to leverage this kind of get in the door. 1:01:00 Get in front of a buyer or get in front of a buying group that you might otherwise, you know, have trouble getting into with one of the commodity items. Or the other thing is to really start to see some critical mass and sales. I mean, man, I can tell you as somebody who was in sales for a long, long time 100% commission when your brand starts to show up on somebody's commission report, they start to pay attention 1:01:24 and and that's the most powerful thing we can try the real us fantastic so let's go ahead and we'll kind of wrap this up because there's always one thing that if you'd listened back on episode 79 I know I had asked it when we talked to john little but kind of for our newer listeners tell them where the name smooth sampler comes from. A smooth Ambler is a enabled as a game. A horse is typically born with a gate on a gimbal and it is between a walk in a run. And that spoke to us about the area in which we live. 1:02:00 It's people think we're a bunch of maybe a lot of people think maybe we're a bunch of, you know, a bunch of country folks. 1:02:07 And we're certainly not New York City. We know that right? But we, we live in this really wonderful place in West Virginia, this really wonderful community Greenbrier County and Lewisburg, West Virginia. And it's just got a really nice pace of life. It's an anvil. And we like to think that that's the same way we run our business in the same way that our whiskey tasting. So that's where that's where some of them are came from. There we go. Well, john, thank you once again, for coming back on the show. It was good to kind of get this this catch up of what's been going on with you because there's been a lot of changes to really kind of follow along and get those updates and help maybe in a year. We'll do it again. Man, thanks for having us. We really appreciate it. Are you gonna you gonna be at the hometown rising and bourbon and beyond? I guess, or no, I will be there bourbon beyond Sure. We'll get we'll see you there. Thanks. Thanks for what you do. You got it and also want to give a opportunity to plug if people want to come visit you. I mean, of course, you probably pull it up on 1:03:00 Google Maps but kind of give a shout out to how they can learn mo

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James: Hey listeners, this is James Kandasamy. Welcome to Achieve Wealth Podcast. Achieve Wealth Podcast focuses on value at real estate investing across different commercial asset class and we focus on interviewing a lot of operators so that you know, I can learn and you can learn as well. So today I have Omar Khan who has been on many podcasts but I would like to go into a lot more details into is underwriting and market analysis that he has. So Omar is a CFA, has more than 10 years investing across real estate and commodities. He has experience in the MNA transaction worth 3.7 billion, Syndicated Lodge a multi-million deal across the U.S. and he recently closed a hundred thirty plus something units in Jacksonville, Florida. Hey Omar, welcome to the show.  Omar: Hey, thank you James. I'm just trying to work hard to get to your level man. One of these days.  James: That's good. That's a compliment. Thank you Omar. So why not you tell our audience anything that I would have missed out about you and your credibility. Omar: I think you did a good job. If I open my mouth my credibility might go down.  James: Yes, that's good. That's good. So let's go a bit more details. So you live in Dallas, right? I think you're, I mean if I've listened to you on other podcasts and we have talked before the show you came from Canada to Dallas and you bought I think you have been looking for deals for some time right now. And you recently bought in Jacksonville. Can you tell about the whole flow in a quick summary?  Omar: Oh, yes. Well the quick summary is man that you know, when you're competing against people who's operating strategy is a hope and a prayer, you have to look [inaudible01:54] Right?  James: Absolutely.  Omar: I mean, and hey just to give you a full disclosure yesterday there was actually a smaller deal in Dallas. It's about a hundred and twenty something units. And I mean we were coming in at 10-point some million dollars. And just to get into best and final people were paying a million dollars more than that, and I'm not talking just a million dollars more than I was trying to be cheap. The point was, at a million dollar more than that there is freaking no way you could hit your numbers, like mid teens that are already 10% cash-on-cash. Like literally, they would have to find a gold mine right underneath their apartment. So my point is it's kind of hard man. But what are you going to do about it? Right?  James: Yes. Yes. Omar: Just have to keep looking. You have to keep finding. You have to keep being respectful of Brokers' times. Get back to them. You just keep doing the stuff. I mean you would do it every day pretty much.  James: Yes. Yes. I just think that there's so much capital flow out there. They are a lot of people who expect less, lower less return. Like you say you are expecting mid teen IRR, there could be someone there out there expecting 10 percent IRR and they could be the one who's paying that $1,000,000. Right? And maybe the underwriting is completely wrong, right? Compared to-- I wouldn't say underwriting is wrong. I mean, I think a lot of people-- Omar: Well you can say that James you don't have to be a nice person. You can say it.  James: I'm just saying that everybody thinks, I mean they absolutely they could be underwriting wrong, too or they may be going over aggressively on the rent growth assumption or property tax growth assumption compared to what you have. At the same time they could have a much lower expectation on-- Omar: Yes. I mean let's hope that's the case because if they have a higher expectation man, they're going to crash and burn. James: Absolutely. Omar: I hope, I really hope they have a low expectation.  James: Yes. Yes. I did look at a chart recently from Marcus and Millichap the for Texas City where they show us how that's like a San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Houston and if you look at Dallas, you know, the amount of acceleration in terms of growth is huge, right? And then suddenly it's coming down. I mean all markets are coming down slightly right now, but I'm just hopefully, you know, you can see that growth to continue in all this strong market. Omar: No, no, don't get me wrong, when I said somebody paid more than 1 million just to get into best and final, that has no merits on, that is not a comment on the state of the Dallas Market. I personally feel Dallas is a fantastic Market. Texas overall, all the big four cities that you mentioned are fantastic but my point is there is nothing, no asset in the world that is so great that you can pay an infinite price for it. And there's nothing so bad in the world that if it wasn't for a cheap enough price, you wouldn't want to buy it. James: Correct, correct.  Omar: I mean that that's what I meant. I didn't mean it was a comment on the state of the market.  James: Got it. Got it. So let's come to your search outside of the Texas market, right? So how did you choose, how did you go to Jacksonville?  Omar: Well, number one the deal is I didn't want to go to a smaller city. I'm not one of those guys, you know in search of [inaudible05:11] I find everybody every time somebody tells me I'm looking for a higher cap rate, I was like, why do you like to get shot every time you go to the apartment building? You want to go to the ghetto? Do you want somebody to stab you in the stomach? Is that because that's-- James: That's a lot of deals with a higher cap rate. Omar: Yes. There's a lot because I was like man, I can find you a lot of deals with really high cap rates.  James: Yes. Omar: But you might get stabbed. Right?  James: And they are set class 2 which has higher cap rate.  Omar: Oh, yes, yes, yes.  James: So I think people just do not know what a cap rate means or how-- Omar: Yes and people you know, all these gurus tell you today, I mean let's not even get into that right. So specifically for us like I wanted to stand at least a secondary, tertiary market [inaudible 05:48] I mean like, any City over at least eight, nine hundred thousand at least a million, somewhere in that range, right?  James: Okay. Omar: And specifically look, after Texas it was really Florida. Because look, you could do the whole Atlanta thing. I personally, I love Atlanta but it's a toss-up between Atlanta and say either of the three metros in Florida or Jackson. Lords in Central Florida, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando. You know based on my [inaudible06:11] experience I was doing this stuff portfolio management anyways, I kind of ran smaller factor model for all the cities where I took in different sort of factors about 30 different factors. And then you know, you kind of just have to do all the site tours and property visits to make all those relationships. And what I see across the board was, I mean Tampa has a great Market, but for the same quality product for the same demographic of tenant, for the same say rent level, Tampa was 20 to 25% more expensive on a per pound basis.  James: Okay. Omar: Let's say a Jacksonville, right? Orlando is kind of in the middle where the good deals were really expensive or rather the good areas were a bit too dear for us and the bad areas were nicely priced and everybody then tells you, "Oh it's Florida." right? James: No, no. Omar: But what they don't tell you is there's good and bad parts of Florida-- James: There's submarket. Yes Yes. Omar: Right? So you got to go submarket by submarket. And then lastly what we were basically seeing in Jacksonville was, it was very much a market which like for instance in Atlanta and seeing parts of say Orlando and Tampa, you can have to go block by block street by street. But if you're on the wrong side of the street, man you are screwed, pretty much. James: Absolutely. Omar: But Jacksonville to a certain degree, obviously not always, was very similar to Dallas in the sense that there is good areas and then there's a gradual shift into a not as a [inaudible07:29] Right? So basically what you kind of had to do was name the submarket properly and if you had a higher chance of success than for instance [inaudible07:38] right down to the street corner, right? And then like I said the deals we were seeing, the numbers just made more sense in Jacksonville for the same level of demographic, for the same type of tenant, for the same income level, for the same vintage, for the same type of construction. So Jacksonville, you know, we started making relationships in all the markets but Jacksonville is where we got the best bang for our buck and that's how we moved in.  James: Okay. So I just want to give some education to the listener. So as what Omar and I were talking about, not the whole city that you are listening to is hot, right. So, for example, you have to really look at the human capital growth in certain parts of the city, right? So for example in Dallas, not everywhere Dallas is the best area to invest. You may have got a deal in Dallas but are you buying in it in a place where there's a lot of growth happening? Right? Like for example, North Dallas is a lot of growth, right? Compared to South Dallas, right? In Atlanta that's I-20 that runs in between Atlanta and there's a difference between, you cross the I-20 is much, you know a lot of price per pound or price per door. It's like a hundred over door and below Atlanta is slightly lower, right? So it's growing, but it may grow it may not grow. I mean right now the market is hot, everything grows. So you can buy anywhere and make money and you can claim that, hey I'm making money, but as I say market is-- Omar: [inaudible09:03] repeatable [inaudible09:04] By the way I look at it, is hey is this strategy repeatable? Can I just rinse and repeat this over and over and over? James: Correct. Correct. I mean it depends on sponsor's cases. While some sponsors will buy because price per dollar is cheap, right? But do they look at the back end of it when the market turns, right? Some sponsors will be very very scared to buy that kind of deal because we always think about, what happens when the market turns, right? So. Omar: Yes, James and the other thing that I've seen is that, look, obviously, we're not buying the most highest quality product. James: Correct. Omar: But what I've seen is a lot of times when people focus on price per unit, say I will go for the cheapest price per unit. Well, there's a reason why it's cheap because you know, there's a reason why Suzuki is cheaper than a Mercedes. Now, I'm not saying you have to go buy a Mercedes because sometimes you only need to buy a Suzuki. Right? I mean that's the way it is, but you got to have to be cognizant that just because something is cheap doesn't mean it's more valuable and just because something is more expensive doesn't mean it's less than.  James: Correct. Correct. Correct. And price per door is one I think one of the most flawed metrics that people are talking about. Price per door and also how many doors do people own? Omar: And also cap rate, man. [inaudible 10:09]  James: Cap rate, price per door and-- Omar: How many doors have you got? James: How many doors do you have? Three metrics is so popular, there is so much marketing happening based on these three metrics. I mean for me you can take it and throw it into the trash paper, right? Omar: The way I look at it is I would much rather have one or two really nice things, as opposed to 10 really crappy things.  James: Correct. Correct. Correct. Like I don't mind buying a deal in Austin for a hundred a door compared to buying a same deal in a strong Market in another-- like for example, North Atlanta, right? I would rather buy it in Austin. It's just different market, right? So. Absolutely different. So price per door, number of doors and cap rate, especially entry cap rate, right? I went back and cap rate you can't really predict, right? So it's a bit hard to really predict all that. But that's-- Omar: Yes but my point is with all of these things you have, and when people tell me cap rate I'm like, look, are you buying stabilized properties? Because that's the only time you can apply this. James: Correct. Correct. Omar: Otherwise, what you really going to have to look at is how much upside do I have because at the end of the day, you know this better than I do. Regardless of what somebody says, what somebody does, everything is valued on [inaudible11:15] James: Correct. Omar: Pretty much. You can say it's a low cap rate and the broker will tell you, well yes the guy down the street bought it for a hundred and fifty thousand a unit so you got to pay me a hundred fifty, right? And then that's the end of the conversation.  James: Yes. Omar: Literally, I mean that is the end of the conversation, right? What are you going to do about it?  James: Yes. Correct. I mean the Brokers they have a fiduciary responsibility to market their product as much as possible, but I think it's our responsibility as Sponsor to really underwrite that deal to make sure that-- Omar: Oh yes. James: --what is the true potential. Omar: And look, to be honest with you sometimes the deal, that is say a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a unit might actually be a better deal-- James: Oh absolutely. Omar: [inaudible 11:51] fifty thousand dollars a unit. I mean, you don't know till you run the numbers. James: Correct. Absolutely. Absolutely. I've seen deals which I know a hundred sixty a door and still have much better deal than something that you know, I can buy for 50 a door, right? So. You have to underwrite all deals. There's no such thing as cap rate or no, such thing as price per door. I mean you can use price per door to a certain level.  Omar: [inaudible 12:15] in this market what is the price per door? That's the extent of what you might potentially say, in the submarket.  James: Correct. Omar: All the comps are trading at 75,000 a door. Why is this at 95 a door?  James: Yes. Omar: That's it.  James: I like to look at price per door divided by net square, rentable square footage because that would neutralize all measurements. Omar: Yes, see, you know we had a little back and forth on this, I was talking to my Analyst on this but my point is that I would understand [inaudible 12:46] at least to my mind. Okay. I'm not, because I know a lot of Brokers use it.  James: Sure. Omar: In my mind that would apply to say, Commercial and Industrial properties more. But any time I've gone to buy or say rent an apartment complex, I never really go and say like, hmm the rent is $800. It's 800 square feet. Hmm on a per square foot basis. I'm getting one dollar and then I go-- James: No, no, no, I'm not talking about that measurement. I'm talking about price per door divided by square footage rentable because that would neutralize between you have like whether you have a lot of smaller units, or whether you have a larger unit and you have to look-- but you have to plot it based on location. Right? So. Omar: Yes, so you know as you get into those sort of issues right? Well, is it worth more than that corner?  James: Yes. Yes. You're right. Yes. You have to still do rent comes and analyze it.  Omar: Yes. James: So let's all-- Omar: I mean look, I get it, especially I think it works if you know one or two submarkets really well. Then you can really-- James: Correct. Correct. That's like my market I know price because I know the market pretty well. I just ask you this information, just tell me price per door. How much average square feet on the units and then I can tell you very quickly because I know the market pretty well. Omar: Because you know your Market, because you already know all the rents. You already know [crosstalk13:57] James: [crosstalk13:57] You have to know the rent. I said you have to build that database in your mind, on your spreadsheet to really underwrite things very quickly. So that's good. So let's go back to Jacksonville, right? So you looked-- what are the top three things that you look at when you chose Jacksonville at a high level in terms of like the macroeconomic indicators? Omar: Oh see, I wasn't necessarily just looking at Jackson. What I did is I did a relative value comparison saying what is the relative value I get in Jacksonville versus a value say I get in a Tampa, Atlanta or in Orlando and how does that relatively compare to each other?  James: So, how do you measure relative-- Omar: What I did is for instance for a similar type of say vintage, right? Say a mid 80s, mid 70s vintage, and for a similar type of median income which was giving me a similar type of rent. Say a median income say 40 Grand a year or 38 to 40 Grand a year resulting in an average rate of about $800. Right? And a vintage say mid 70s, right? Board construction. Now what am I getting, again this is very basic maths, right? This is not I'm not trying to like make up.  James: Yes. Absolutely. Omar: A model out of this, right? So the basic math is, okay what is the price per unit I'm getting in say, what I have a certain crime rating, I have a certain median income rating and I have a certain amount of growth rating. And by growth I mean not just some market growth, [inaudible 15:21] are Elementary Schools nearby? Are there shopping and amenities nearby? Is Transportation accessible, you know, one or two highways that sort of stuff. Right? So for those types of similar things in specific submarkets, [inaudible 15:33] Jacksonville had three, Tampa had two and Orlando had three and Atlanta had four, right? What is the average price per unit I'm facing for similar type of demographics with a similar type of rent profile? With similar type of growth profile I mean you just plot them on a spreadsheet, right? And with the similar type of basically, you know how they performed after 2008 and when I was looking at that, what I was looking at again, is this precise? No, it's not a crystal ball. But these are just to wrap your head around a certain problem. Right? You have to frame it a certain way.  James: Okay. Omar: And what I was seeing across the board was that it all boils down to when you take these things because at the end of the day, all you're really concerned is what price am I getting this at, right? Once you normalize for all the other things, right? James: Correct. Correct. Omar: Right? And what I was seeing was just generally Jacksonville, the pricing was just like I said compared to Tampa which by the way is a fantastic market, right? But pricing was just 15 to 20% below Tampa. I mean Tampa pricing is just crazy. I mean right now I can look at the flyer and tell you their 60s and mid 70s vintage is going for $130,000 $120,000 a unit in an area where the median income is 38 to 40 Grand. James: Why is that? Omar: I don't know. It's not one of this is that the state Tampa is actually a very good market, okay. Let's be [inaudible 16:47] it's very good market. It's a very hot market now. People are willing to pay money for that. Right? So now maybe I'm not the one paying money for it, but there's obviously enough people out there that are taking that back. So. James: But why is that? Is it because they hope that Tampa is going to grow because-- Omar: Well, yes. Well if Tampa doesn't grow they're all screwed James. James: No, but are they assuming that growth or are they seeing something that we are not seeing? Because, if people are earning 30, 40 thousand median household income and the amount of apartment prices that much, they could be some of the metrics that they are seeing that they think-- Omar: Well, yes. Tampa's growth has been off the charts in the past few years, right? James: Okay. Okay. Omar: So what look-- first of all this is the obvious disclaimer is I don't know what I don't know. Right? So I don't know what everybody else is looking at. Our Tampa's growth has been off the charts, there is a lot of development and redevelopment and all that stuff happening in the wider metro area. So people are underwriting five, six, seven, eight percent growth.  James: Okay. So the growth is being-- Omar: No, the growth is very-- look the growth has been very high so far. James: Okay. Got it. Omar: My underlying assumption is, as I go in with the assumption that the growth must be high but as soon as I get in the growth will go down.  James: But why is that growth? I mean that is specific macroeconomic.  Omar: Oh yes, yes. There's first of all, there's a port there, number one. The port -- James: In Tampa. Okay. You're talking about Jacksonville or Tampa right now? Omar: No, I'm talking Tampa. James: Okay. Omar: Jacksonville also has it, but Tampa also has it, okay. James: Okay. Got it. Got it. Omar: Tampa is also fast becoming, Tampa and Orlando by the way are connected with this, what is it? I to or I for whatever, it's connected by. So they're faster like, you know San Antonio and Austin how their kind of converging like this? James: Correct. Correct. Omar: Tampa and Orlando are sort of converging like this. James: Got it. Got it. Omar: Number one. Number two, they're very diversified employment base, you know all the typical Medical, Government, Finance, Healthcare all of that sort of stuff, right? Logistics this and that. And plus the deal is man, they're also repositioning themselves as a tourist destination and they've been very successful at it. James: Okay.  Omar: Because there's lots to do you know you have a nice beach. So, you know that kind of helps all this, right? Have a nice beach. James: Correct. Correct. Omar: Really nice weather, you know. So they're really positioning it that way and it also helps that you've got Disneyland which is about 90 minutes away from you in Orlando. So you can kind of get some of the acts things while you come to Tampa you enjoy all the stuff here. Because Orlando relative to Tampa is not, I mean outside of Disneyland there's not a lot to do though. But a lot of like nightlife and entertainment and all that.  James: But I also heard from someone saying that like Orlando because it is more of a central location of Florida and because of all the hurricane and people are less worried about hurricane in the central because it you know, it has less impact. Omar: James. James. James: Can you hear me? Omar: When people don't get a hurricane, they are not going to be the people who get the hurricane. Other people get hurricanes. Not us. James: Correct, correct. Omar: But that's not always the case but that's the assumption.  James: Okay. By Tampa is the same case as well? Like, you know because of-- Omar: I don't know exactly how many hurricanes they've got but look man, they seem to be doing fine. I mean if they receive the hurricane they seem to be doing very fine after a hurricane.  James: Okay. Okay. So let's go to Jacksonville, that's a market that did not exist in the map of hotness, of apartment and recently in the past three, four years or maybe more than that. Maybe you can tell me a lot more history than that. Why did it pop out as a good market to invest as an apartment? Omar: Well, because Jackson actually, we talk to the Chamber of Commerce actually about this. And the Chamber of Commerce has done a fantastic job in attracting people, number one. Because first of all Florida has no state income tax. What they've also done is a very low otherwise state a low or minimum tax environment [inaudible20:29] What they've also done is, they reconfigured their whole thing as a logistical Center as well. So they already had the military and people always used to say, oh Tampa, Jacksonville's got a lot of military, but it turns out military's only 11% of the economy now. James: Okay. Okay. Omar: So they've reposition themselves as a leading Health Care Center provider, all that sort of, Mayo Clinic has an offshoot there by the way, just to let you know. It's a number one ranked Hospital.  James: Oh Mayo Clinic. Okay. Okay. We always wonder what is Mayo Clinic, but now you clarified that. Omar: Right? So Mayo Clinic is in Rochester I think. One of my wise colleagues is there actually. Think it's in Rochester Minnesota. It's one of the leading hospitals in the world. James: Okay. Got it. Omar: And now they've actually had an offshoot in basically Jacksonville, which is the number one ranked Hospital in Florida. Plus they've got a lot of good healthcare jobs. They've really repositioned themselves not only as a great Port because the port of Jacksonville is really good and they're really expanding their ports. You know Chicon, the owner of Jacksonville Jaguars, man he's going crazy. He is spending like two or three or four billion dollars redeveloping everything.  James: Got it. Got it. Omar: [inaudible 21:32] what they've done is because of their location, because they're right, I mean Georgia is about 90 minutes away, Southern Georgia, right? And now you have to go into basically, Florida and basically go to the Panhandle. What they've also done is because of their poor, because of their transportation Network and then proximity to the East Coast they repositioned themselves as a Logistical Center as well.  James: Got it. That's what I heard is one of the big drivers for Jacksonville. And I also heard about the opening of Panama Canal has given that option from like importing things from China. It's much, much faster to go through Panama Canal and go through Jacksonville. Omar: Oh, yes. James: Makes it a very good distribution centre. Omar: Because the other board right after Jacksonville in which by the way is also going through a big redevelopment and vitalization is Savannah, Georgia.  James: Okay. Yes. Omar: [inaudible 22:17] big enough and I think Jacksonville does something like, I mean don't quote me on this but like 31% of all the cars that are imported into the U.S. come through the Jacksonville Port. So there's a lot of activity there, right? But they've really done a good job. The Government there has done a fantastic job in attracting all this talent and all these businesses.  James: Okay. Okay. Got it. So let me recap on the process that you came to Jacksonville and going to the submarket. So you looked at a few big hot markets for apartments and looked at similar characteristics for that submarket that you want like for closer to school, in a good location and you look at the deal flow that you are getting from each of these markets. And then you, I mean from your assessment Jacksonville has a good value that you can go and buy right now for that specific demographic of location I guess, right? Omar: Look I love Atlanta as well. I was actually in Atlanta a few weeks ago looking at some, touring some properties. So that doesn't mean Atlanta isn't good or say Tampa or Orlando is good. We were just finding the best deals in Jacksonville.  James: Okay. Okay. So the approach you're taking is like basically looking at the market and shifting it to look for deals in specific locations of submarket where you think there is a good value to be created rather than just randomly looking at deals, right? Because-- Omar: Because man it doesn't really help you, right? If you really go crazy if you try to randomly look at deals.  James: Yes. Yes. I think a lot of people just look at deals. What, where is the deal? What's the deal that exist? Start underwriting the deals right? So-- Omar: Oh I don't have that much free time and I have a son who's like 18 months old man My wife is going to leave me if I start underwriting every deal that comes across my desk.  James: Yes, I don't do all the deals that comes across. Omar: I'm going to kill myself trying to do all that. Yes man it's very surprising I see a lot of people especially on Facebook posting. I mean I get up in the morning and I see this, [inaudible 24:05] who loves to underwrite deals? And I'm like, dude it's 1 a.m. Go get a beer. Why are you underwriting a deal at 1 a.m., man?  James: Yes. Yes. Yes I think some people think that you can open up a big funnel and make sure you know out of that funnel you get one or two good deals, right? But also if you have experience enough you can get the right funnel to make sure you only get quality data in, so that whatever comes in is more quality. Omar: My point is man, why do you want to underwrite more deals? Why don't you underwrite the right deal and spend more time on that deal or that set of deals. James: Correct. Omar: Because there's just so many transactions in the U.S. man. There's no way I can keep up man. James: Correct. Correct. Correct. So let's go to your underwriting Jacksonville because I think that's important, right? So now you already select a few submarkets in Jacksonville, right and then you start networking with Brokers, is that what you did?  Omar: Yes. Yes but you know with Brokers also, you kind of have to train them, right? Because what happened is every time what are you looking at? All that after all that jazz, wine and dining and all that stuff. We had to train Brokers [inaudible25:08] here are only specific submarkets we're looking at. So for instance Jacksonville, it was San Jose, San Marcos, it's the beaches, it was Mandarin and orange [inaudible25:16]  James: Okay. Omar: And Argyle Forest was certainly, right? If it's anything outside of that, unless I don't know it's like the deal of the century, right? Literally, somebody is just handing it away. We don't want to look at it. Don't waste my time. And invariably what the Brokers will do, because it's their job they have to do it. They'll send you deals from other submarkets because they want to sell. Hey, I think this is great. You will love this. James: Yes. Omar: And you have to keep telling them, hey man I really appreciative that you send me this stuff, not interested. Not interested. So, but what that does is you do this a few times and then the Broker really remembers your name when a deal in your particular submarket does show up. Because then you go to the top of the pile. James: Correct. Because they know that you asked specifically for these right now.  Omar: Yes. [inaudible25:58] You know the deal. Right? So that's kind of what we get, right? James: So let's say they send a deal that matches your location. So what is the next thing we look at? Omar: So what I basically look at is what are the demographics. Median income has got to be at the minimum 38 to 40 thousand dollars minimum. James: What, at median household income? Omar: Median household income. Right? James: Got it. Got it. Why do you think median household income is important? Omar: Because look, again this is rough math I didn't do a PhD in [inaudible 26:27]  James: Sure, sure, sure. Go ahead. Omar: Typically, you know, where [inaudible 26:30] everybody says BC but really everybody is doing C. Okay, you can just-- I think people just say B to sound nice. Right? It's really C. Okay, let's be honest. Right? Typically with a C if you're going to push [inaudible 26:41] within one or two years, in these submarkets at least, I don't know about other areas. Typically you want to push the rents to around a thousand dollars a month, give or take. Average rate. I'm just talking very cool terms, right? Which basically means that if you're pushing it to a thousand dollars a month and the affordability index is it should be 33%, 1000 times 12 is 12, 12 times 3 is 36. So I just added an extra 2,000 on top or 4000 on top just to give a margin of safety.  James: Okay. Omar: Right? It's very simple math, right? There's nothing complex in it. Right?  James: Correct. Omar: Because my point is if you're in an area where the average income is 30,000, man you can raise your rent all you like. Nobody's going to pay you. James: Yes. Yes, correct. So I think we can let me clarify to the listeners, right? So basically when you rent to an apartment, we basically look for 3x income, right? So that's how it translates to the household income, average household income and if you want to do a value-add or where deals, you have a margin of buffer in our site and you're buying it lower than what the median household income, that's basically upside. That means you can find enough renters to fill up that upside, right?  Omar: Yes. James: Just to clarify to the listeners. So go ahead. So you basically look up median household income. What is the next step do you look for? Omar: Then I basically look at crime. Basically, I just-- I mean look, there's going to be a level of crime, what I'm really looking at is violent crime. Right? James: Violent crime. Okay. How do you look for which tools to use?  Omar: Well, you can go to crime map, crime ratings, you can subscribe to certain databases and they can give you neighborhood Scout is one by the way.  James: Okay. Okay. Omar: You can use that. And then on top of that because it's harder to do this for Texas, but you can do this in other states like Florida, Georgia and all of that. But for instance, what you can do is see what the comps in the submarket are. Right? And that kind of helps you in determining basically, look if all the properties for a certain vintage around you have traded for a certain amount of money, then if something is up or below that there's got to be a compelling reason for that. Now I'm not saying if it's above it's a bad reason and don't do it. There's got to be a compelling reason. Now they might be actually a very good reason. Right? James: Got it. Omar: So, you know that's like a rough idea and then basically I'm looking at rent upside. Basically look at co-stars and see what the average rents are for this property. What is roughly the average rent upside and you can also seek [inaudible29:04] place that I had a few contacts in Jacksonville and you can also call those up. Right? Again, rough math kind of gives you hey, do I send five hundred two hundred dollars and then basically see what is the amount of value [inaudible29:16]. Because for instance, if all the units have been renovated which by the way happened yesterday. Yesterday we came across [inaudible29:22] in Jackson where I know the Broker and I mean he sent me the email. You know, the email blast out and basically what we saw was the location was great, there's a lot of rent up, supposedly there's rent upside, but when I called the guy up, we know each other. He's like, bro, all the units have been renovated. There's maybe 50, 75, I know you so I'm going to tell you there's only 50, 75 so the price isn't going to be worth it. James: Yes, and they'll ask you to do some weird stuff, right? Like go there, washer, dryer, rent the washer dryer out. Omar: Yes. Yes. James: But charge for assigned parking, right? So very small amount in terms of upside, right? Omar: My point is if it was so easy why don't you do it? James: Yes. Correct. Omar: That's the way I look at it.  James: Yes, usually I mean when I talk to the Brokers I will know within the few seconds whether it's a good deal or not. They'll be really excited if it matches what we are looking for, right? Especially-- Omar: Yes because I think the other deal is if you develop a good relationship with Brokers and they know what you're specifically looking for, good Brokers can kind of again look they have to sell but they can also give you some guidance along the way. James: Correct. Correct. Omar: Right? They can do a lot bro, it doesn't really work for you I think, but I'm just going to be honest with you, and look you still have to take it with a grain of salt but it is what it is.  James: Correct, correct. Okay. So look for rent upside by looking at rent comps and you said in Texas which is a non-disclosure state it's hard to find sales comp but…  Omar: Yes, but look, you know if you're in a market you're going to know who the people are doing deals. Which people are doing deals.  James: Okay. Omar: And even if you don't know it, say your property manager kind of knows it, or your  loan broker or lender knows kind of what deals have traded in the market. You got me. You can pick up a phone and call some people, right? Maybe you don't get all the information but you can get, I mean if you're in submarket or sometimes even in Texas, you can't know.  James: Yes, exactly. Exactly. So when do you start underwriting on your Excel sheet?  Omar: Oh bro after I've done the property tour because if these don't even pass this stuff why you even bothering to underwrite it.  James: Oh really? So okay. So you basically look at market-- Omar: [inaudible 31:28] My point is, if it passes all these filters and then I have a conversation, I talk to my property manager, I talk to the Broker, I talk to my local contacts there and if it's all a go and these are all five-minute conversations or less. It's not like a two hour long conversation if it passes through all this they're just going to [inaudible 31:45] property door, man.  James: Okay, so you basically-- but what about the price? How do you determine whether the price they asking is reasonable or not. Omar: Well, obviously because I can do a rough math and compare it against the comps, right?  James: Okay. Okay. Got it. Got it. So you basically do [inaudible 31:59]  Omar: Oh, yes. Yes, because my point is why waste myself? Because look, the price could make sense, all the Brokers pictures we all know look fantastic. It looks like you're in like Beverly Hills, you know. So the pictures you know are kind of misleading, right? And the location might be really good but hey, you might go there and realize you know, the approach is really weird. Or for instance we were touring this one property and then 90% of I think the residents were just hanging out at 12:00 noon. James: Correct. Omar: Outside smoking.  James: At 12 o'clock. Wow. Omar: I said, well what the hell is this. Right? So my point is some things you only know when you do tour a property, there's no amount of videos and photos because the Broker isn't going to put a bad photo on.  James: Yes. Yes. Their Excel spreadsheets are going to tell you that, right?  Omar: Yes. James: So basically, you know, you have to go. What about what else do you look for when you do a property tour other than…  Omar: So you know when they're doing a property tour, like obviously I'm taking a lot of notes, I'm taking a lot of pictures, a lot of times the Broker will say one thing and then you kind of turn back around and ask the same question a different way just to kind of see. But what I also like to do is I also like to tour the property. On the property tour I like to have the current property manager and look I'm not stupid enough to say that the Broker hasn't coached the property manager. The broker has obviously coached the property manager that's his job. But a lot of times you'll realize that they haven't been coached enough. So if you ask the right questions the right way you can get some level of information. Again you have to verify everything and another trick I also figured out is. You should also try to talk to the maintenance guy and have him on the property tour and then take these people aside and so the Broker can be with somebody else. Ideally you should tour with two people. So if one guy takes care of the Broker and you take care of the property manager or the other way around. Because then you can isolate and ask questions, right? So especially if you take like say a maintenance guy and you ask him, hey man so what kind of cap X you think we should do? What do you think about the [inaudible 33:54]? A lot of times those people haven't been coached as much or at all. James: Correct.  Omar: And to be honest with you, man, we are in a high trust society. Most people aren't going to completely just lie to your face. They might lie a little bit but people aren't going to say red is blue and blue is purple. James: Correct. Omar: You know you can see that. You know when somebody says it, you can feel it. Come on. James: You can feel, yes. That's what I'm coming. You can actually see whether they are trying to hide stuff or not. But you're right, asking the maintenance guy is a better way than asking the property managers or even the other person is like leasing agent.  Omar: Yes. James: Who were assigned to you. They probably will tell you a lot more information. Omar: And that's why I feel like it's better to have two people like you and a partner touring. James: Okay. Omar: Because then different people, like one because look, and there is nothing wrong. The Broker has to do this. The Broker always wants to be with you to see every question is answered the way he wants it to be answered. So then one of your partners or you can tackle the Broker and the other person can tackle somebody else. James: Got it. Got it. So let's go to, okay so now you are done with the property tour. Now you're going to an [inaudible35:01] underwriting, right? So, how do you underwrite, I mean I want to talk especially about Jacksonville because it's a new market for you and you are looking at a new, how did you underwrite taxes, insurance and payroll because this-- Omar: Taxes was very easy to do. You talk to a tax consultant and you also see what historically the rate has been for the county. Right? James: Okay. Omar: But again, just because your new doesn't mean you don't know people. James: Correct. But how do you underwrite tax post acquisition? Because I mean in taxes is always very complicated-- Omar: No but taxes is harder, right? But [inaudible 35:32] in Florida it's easier because the sale is reported. They already know what price it is. James: So do they, so how much let's say how many percent do they increase it to after-- Omar: Typically in Duval County where we bought, it's about 80 to 85% [inaudible35:46]  James: Okay. Okay. That's it.  Omar: But the tax rate is low, right? Just to give you an idea the tax rate is [inaudible35:51] in Texas a tax rate is higher. So you understand there's lots of things and for instance in Florida there's an early payment discount. So if you pay in November, so it's November, December, January, February, right? So if you pay in November, which is four months before you should be paying you get 4% off your tax return.  James: Oh, that's really good. Omar: And if you pay in December you get 3% off, if you pay January you get well, whatever 2% off. In February you get 1% off. James: So what is the average tax rate in Florida?  Omar: I don't know about Florida. I know about Douval. It was like 1.81.  James: Wow, that's pretty low. Yes compared to-- Omar: Yes, but you also have to realize you have the percentage of assessed value is higher, right? Depending on which county you are in. You're in San Antonio and Austin where Bear county is just crazy. James: Bear Travis County, yes. Omar: Yes. Bear and Travis are just crazy but there are other counties in for instance Texas where the tax might be high but percentage of assessed value is really low.  James: Correct.  Omar: No, I mean it balances out. Right? My point is-- James: Yes. So but what about the, do you get to protest the tax and all that in the Duval County in Jacksonville? Omar: I think you can. No you were not, I think I know you can because we're going to do it. But you need to have a pretty good reason, right?  James: Okay. Okay. Omar: Right? And obviously look, you can show that yea, look I bought it for this price, but my income doesn't support this tax or this or that. I mean you have to hire the right people. I'm not going to go stand and do it myself.  James: So basically they do bump up the price of the acquisition, but it's very easy to determine that and 80 to 85% of whatever.  Omar; Yes. Yes. Yes. James: That's-- Omar: But look man, on the flip side is that when you go in, you kind of have a better control of your taxes in Texas where taxes can just go up and you [inaudible37:29]  James: Yes. Yes. You have no control in Texas. So we usually go very very conservative to a hundred percent. So which-- Omar: Look my point is it's good and bad, right? It depends where you are. So now people will say, oh the tax person knows all your numbers and like, yes but I can plan for it.  James: Yes, yes, correct. But it also gives you an expectation difference between buyer and seller because the buyer is saying this is my cap rate whereas the seller is saying, this is what, I mean the seller is going to say this is one of the cap rate whereas the buyer is going to say this is my cap rate will be after acquisition because-- Omar: Yes. Of course. James: So when it's smaller [inaudible38:03] between these two, the expectation is more aligned compared to in Texas because you know, it can jump up a lot and there's a lot of mismatch of expectations. Right? Omar: Well actually a deal in Houston, it's near Sugar Land and yesterday I was talking to this guy who wanted me on the deal and the other deal isn't going anywhere because the taxes were reassessed at double last year. Now he has to go to this the next week to fight it. Man, there's no way you're going to get double taxes in Florida or Georgia where there's our disclosure state, right? James: Correct. Correct, correct. So that's a good part because the buyer would be saying that's not my, the seller would be saying that's not my problem and buyer is going to say I have to underwrite that, right? So. Omar: I mean man, you can have a good case, right? Because it's not like somebody is saying something to you like, look man this is the law.  James: Yes, correct. So let's go back to Insurance. How do you underwrite Jacksonville Insurance? Because I know in Florida there is a lot of hurricane and all that-- Omar: [inaudible 38:58] just to give you an idea that is a complete myth because Jacksonville has only had one hurricane in the past eight years.  James: So is it lower than other parts of Florida? Or it just-- Omar: Yes. So the first it only depends where you are in Florida. Number one, right? Number two, it depends if you're in a flood plain or not, but that's in Texas as well. Right? And number three, it also depends a lot of times, well how many other claims have happened in your area? Right? Because that kind of for the insurance people that's kind of like a you know, how risky your area is quote unquote for them. So yes, so in Jacksonville, and apparently I did not need to know this information but we were told this information. Like the coast of Florida where Jacksonville is the golf coast is really warm where Jacksonville is, not golf courses on the other side, it's the Atlantic side. These are really warm waters relatively speaking. So apparently there's like some weather system which makes it really hard for hurricanes to come into Jacksonville. So that's why it's only had one hurricane in the 80 years.  James: So when you get your insurance quote, when you compare that to other parts of other markets-- Omar: Oh yes, Tampa was way higher, man. James: What about like Houston and Dallas?  Omar: I don't know about Houston because I haven't really lately looked at something in Houston. Right? So I can't really say about Houston and Dallas was maybe like say $25, $50 less maybe. James: Oh really. Okay.  Omar: Yes. It wasn't because that was a big question that came up for everybody. I was like look man, literally here's all the information and you don't even have to take my word for it because I'm giving you sources for all the information. Right? [crosstalk40:24] James: [crosstalk40:25] rate at different markets? Omar: Sorry? James: Are you talking about the insurance rate for-- Omar: Yes. Yes. Yes. Because a lot of guys from Chicago, I had a few investors they were like, but Florida has real hurricanes. I was like, yes but Jacksonville doesn't. James: Okay, got it. So you basically got a code from the insurance guy for the-- Omar: Oh yes man, I wasn't just going to go in and just put my own number that has no basis in reality.  James: Correct, correct. So, what about payroll? How did you determine the payroll?  Omar: So the payroll is pretty easy man. You know how much people get paid on per whatever hour. You know, you can have a rough idea how many people you are going to put on site and then you know what the load is, so then it gets pretty easy to calculate what your payroll is going to be. James: What was the load that you put in? Omar: So the load in this particular case was like 40% which is very high. James: Okay-- Omar: Yes it is pretty high. But the-- James: That is pretty high is very high. Omar: No. No. No. But hold on. They put our wages really low, right?  James: Oh really? Okay. Omar: Then you have got to [inaudible41:16] around. I was paying roughly the same that I was paying in [inaudible41:19]  James: Really? So why is that market…  Omar: I have no idea man, and I tried to check I asked multiple people. We did all that song and dancing. It's all kind of the same.  James: So you looked at the current financials and looked at the payroll? Omar: No. No, I was talking about my payroll would be going forward. I don't really care what the guy before me paid. Why do I care? James: So you got that from your property management?  Omar: Yes. Yes. Yes. And then I verified it with other property managers and blah blah blah blah blah checked everything, you know did all the due diligence. James: Got it. Yes. It's interesting that because 40% is really high. I mean usually-- Omar: Yes but [inaudible41:52] basis was really low. Like people salaries are really lower.  James: Is that a Jacksonville specific? Omar: I don't know what it is specifically. I think it's a Florida-based thing relatively speaking. But yes, that's what I mean. I thought it was kind of weird too. But then I mean I checked with other people.  James: So the deal that you're doing, I presume is a value ad deal. Is that right? Omar: Oh yes, all the deals-- James: How deep is the value at? I mean roughly at high level, how much are you putting in? Omar: Man, nothing has been touched for ten years. In fact, let's put it this way. We have enough land we checked with the city that we have enough land at the back to develop 32 more units.  James: That's really good because it's hard to find deals now, you know. Like ten years not touched, right? All deals are being flip right now, right? So within a couple of years. So that's good. That should be a really good deal. And what is the-- Omar: A hundred percent we could do basically.  James: What was your expense ratio that you see based on income divided by your expenses? I mean first-- Omar: Hold on man, let me just take it out. I don't even have to tell you. Hold on.  James: Okay. Omar: Why even bother you know?  James: Because usually like 50 to 55% is common in the [inaudible 42:59] industry. Omar: Oh no in basically in Jacksonville. You can get really lower expense ratios.  James: Okay.  Omar: It depends if it's submarket [inaudible43:05]  James: Yes, and I know like in Phoenix, I think it was like 45, or 40% which was surprising to me [crosstalk43:13]  Omar: [crosstalk43:13] this right now. Hold on let me open this model I can tell you right now. I don't want to give you something [inaudible 43:21] then variably one person's going to be like, I looked at your deal your numbers--Like, yes I'm sorry. I don't like have like numbers with second decimal points. Because people always do that to try to catch you. Right? And they're like, yes it's off by like $2 man. So hold on, divided by, oh yes so it was operating at 52 and yes first year we're going to be at 56 because you know we are repositioning-- James: Yes. First year of course, it will be higher-- Omar: And then we just go down.  James: Okay. Okay, okay that's interesting, that's good. So, and then as the income grows and your expenses stabilize, I think that expenses should be-- Omar: That's the only reason why the expense ratio goes down. Right? Because you're basically your top Line growth is way higher than your basically your expense growth.  James: Got it. Got it. Got it. Okay, that's really good. And you look for mid teens IRR. Omar: Mid teens IRR, a 10% cash flow and stabilized, all that jazz. James: Got it. Got it. Got it. Okay, that sounds good in terms of the underwriting. So-- Omar: Am I giving you all my secrets James?  James: Yes, absolutely. I will be very specific to Jacksonville. Right? I like to see you know, how each market is being underwritten and so that a business can learn and you know, it's very specific to people who do a lot of analysis on the market because I think that's important, right? You can't just go and buy any deal out of the gate right there, right? So it's good to know that. And these three things like payroll, insurance and taxes are very tricky when you-- Omar: Oh yes. James: --in different markets. So it's good to understand how does that county or that particular city or state determines their property taxes? Because we have different things in taxes here where I buy so it's good to understand. That's good. What is the most valuable value ad that you think that you're going to be doing to this deal? Omar: Oh well look man, because nothing had been touched. I think everything is valuable.  James: Okay. Omar: Hold on but that we lucked out also, right? There's a part of this is work and preparation. Or part of this is luck also. I mean you can't just take that portion away, right? James: Oh yes yes. Absolutely. Omar: All my hard work. Right? James: Absolutely. Absolutely. Omar: Because there's lots of people-- James: It's really hard to find that kind of deals nowadays, right? So how much was your rehab budget?  Omar: So rehab is about a million dollars. James: A million dollars. So let's say your million-dollar today become 500,000 right? I'm showing million dollar you're bringing into your exterior everything upgrade. Right? So let's say then-- Omar: Your exterior is roughly split 70/30. Interior [inaudible46:01]  James: Okay. Okay. So between interior and exterior which one do you think is more important?  Omar: I think if you only had a few dollars, exterior. James: Exterior, okay. Omar: Because people make a-- again this doesn't mean you should ignore the interior. Just to add a disclaimer. The point is, my point is a lot of times we as humans make decisions on first impressions. So if you come into a property and the clubhouse looks [inaudible 46:28] the approach looks [inaudible 46:29] the trees are trimmed, the parking lot is done nicely, then you go to an apartment which may, I mean I'm not saying it should be a complete disaster, but it might not be the best apartment in the world. You can overcome that. Right? But if you come in and the approach looks like you know, somebody got murdered here, right and the clubhouse looks like you know fights happen here, then no matter how good your indeed a renovation is, there's a good chance people will say well, I mean, it looks like I might get killed to just get into my apartment. James: Yes. Omar: Right? So it's the first impression thing more than anything else. It's like any other thing in life I feel. James: Absolutely. So let's say you are 300,000 for exterior. Right? Let's say that 300,000 become a 150,000, what are the important exterior renovation that you would focus on? Omar: So we did all the tree trimming because man, there's first of all living in Texas you realize how much a mystery still [inaudible 47:26] right? So first of all, tree trimming. Trees hadn't been trimmed for 10 years man. They were beautiful Spanish [inaudible 47:34] oak trees with Spanish moss on them. But they just hadn't been trimmed. James: Okay. Okay. Omar: So doing all the tree trimming, all the landscaping, then basically resealing the driveway and then making sure all the flower beds and all the approach leading up to all of that was done properly and the monument signage.  James: Okay, got it. So this is what you would focus on. And what about-- Omar: But also putting a dog park by the way. [inaudible 47:57] you said if my $300,000 budget went to 150 what I do and that's-- James: Yes. Dog park is not very expensive. Omar: Yes. But I'm saying it's stuff like dog park and [inaudible 48:06] to your outdoor kitchen, you're swimming pool, put a bigger sign in. You know [inaudible48:11]  James: Yes and dog park is one of the most valuable value ad because you spend less on it, but a lot of people want it, right? So for some reason, I mean people like pets and all that. So what about the interior? You have 700,000, how much per door are you planning to put for each-- Omar: So roughly say I can do the math roughly. There was six something. Right? So and James: [inaudible48:32]  Omar: Yes, so we're not even-- so we're planning on doing roughly say 75% of the unit's right? So I think that's  104 units if you go 700 divided by 104, roughly we were going to be around $6500 per unit. James; Okay. That's a pretty large budget.  Omar: Yes, man you should see some of these units man, I was like why God how do people even live here?  James: Yes. Omar: Because it's a very affluent. I mean relatively middle class, upper middle class submarket, right? They just haven't done anything.  James: So are you going to be using the property management company to do the renovations? Omar: They have a very fantastic reputation and they were highly recommended a few of our other contacts also use them so that's why. James: Okay. Omar: Because we were seeing problems with a lot of other people's property managers. Either they didn't have the right staff or didn't have the right professionals and this and that indeed these guys were properly integrated across the value chain. James: So at high level, what are you doing on the interiors? Omar: High level Interiors, it's a typical, [inaudible 49:29] back splashes, change the kitchen appliances, countertops, medicine cabinets, lighting packages. The other small little thing which we realized was a very big value add but was cost us less than two dollars and fifty cents per outlet was the [inaudible 49:45] Yes it was the biggest value add-- James: Yeah, biggest value add; that is the most valuable value add. Right? Omar: Yes. James: Like I've never done it in any of my properties but I was telling my wife, Shanti and I said, hey, you know, we should do these, you know, because it's so cheap and a lot of people, a lot of-- Omar: Yes, it was like two dollars or whatever, it was cheaper than that and people cannot get over the fact that they have so many USB out, I was like, everywhere there is a plug there's got to be a USB outlet. James: So do you put for every outlet? The USB? Omar: Not for every, I was dramatizing but I mean for the ones that are accessible say around the kitchen, living room. James: Okay interesting I should steal that idea.  Omar: I didn't invent the idea go for it man.  James: Yes. Omar: [inaudible 50:25] USB port so take it.  James: I know a few other people who do it mentioned that too but I'm not sure for some reason we are not doing it. But that should be a very simple-- Omar: People love it man. And I don't blame them man. Like it's freaking aggravating sometimes, you know, when you got to put like a little thing on top of your USB and then you plug it in. James: Yes, imagine how much you know, this life has changed around all this electronic [crosstalk50:46] devices and all that. So interesting. So did you get a lot of advice from your property management companies on how to work and what are the things to renovate and all that? Or how-- Omar: Yes, and no because we had been developing a relationship with them six months prior to this acquisition. So we had a good relationship with not just them but with other vendors in the market. And especially luckily for us the regional we have for this property right now, actually in an earlier life and with an earlier employer had actually started working on this asset 15 years ago as a property manager. This is sheer dumb luck. This is not by design. So she really knew where all the [inaudible51:24]  James: Yes. Yes, that's interesting. Sometimes you get people who have been in the industry for some time. They say yes, I've worked on that property before they, which is good for us because they know. Got it. Got it. So let's go to a more personal side of things. Right? So you have been pretty successful now and you're doing an apartment syndication now and all that, right? So why do you do what you do? Omar: James, I know a lot of people try to say they have a big "why" and they have a really philosophical reason James, my big "why" is James, I really like-- my lifestyle is very expensive James. So all these nice suits. James: Okay. Omar: All these nice vacations man, they're not cheap. Okay. Real estate is a pretty good way to make a lot of money man.  James: Okay.  Omar: I want to give you a philosophical reason, I know a lot of people say they have the Immigrant success story, Oh I came from India or I came from Pakistan, I ate out of a dumpster, I worked in a gas station and no I had five dollars in my pocket, and everybody tells me that and I say, okay what did you do man? I don't know did you just swim from India, you had two dollars in your pocket you need to get on a plane buddy.  James: You can't be here, right?  Omar: No Indian shows up to America and [inaudible 52:37] Are you kidding me? All the Indians are educated. Everybody's an engineer or doctor or lawyer. You kidding me. He shows up with five dollars, man. So no I didn't show up to this country with five dollars James. I didn't eat out of a dumpster. I didn't work at a gas station, and I'm very grateful for that. Right? I've always had a very good lifestyle and I don't need to have a philosophical reason to say I'm doing this to, I don't know, solve world hunger or poverty or whatever. I have a pretty good lifestyle. I'm very grateful and very blessed. And the biggest thing in my life is being that, look I moved to Texas man I didn't know anybody. Right? But people have been so generous, people have been so kind to me. I'm not just saying investing with us, which is very nice, which I'm very grateful but also connecting me with other people, right? Hey, hey just opening a door. They didn't have to do it, but people have been so generous and so kind, So I quite enjoy the fact man that it's a good way to  make an honest living, right? I have a very expensive lifestyle that needs to get financed and that's just the way it is. And I didn't show up with two dollars in my pocket. So I'm very  grateful for that.  James: That sounds good. So, can you give some, do you have any daily habits that you think makes you more successful? Omar: No man, I just get up every day and I try to put one step after the other but consistently work in the same direction. So every day I'm reaching out to people and that's a lot of small little tasks. First of all, I never like getting up early but I've always known the value of getting up early. So I get up in the morning, right? 5:45, 550 ish I kind of up. Most days not always, right? I read a lot of books man. I reach out to Brokers all the time. I'm always looking at deals, coordinating with my team to do stuff and a lot of these like you do in your business there are a lot of small little tasks there's no one task that is, oh my God, you do this and [inaudible 54:33] But it's just small little tasks that you do daily, every single day in and day out. So even if you're feeling sick, even if your head is hurting you just do it.  James: So can you give a few advice to people who want to start in this business? Omar: Regularly communicating. So in my particular case, I don't know like when you're starting out specifically everybody has a different pain point, right? So in my particular case for instance on a daily, I can't say about weekly I can tell you, staying in touch with my marketing people, emailing Brokers, emailing investors, following up with people I've had conversations with, especially leads, you know people who use this stuff. A lot of word of mouth and just doing the stuff over and over and over. But it's not like I have a 9:00 to 5:00 now, right? It's not like oh Friday, I'm done and Saturday, Sunday I'm relaxing. I mean I could relax on a Monday now, but Saturday and Sunday I'm working. Right? So that's a good-- but it's like the same as you were doing with your business, right?  James: Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Omar it has been really a pleasure to have you on this podcast. Is there anything that you have never mentioned in other podcasts that you want to mention? Omar: No James, I don't want to go down that route man.  James: Is there something that you want to tell, you know people who listen to you that you think that would be a good thing to talk about? Omar: Yes, what I want to tell people is listen, I don't think you should take words of wisdom for me. But what I should tell people is guys, honestly, I don't l

We solve the mystery, with only minor digressions. Really.

  DESCRIPTION In today’s episode you will hear why we say we’ll do something but don’t follow through. You’ll also understand why it’s so hard to start good habits and stop bad ones. Here are some of the awesome things you will hear in this episode: Find out the key components to grow wealth, creating deep bonds and true freedom. Find out the ONE thing separating the successful from the ultra successful. And see how Satori coached a famous actress to build her legacy. So listen here to find out how Satori successfully coaches the best to achieve their most important targets and how you can do the same. --Transcript-- If you’ve ever wondered, “Why don’t I do what I say I’m going to do? Why don’t I have the money saved that I want? Why don’t I lose weight, stop overdrinking or grow my business? Why do I say something is important but still don’t seem to make time for it? The answers to these questions can be found in this episode. What’s up everyone, this is Satori Mateu, welcome to a new episode of Halfass to Badass. I’m in a conversation with a highly successful woman and to give you an interesting perspective on today’s topic she says, “I don’t know why, but we’re always struggling to build up a nest egg. We have nothing to show for all the hard work we put in.” She’s a famous actress. The defeat in her voice is unquestionable. She tries to hide it with a nervous smile, but her uncomfortable shifts in her chair gives it away. Her eyes are red, the sparkle is gone. The vibrant and confident look she had on the cover of Vogue a few months earlier is not there. We’re sitting in her spectacular backyard with perfect palm trees and ocean views, the sun is shining, not a single cloud, and you can smell the ocean by the light breeze. “How long have you’ve been acting?” “Both my husband and I have been acting for more than twenty years, and we’ve made millions of dollars. Still, at the end of each year, there’s nothing extra.” “You have a beautiful home. Amazing kids. You live in a wealthy neighborhood. You have nice cars.  You travel anywhere you want to go. You’re invited to all the Hollywood parties and red-carpet events. You have access to the best financial advisors. What do you feel is missing?” “We’re just living, with no real direction.” Their three kids go to the best private school. Her and her husband are both actively working actors, they live in a beautiful mansion in Malibu, California. They’re healthy and have everything one could possibly ask for, right? WRONG! If you don’t have what we’re about to talk about, you will never know if you’re failing or succeeding. After listening to her whole story and seeing what is going on, I look at her, and tell her very directly, “You have no clear standards.” She’s like, “Why is that?” I just love it when people are courageous enough to be vulnerable. When they trust and let their guard down. That’s when I can help fast. She leans forward, tilts her head to the side, lifts her left eyebrow, curious about what about to say next.... She really wants to change not only her family’s financial future but she is wondering how she can be the role model she wants to be for her kids and leave her legacy. “Let’s start by looking at you and your husband and some of the roles you’ve both said yes to. Can you start to see a problem here? There’s no real standard. You’re taking jobs you really don’t want. He lets people run all over him. He keeps saying yes—even though he means no, afraid he will lose his job—becomes a victim, and it impacts your finances and your family. The same goes for you. Fear is running the show, rather than a clear vision and standard for what you both want. You’re settling for what is available. Is this making sense?” “Yes, totally.” She starts breathing. Somebody is finally understanding her. She’s smiling, the corner of her mouth wrinkles and she’s starting bounce a bit up and down. “I feel I’m saying yes to certain movies because I know it will pay our bills, but it’s not necessarily what I want. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the work I get…” “Yes, but it’s not your standard,” I interrupt her. “It’s fear driven—not standard driven. Are you with me? As long as you make your decisions from a place of worry; that you’re not going to get another role or that you’re not going to cover your monthly expenses, that you’re not going to keep your kids in private school, you’re always living in reaction. Can you imagine for a moment how life would be different if you had a standard for the roles you went after, the ones you said yes to…and you had an amount of money (a minimum standard) you didn’t allow your bank account to drop below?” “That would be amazing. That would remove the anxiety I feel when I go into a new project I don’t love—for months—and I think I would be happier all around. I would be a better mom and wife, for sure.” She starts to light up, her frustration and defeat is clearing. We have a very productive conversation that leaves her with a clear, concrete, and measurable set of standards to secure her finances and family dreams. Why am I sharing this story with you? Because… The truth is, when we don’t set a standard for what we demand for ourselves and our environment, we won’t get it. We just won’t. You’ve got to decide the amount you want in your bank account. What’s your minimum standard? Now go do the work necessary to fill your bank account to that level. You say, “This is my standard, this is my bottom line and it can’t go beneath that. I’m going to work my ass off to get above that and never again let it go below. Ever.” It’s not up to the environment. It’s up to you. What would your life be like if you NEVER had to question yourself ever again? If you knew, what you said and promised yourself was going to happen, for sure? If you want to trust yourself then you definitely want to pay close attention to this episode without interruptions. I want you to picture the results you’re committed to, the life you want, and your commitment to a Badass life. And you have to define what a badass life means to you, right? Does that mean being more present in conversation?  Not being a slave to your phone? Being more intentional of how you take care of your health, your sleep, eating habits, spending habits? Is it about minimizing stress, overwhelm and distractions, what is it to you? Here’s why. I have no idea what you feed your mind with; what you think about, listen to, read, or watch. I don’t know what you practice on a daily basis. You see, you have 168 hours per week. Those 168 hours per week include sleeping and everything. That’s 8,760 hours per year. I only have limited time with you, and my job is to find ways to influence and persuade you—to help you dominate your mind—so you can think and create the kind of habits that guarantee you success and it serves you. Think about the number of hours you’ve already spent in your life doing things where you’re not dominating your thinking, not dominating how you feel, where you’re not dominating the actions, the decisions, and your daily behaviors. I want you to understand, for me to be able to rewire your conditioning—to help you unlearn the things not serving you, what’s slowing you down, making you unproductive, lacking energy, and making unprofitable—you really need to get clear about the standard you hold for yourself. Your ability to influence and impact your direction consistently, to consistently make more money, own your wealth, be more productive, have an incredible life—where you embrace all of you—without apologies, is not something we leave to chance, right? We don’t leave it to a maybe. “If I’m lucky” or, “I wonder what’s going to happen today, or next week.” When you’re sowing and you’re sowing daily, you are creating a momentum where you’ll be able to reap daily because of the sowing that you’ve been doing. It’s accumulative. You need to know you actually have control over this thing called money. You have control of your performance. You have control of this thing called serving people. You are in control and can dominate your ability to create wealth in your life. Create deep bonds with people that matter to you. That’s not something you need to question anymore. That’s something you can rely on. You want to trust that you know what to do, when to do it, how to do it and so I’m going to talk to you about how to set standards that give you freedom. You need to understand and know, deeply, your core habits. Do they make you stronger or weaker? More effective or less? What daily decisions are you making, causing you to be stronger, more effective, more productive, think faster, be more confident? Do you have habits that make it easy for you to generate the kind of money you want and make it very hard for you not to? You want to have a consistent and dependable way of doing this. This means, you’ll be able to depend on yourself, right? You need to know who’s going to show up in the morning and not leave it to chance. Why are we talking about this? Because most people live out of control. They are not in command of their lives, of their business or their relationships. They’re not being in charge to influence or dominate their environment because they give those reins to someone else. Think about that. Every day, someone or something, whether that’s Facebook, Twitter, TV, any media, email, friends, family members, co-workers are all trying to grab your attention. Have you noticed that? Advertisers spend billions to control and dominate where you put your focus, true? I’m saying, let’s grab a hold of those reins. Take control of your own environment and time. Be very appreciative and grateful for the minutes and seconds you have here on this planet. In order to do that, we first need to take a stand and identify, “What do I stand for?” What daily habits or rituals, what lifestyle do I want?” When I was living in Stockholm many years ago in the beginning of my career, I charged very differently for my services. I thought to myself, “If I can only have $30,000 SEK (Swedish Kronor, roughly $3000) in my bank account, I’m good.” That was my level of thinking at the time. If I have $3,000 in my account, consistently, I’m good. That doesn’t pay for anything in my life today. Portions, obviously, but does it support a Los Angeles lifestyle? Hardly. I charged $1,000 for 12 private sessions with me. That’s insane! It’s completely insane. It was a different level of thinking. I thought that was good. I couldn’t even imagine anything different. Perspectives change. I went to see an apartment building in Beverly Hills recently; the penthouse is $65,000 a month just to rent it. It comes with a concierge service where they literally drive you in a Rolls Royce or an Escalade within a three-mile radius anywhere you want, right in the heart of Beverly Hills with 365-degree views of the Hollywood Hills, the Hollywood sign, downtown L.A., and the ocean. You can see everywhere. I’m not saying that’s how you want to use your money. I’m not even suggesting those should even be your values. The point I want to drive home is that the standards you hold for yourself will determine the internal resources and potential you’ll access, therefore your results. If your standards communicate, for example, “If I’m lucky, or if I feel like it, I’ll make a few sales calls today.” “If I feel like it, I’ll get up earlier today.” “I hope I can be productive today.” “I hope I win today.” With standards like that, you have no standards. Who decides the standards you live by? You do, of course! It’s just that very often it may not feel like you do, right? Most likely, your standards haven’t been updated for years, if ever. Most of us just adopted the standards of our families, and never stopped to question whether those are the standards we want to live by. You decide the standards you want. You just want to make sure it matches with what you really want. Not what you’ve settled for. Is this making sense? My question is, are your current standards designed to take you where you want? Think about that, I you have an idea of where you would want to be 5 years, 10 years or even 20 years from now, are your standards (your thoughts, feelings and behaviors that you live by) your habits going to take you there? It’s a yes or no answer. And it’s predictable. I say I want build a multi-million dollar business, but I sleep until noon. I want to be in great shape and have lots of energy, but I eat fast food five days a week. I want to be connected to my spouse but I can’t have a dinner conversation without checking my phone. You get it? We don’t get our wants in life, we get our standards. It’s really about perspective, right? I got an opportunity to join this pretty cool club where you get to fly private jets all over the country and internationally. Some people would say, “That’s crazy! You don’t need to fly private jets.” No, I don’t need to. I don’t need to do anything, but I want to. It’s fun. It optimizes time (no need to waste hours at the airport), creates new opportunities. It’s the level of quality and standard I want for myself. If I want that and it’s available to me, why deny myself new experiences? The only way I would deny myself what I want is if I’m thinking, “I can’t afford it. It’s not available to me. That’s too much money.” Like I said, $3,000 at one point was a lot of money. Let’s take a closer look at the standards you want for yourself. What standard do you want when connecting with people in business? Think about it. I know, maybe you haven’t thought about this. It’s normal. But we’re talking about it right now. And I know you wouldn’t listen to me right now if you wanted to be a halfass. Right? Let’s look at it. How about privately? How do you want to communicate? How do you want to relate to people? What’s the standard? Take a moment and invest some thought into how you will build your legacy. I want you to set a standard for what you want, a standard for yourself, including the people you serve. If you don’t dominate your thinking, your feelings, and your behaviors, someone else will. That’s just the way it is. In other words, someone else will control and dominate your thinking, your perception, your focus, what you do, and don’t do. It’s as simple as that. First, take a moment and ask yourself, “What’s the standard I want for myself?” If you think of your bank accounts, what’s the standard? Think about it? What’s the minimum balance you will allow for your bank account? Is it $3,000, $5,000, $10,000, $100,000, $100,000,000? What has to be in your account no matter what happens? In other words, what’s the fluctuation you’ll allow? The standard is your standard. Not my standard or anybody else’s. Yours. You might, say, “I’m not going to have anything less than $20,000, $100,000 or $300,000 in my checking account, and I’m going to have at least $100,000, $500,000 or $20 million in my savings account.” I don’t know what the number is for you. Whatever it is, get clarity. No matter what area of life we’re talking about, this matter. Clarity about your health, mental energy, how you talk to your kids, how you use your time, the quality of your friendships it’s worth your investment of time, focus and dedication. This is not something you do in five minutes. So I’m just starting the ball rolling. If you and I were working together we would of course, look at the most important, the key areas that would have the biggest most significant impact in your life and your business (The once that make you the most efficient, makes you the most successful). This requires careful thought and dedication. The second question, after you get clear on your standards, is “What ONE habit do I need in place to have this level of standard in my life?” And once you’re clear on the ONE… What second ONE habit can you add to solidify your standard? Having clarity, will determine the daily habits you put in place; the level of conversations you have, and with whom. Many years ago, I went through bankruptcy. It was painful. I felt like a loser, like I’d failed in life and adulthood. I decided I wasn’t going to use credit cards. More specifically, I wasn’t going to spend money, I didn’t have. Years later, I decided, “Okay, I’m going to have one credit card. Here’s the rule, every month, it’s going to be paid in full. If I can’t pay in full—If I’m not actually making that kind of money—I’m not going to use it.” That’s the standard I set. Every month, the income has to be there, or I won’t use it. The standard, determines what I will buy or not buy. It also determines the monthly, weekly and daily actions required, to generate the kind of revenue I want. Simple, right? If I want to buy something—no matter the price point—if I want it, I know, what my level of productivity has to be. If you don’t have clarity, someone else will, and it may not necessarily be in your best interest. You’re either in control or you’re being controlled. You’re either in charge and dominate or you’re being dominated, period. There’s no in between. Many people, are so afraid of taking control or to dominate so they sit back and become victims. They’ll complain about things not being done the way they want it to be done. The truth is, they didn’t take charge, they didn’t take command, they lost control (gave it away). Makes sense? I hope you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful and that you’ll share it with your friends, it’s really how I’m getting the word out about this podcast. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I devoting a lot of time to deliver value to you, and I’m really counting on you, my badass community to help me get the word out. Please take a moment if you haven’t already and leave me a review on iTunes. And more important, send the link of this episode in a text, to someone you know who would love this episode and who needs it, because you’re the best person to recommend people to our community to our tribe, our badass nation because we already know who fits in, right? ------------------------------ BOOM! How’d you like that? If you're wanting to grow and scale your business you're probably studying a lot. That's great. You're probably studying all the different strategies out there, right? That's also great. But the hardest part is figuring out how to remove overwhelm and friction and get done what matters without burning yourself and without killing yourself in the process, right? That's what I struggled with for a while until I learned the secrets of Precision Based Growth. So if you’re wondering how Precision Based Growth can work in your business or life, I created a special opportunity for you to get on a call with me to get you on track with the right focus, and more important, how to maximize growth, maximize efficiency and simplify. You’re not alone. Wanna talk? I’m only one person, so this is on a first come, first serve basis. Spots are extremely limited, so if you’re serious and you want me to personally answer your direct questions.You can apply for your spot by going to TalkToSatori.com. Again, that's TalkToSatori.com.

Jessica Williams talks game shows and shenanigans follow! Select our all-time favorite game shows. Top 10? Price is Right - Let's Make a Deal Wheel of Fortune - Jeopardy Supermarket Sweep - Press Your Luck Who wants to a millionaire - Family Feud Deal or No Deal - Ellen's Game of Games Why do game shows still “work?” Something Useless Donnie Found Online www.justwatch.com Sell me something weird or confusing: https://weirdorconfusing.com/ - - - - - Visit our website Share Feedback & Ideas Tweet us at @PartialCreditEd Follow us on Instagram @PartialCreditEd Like us on Facebook

We thought this moment would never come. After months of hype and many viewings of the trailer; Jordan Peele’s latest horror film is finally here and we have seen it like so many people this past weekend. In this jam packed episode we dive deep into doppelgängers, the use of humour in horror and the brilliance of Lupita Nyong'o. After record levels of hype and excitement; surely this film can’t meet our expectations? Right? Let’s find out. Elsewhere this week; the trailer for Stranger Things 3 is a thing of beauty. We discuss the upcoming ‘sexy’ film versions of famous serial killers and what effect this strange new trend might have. To the end the show we discuss a whole host of films we’ve been watching lately ranging from crazy J-Horror new and old, a wild film from Sweden and a Romero classic. Us is available in cinemas worldwide now Follow us on Twitter @SHBPod Email us: SuperHorrorBrosPodcast@gmail.com **Please take the time to review & rate us on iTunes or your podcast service of choice. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for potential listeners to find us. Thanks!**

Pastor Ben Prescott

In this episode, I brainstorm out loud what the next steps are for the first draft of my book. Sometimes you gotta talk it out to figure out what you actually want. Right? Let’s connect! Instagram ► www.instagram.com/chachannawrites/ Website ► www.chachannawrites.com Email me ► chachanna@chachannawrites.com

Is a purity ring keeping you from meeting "Mr.Right?" Let's chat...

This week, Harold and Emil decide to explore the last bit of the old mill, then boogie on out of there.~!~Twitter @esmereldapodEmail refugeesofesmerelda@gmail.comGame http://bit.ly/2ztMC2e

Today on the show, learn how to make your project right by establishing a plan and a process. Know how the concept of 'Let it simmer', '70-20-10 Formula' and 'Higher Concept Thinking' can help you to get your project right. Why repetition can make your work easier. Looking to turn your passion into profit and your full-time activity? Alberto Sardiñas is one of the world’s leading experts on how to successfully turn a passion project into a lucrative career. As someone who has started multiple side passion projects that have all turned into full-time day jobs, Alberto knows how to properly plan and execute a vision into a reality. On the Passion Accomplished podcast, he shares his own tools, as well as those of his guests. With a social media following of close to 2.8 million fans, people all over the world look to Alberto for advice and inspiration on how they can achieve their dreams. Alberto’s greatest passion is helping people accomplish their goals and live out their dreams. As a show host and a mentor, Alberto can help anyone feeling frustrated with where they are in life to fulfill their greater calling, while still working their day job.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR ARE BACK! Right? Let's find out as we take a look at the super-sized first issue of Fantastic Four #1 from Marvel Comics in this week's Dueling Review podcast. Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Dueling Reviews continues far into the future! FANTASTIC FOUR #1 Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Simone Bianchi, Sarah Pichelli, Skottie Young Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $5.99 Release Date: 8/8/18 BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT – THE WORLD’S GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE IS BACK! Since the end of SECRET WARS, there’s been a gap in the Marvel Universe. A void no other team can fill. And it’s time for the world to move on. But can it? A life-changing decision by the Thing! A momentous declaration by the Human Torch! A clarion call-to-arms that summons Doctor Doom! And a signal in the sky that heralds the return of hope to the Marvel Universe! All this, and Alicia Masters adopts kittens! So cute! Plus, the Impossible Man! AND BONUS STORIES ILLUSTRATED BY SIMONE BIANCHI AND SKOTTIE YOUNG! IF YOU READ ONLY ONE MARVEL COMIC THIS MONTH, THIS IS THE ONE!

THE FANTASTIC FOUR ARE BACK! Right? Let's find out as we take a look at the super-sized first issue of Fantastic Four #1 from Marvel Comics in this week's Dueling Review podcast. Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Dueling Reviews continues far into the future! FANTASTIC FOUR #1 Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Simone Bianchi, Sarah Pichelli, Skottie Young Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $5.99 Release Date: 8/8/18 BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT – THE WORLD’S GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE IS BACK! Since the end of SECRET WARS, there’s been a gap in the Marvel Universe. A void no other team can fill. And it’s time for the world to move on. But can it? A life-changing decision by the Thing! A momentous declaration by the Human Torch! A clarion call-to-arms that summons Doctor Doom! And a signal in the sky that heralds the return of hope to the Marvel Universe! All this, and Alicia Masters adopts kittens! So cute! Plus, the Impossible Man! AND BONUS STORIES ILLUSTRATED BY SIMONE BIANCHI AND SKOTTIE YOUNG! IF YOU READ ONLY ONE MARVEL COMIC THIS MONTH, THIS IS THE ONE!

What’s probably the MOST popular and frustrating question you’ve come across when building a product: “How long do you think it will take to do task X?”   It’s frustrating on so many levels…   First, we need to produce an “accurate” estimate. If it’s off, there goes our ship date!   Next, we need to give a response that seems “realistic”, i.e. is going to meet the expectations or deadlines set by someone else.   Third, we need to be a fortune teller and anticipate things that come up in the course of completing task X.   Finally, we have to do it the moment we’re asked because we’re expected to know how long any task will take.   I don’t know about you, but despite building and launching a number of software products over the past 14 years, I still struggle with estimating how long a task will take to complete.   There are a number of approaches and methodologies that have sprung up over the years such as Waterfall, Agile and Lean whose goal is to provide a framework that helps engineers, designers, and product managers to estimate how long something will take to build and ship. However, as you’ve probably experienced, each one of these misses the mark.   In today’s episode we’ll dive into the aftershocks you may experience when it comes to following one of these approaches and providing product estimates.   Next week we’ll tackle an alternate approach that may seem too good to be true…   To help us out, I’ve invited Hiten Shah, who is the founder of a number of software products such as Crazy Egg, Kissmetrics, and his most recent project is called Product Habits.   As you listen to the episode you’ll learn the following:   Why we suck at estimating even if we’ve been doing it for a while Why we’re surprised each time our product estimates miss the mark What happens if we decide to “pad” our estimates What happens when we get rid of estimating altogether Why a task we think a task is 80% complete but really it’s more like 50% complete Check out these additional resources on estimating stories for your product: Product Habits Why It’s Easier For Product Teams To Cram Features & Bugs Into Each Release Instead of Cutting Back Tech Debt: The Cost of Putting “Quick Fixes” Into Our Software Product Product Debt: What Is Product Debt And Why You Need To Prioritize Paying It Down How Long Does It Take To Get A Startup Company Off The Ground How Much Time And Money It’s Going To Take To Productize Your Idea My Nightmares With Engineering Estimates Story Points, T-shirt Sizing and Time Buckets: How Tech Companies Do Engineering Estimates Deadline That Are Doomed From The Beginning No One Likes A Creep -- Build is produced as a partnership between Femgineer and Pivotal Tracker. San Francisco video production by StartMotionMEDIA. -- ## Why It’s Hard to Provide Accurate Product Estimates Under Most Popular Product Management Methodologies Transcript   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Welcome to *Build*, brought to you by Pivotal Tracker. I'm your host, Poornima Vijayashanker. In each episode of *Build*, innovators and I debunk a number of myths and misconceptions related to building products, companies, and your career in tech. One of the most elusive processes has to be estimating how long a project or a task is going to take. And no matter how many times we do it, we somehow just always miss the mark because things come up. Well, in today's episode, we're going to share some of the aftershocks you may experience despite what approach you take when it comes to estimating. In a future episode, we'll dive into an alternate approach in how your team can adopt and adapt it to fit your needs.                     To help us out in this episode, I've invited Hiten Shah, who is a founder of many products. His most recent project is called Product Habits. Thanks for joining us today, Hiten.   Hiten Shah:           Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.   What Happens When We Don’t Accurately Estimate Stories Or Tasks   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Yeah. You and I have been building products for a number of years. We've built a lot of different ones. And I know myself being an engineer and a product owner, no matter how many years I put in, I just constantly miss the mark no matter what. I either end up underestimating or overestimating. Let's dive right in and talk about what are some of the problems that happen when we don't accurately estimate.   Hiten Shah:           Yeah. I think, when we're building products, we don't generally think about how long it's going to take to build them even though we pretend we do. We end up creating a road map with a bunch of timelines and we don't actually talk amongst the team, because, usually, a product can't be built by a single person. If it could have been built by a single person, then you don't have to worry about it as much because that single person has all the answers. One thing that ends up happening is you end up having surprises that come up that you didn't think of. You're thinking about using a certain technology, let's say such as Twilio or SendGrid or an API and the engineer has never used it before. They get in the weeds of it and they realize it's going to take longer than they think. And then your estimate is blown up and you're off. That's a very common problem.   What Causes Scope Creep In Product Management                     There's a few others, too. One other one that I've seen people hit continuously is this idea of scope creep. We're both product people. You happen to be an engineer. I happen to be more a marketer. But we love product and building them and teaching other people how to do it, too. One of the aspects of that is we might still be learning and doing research as the product is being built, and we all of a sudden have this great idea we want to add. We go in and kind of blow up the whole process and expect that the timeline is not going to change or don't even think about the timeline and say, "Hey, we're going to build this new thing on top of the thing we're doing." Or, "Can you add this little tweak?" And not realizing how disruptive that is to the process of building the product itself.   What Happens When Communication On A Modern Software Team Breaks Down                     Another thing that's very common is that if you aren't communicating very well with your team, especially the engineers when you decide that you're going to build something, what ends up happening is the best thing that they can do if you haven't spent enough time communicating early and often is they end up padding. They end up actually adding a whole day—or worse yet—a week or months to a rough estimate. We call it a rough estimate because it's rough.                     Those are some of the more kind of common problems that come up when you're building something and trying to get estimates and actually think you have the right great estimates, which is the most common thing. And then all of a sudden all these things happen that you are probably are not conscious to about what kind of problems they cause in terms of being able to ship something on time.   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Right. I think two other things I'm curious to hear your take on are large tasks. How do you actually divide them up and then the follow through? You think you're 80% way there and then you discover actually you just finished 50%.   What Causes Scope Creep? Large Tasks That Aren’t Broken Down.   Hiten Shah:           Yeah. I see companies creating, even in my own companies, so much work that is not actually broken down enough. You might think that it's easy to add a button somewhere, so you say, "OK. This is a button." You think it's a small task. Maybe you're not the engineer, because often times you're the product person, or even if you are the engineer. Then the engineer, whether you decided to do it as an engineer or the product person, you get into the task and all of a sudden you're like, "I have to add the button." There's all these other things that need to change whether it's the user interface, or you're missing a certain component, or what that button does is more complicated than you thought. What ends up happening is this seemingly small task is actually a large task. It's usually because you haven't thought through all the things that you need to think through when you add something like that. And I'm talking about a button. Imagine a whole feature. Right? And considering that to be a small task when it really turns into a large one. I think the most common thing I see is that these things you consider small are actually large.   What Causes Scope Creep? Thinking That Tasks Are ‘Simple’ Or ‘Small’                     Another common thing is not realizing that what you're asking for is actually a large task. Right. Like adding a messaging feature or things like that. Even a lot of times, I've had emails come in to me from people who are customers saying, "You can send me SMS as notifications. It will take one hour using Twilio, another two hours through your database and you're done."   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Great. Come on down and write it for us.   Hiten Shah:           You want to do it for me? I'll hold you to the three hours, because it's never as long as people say it is.   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Yeah. There's a lot of different approaches we also like to take when it does come to estimating. Even though we know all these problems, we still continue to take an approach. Right? Let's dive into the approaches.   Well-Intentioned Product Methodologies: Waterfall, Agile, and Lean Startup   Hiten Shah:           Yeah. I think one of the most common approaches that is very still operated by in a lot companies is what we call waterfall, which is one task happens after another task, after another task. A lot of times people are waiting on these things. This is actually the reason another process was invented called agile, which I know both of us are familiar with. Where you're essentially—the way I would describe it is you're trying to do things much more efficiently by basically having more regular meetings and having, I guess, smaller batches of work. What ends up happening there is you create this sort of system that works almost on a weekly basis at best. It means that you have a cadence of following up on all the tasks, we call it agile because you're supposed to be more agile with it and it's more nimble than waterfall and that's completely true, but you lose a lot in the process. Those are the two common ways that I'm most familiar with.                     Then there's a third way, which I think is more inspired by things like *Lean Startup*, which again I like to say that we both probably grew up with that so to speak, around us. That's where you are even more hyper—I would call that more hyper agile than anything else, where you're adding in the component of much more customer feedback in the process, because agile wasn't necessarily invented at a time when customer feedback was a popular thing.   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Right. What are some of the painful after effects of using agile?   How To Estimate Stories In Agile   Hiten Shah:           What ends up happening with agile—one of my favorites, and there's a lot of tools out there that facilitate this—is the idea of adding points to an agile process. What you end up doing is you're officiating time. You're saying that something that would take one to three hours is like one point. Or something that would take three to six hours is two points or three points. And they have all these things like Fibonacci sequences. There's a lot of fanciness around points, when you're really trying to understand time not points. The reason that points exist is because—and not that I think this is necessarily bad, it's better than other methods—but some engineers decided that they wanted a metric that wasn't time.   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Right.   Hiten Shah:           They literally said, "It can't be time, because we cannot estimate."   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Because they basically didn't want somebody to know that something was going to take only 15 minutes or five hours.   Hiten Shah:           Exactly. Your minimum there is an hour at best. Often times it's much more. The thing is every team that I've seen implement agile with points in different ways. Their whole buckets around the number of points something takes is all different. What ends up happening is that engineers now feel great because they have a velocity score. And they can talk about how many more points they're doing every week or how many points they're doing every week as a total. And that's really hiding what I would call the truth, which is how long did something actually take.   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Yeah. I know one of the alternatives is to just get rid of estimates all together, but you've probably experienced what that's like. Talk about what results when you get rid of estimates.   What Happens When You Get Rid of Estimating Stories   Hiten Shah:           Sure. If you get tired of agile for whatever reason—and usually this happens because somebody that's a non-engineer is really not into it, because they don't understand what a point is even though it has timings and stuff. Then estimates are completely removed, which means points are removed and then there's just tasks. Then you run into some of the problems from earlier. Is it a small task? Is it a big task ? What it really boils down to...if you have no ability to understand how long something’s going to take or even how many points, let's say, then you end up not knowing how to prioritize what you work on. If there's just 10 tasks and all of a sudden the engineer's working on one and then you ask the engineer, "Oh. How are you doing?" They're like, "Oh, it's going to take another week." Well, if I had known that task you took was going to take another week or two weeks or whatever, I probably would have told you to work on something different because our customers are waiting for things. Right.                     And that tends to be one of the bigger problems that happens, which is this communication breakdown because nothing is estimated, whether it's points or hours or whatever way people want to do it. And you end up having a massive communication issue and then you have these fiefdoms that get created. You have engineering not against, but against product, against sales, against marketing. And everyone's just waiting for product, everyone's just waiting for things to ship so you can make customers happy.   What Happens When You Pad Your Estimates   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Right. One of the alternatives to both these is to create a buffer. Let's pad the system so that as an engineer I don't look bad and as a product person you feel like, oh, OK, there's some wiggle room. But we know that that has its shortfalls. Let's talk about those.   Hiten Shah:           Yeah. Of course. I think padding is probably one of the worst practices, and you might as well have no estimate or no points or anything like that, because you're essentially saying that whatever estimate I give you, I don't know. I don't know. I'm going to pad it. Then you get in this padding mentality and then you still end up with the same problem that you actually didn't have a real estimate, and things are such a moving target that you failed to ship, you failed to actually do proper planning. You end up having a business where you're actually not getting the product you need in your customers’ hands fast enough so you can actually grow the business. I think padding leads to a whole different set of issues, because what ends up happening in the worst way I can say to you—and I've already said it in pretty aggressive ways—is that everyone's lying to everyone else. That doesn't help with prioritization or getting anything done either.   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Well, thank you for taking the time today to share the shortfalls of these three approaches. I can't wait til next time when you unveil your approach for estimates.   Hiten Shah:           Yeah. Can't help but share solutions with problems.   Poornima Vijayashanker:        Thank you.   How Do You Estimate Stories And Tasks?                     Now, Hiten and I want to know, have you tried one of these three approaches and how have they fell short for you? Let us know in the comments below. And that's it for this week's episode. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive the next episode where Hiten is going to dive into his approach for doing estimates. Ciao for now.                     This episode of *Build* is brought to you by our sponsor, Pivotal Tracker.

What is food peace in the context of struggling with PCOS? Listen now to hear my PCOS and Food Peace Manifesto! Subscribe and leave a review here in just seconds. This episode is brought to you by my online course, Your Step-by-Step Guide to PCOS and Food Peace™. Sign up now to get on the waitlist for the next enrollment period in later this month, and receive my FREE road map: Your First 3 Steps Toward Food Peace™ with PCOS. You CAN make peace with food even with PCOS and I want to show you how. Product links may be affiliate. If you click and make a purchase, there's no extra cost to you. Episode's Key Points: What IS food peace and PCOS anyway? What if we've been told to eat this, not that, in order to manage our PCOS? How do we move away from that kind of thinking? Do some of us end up engaging in anorexia nervosa trying to manage our PCOS? Yes! Especially if we're in larger bodies. People in larger bodies are urged to practice eating behaviors that we diagnose as disordered in smaller bodies... this is a problem! It also points to how fatphobic our society is. Dieting increases inflammation, which is one of the biggest issues with PCOS! At least one in ten women suffer from PCOS, but there's minimal research funding for it. We need to get more information on this condition! So what's food peace? Food peace is coming to terms that diets don't work for you, and understanding that diets are the failure, not you. It's time to find a new way to eat, and listen to your bodies for the answers! Women with PCOS have a different kind of communication with their body, and it's my job to guide you through learning that mode of communication. If you're in a place where you're struggling to manage your PCOS, you may feel like you're ALWAYS hungry. The food peace process is about reconnecting with your intuitive self and learning what that feeling of being always hungry really means. Dieting predicts weight gain and eating disorders, and intuitive eating leads to positive health outcomes. So really, which one is better for our health? Here's my PCOS and Food Peace Manifesto: You didn't cause your PCOS! Diets failed, not you! Diets are a form of restriction, so it's no wonder you feel like you can't control yourself around food. Your weight doesn't define your health or your worth! Your PCOS has its own language! Notice what helps energize you, and what doesn't! Self-care matters, and so does advocacy! 25% of our health is due to behaviors, and 75% of our health are determined by social determinants of health and our genetics... this means that stigma and discrimination have a HUGE impact on our health! Specifically, weight stigma contributes to inflammation and poor health due to the fight or flight response. There are SO many of us out there ready to help you fight weight stigma in PCOS healthcare. Come join us! Show Notes: Julie Dillon RD blog Link to subscribe to the weekly FREE Food Peace™ Newsletter. It is sent out every Tuesday morning. By signing up, I will also send you Love Food's Food Peace™ Syllabus. POCS and Food Peace Support Group Monika Woolsey's work Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch Love, Food Podcast Episode with Evelyn Tribole Love, Food Podcast Episode with Elyse Resch Love, Food Podcast Season 2 Premiere (Episode 100) Eating Disorder Dietitians can help your Food Peace™ journey. Get access to one near you here. Do you have a complicated relationship with food? I want to help! Send your Dear Food letter to LoveFoodPodcast@gmail.com.  Click here to leave me a review in iTunes and subscribe. This type of kindness helps the show continue! Thank you for listening to the Love, Food series.

In episode #25, Wilco talks about the most important of every sale which is what do you once someone becomes a customer of yours. Time Stamped Show Notes: �00:30: Today's episode is going be relevant for you and you specifically. 01:15: The most important aspect is actually, what do you once someone becomes a customer of yours. 01:48: You need to put in the work to get the customers in. 01:59: It's so much cheaper to get someone who's already a customer to buy another product of yours over and over again. 02:48: Now, the most important part is often to get your customers to consume your product. 04:10: The moment that they start consuming your course, the moment they actually go through your course, that's when things change. 04:51: He had a genius idea for this, in his course, he's basically adding incentives for people to go through it. 06:40: Connectio.io, it's a platform where we sell various tools for Facebook advertising. 06:43: ConnectLeads, it's a tool to collect Facebook lead ads and add them into your auto spinner. 06:45: Connect Audience which automatically synchronizes any of your email lists. 06:50: ConnectRetarget, you can run behavioral target audiences. 07:35: I bundled them all together, we call that ConnectSuite. 09:10: As I said, I'm in a software as a service, so we are depending on recurring revenue. 09:55: I'm actually thinking of creating a course which basically takes them by the hand, and then going through every step by step, how do you basically from zero to creating a profitable Facebook ad campaign. 11:35: On top of that, I'm currently setting up various email automations that basically will check that they consumed the content. 12:35: We know that once people actually go through and consume everything, they're going to be way more likely to actually stick around. 13:53: Don't just sell them the idea of that, make sure to actually go through after the sale. 14:09 If you even add more value to the product than you initially promise them, then they're going to be a loyal customer for life. 15:06: It's going to be a customer for life if you treat them well right and with respect.00:30: Today's episode is going be relevant for you and you specifically. 01:15: The most important aspect is actually, what do you once someone becomes a customer of yours. 01:48: You need to put in the work to get the customers in. 01:59: It's so much cheaper to get someone who's already a customer to buy another product of yours over and over again. 02:48: Now, the most important part is often to get your customers to consume your product. 04:10: The moment that they start consuming your course, the moment they actually go through your course, that's when things change. 04:51: He had a genius idea for this, in his course, he's basically adding incentives for people to go through it. 06:40: Connectio.io, it's a platform where we sell various tools for Facebook advertising. 06:43: ConnectLeads, it's a tool to collect Facebook lead ads and add them into your auto spinner. 06:45: Connect Audience which automatically synchronizes any of your email lists. 06:50: ConnectRetarget, you can run behavioral target audiences. 07:35: I bundled them all together, we call that ConnectSuite. 09:10: As I said, I'm in a software as a service, so we are depending on recurring revenue. 09:55: I'm actually thinking of creating a course which basically takes them by the hand, and then going through every step by step, how do you basically from zero to creating a profitable Facebook ad campaign. 11:35: On top of that, I'm currently setting up various email automations that basically will check that they consumed the content. 12:35: We know that once people actually go through and consume everything, they're going to be way more likely to actually stick around. 13:53: Don't just sell them the idea of that, make sure to actually go through after the sale. 14:09 If you even add more value to the product than you initially promise them, then they're going to be a loyal customer for life. 15:06: It's going to be a customer for life if you treat them well right and with respect. 00:30: Today's episode is going be relevant for you and you specifically. 01:15: The most important aspect is actually, what do you once someone becomes a customer of yours. 01:48: You need to put in the work to get the customers in. 01:59: It's so much cheaper to get someone who's already a customer to buy another product of yours over and over again. 02:48: Now, the most important part is often to get your customers to consume your product. 04:10: The moment that they start consuming your course, the moment they actually go through your course, that's when things change. 04:51: He had a genius idea for this, in his course, he's basically adding incentives for people to go through it. 06:40: Connectio.io, it's a platform where we sell various tools for Facebook advertising. 06:43: ConnectLeads, it's a tool to collect Facebook lead ads and add them into your auto spinner. 06:45: Connect Audience which automatically synchronizes any of your email lists. 06:50: ConnectRetarget, you can run behavioral target audiences. 07:35: I bundled them all together, we call that ConnectSuite. 09:10: As I said, I'm in a software as a service, so we are depending on recurring revenue. 09:55: I'm actually thinking of creating a course which basically takes them by the hand, and then going through every step by step, how do you basically from zero to creating a profitable Facebook ad campaign. 11:35: On top of that, I'm currently setting up various email automations that basically will check that they consumed the content. 12:35: We know that once people actually go through and consume everything, they're going to be way more likely to actually stick around. 13:53: Don't just sell them the idea of that, make sure to actually go through after the sale. 14:09 If you even add more value to the product than you initially promise them, then they're going to be a loyal customer for life. 15:06: It's going to be a customer for life if you treat them well right and with respect.   Transcription:                   Hey hey. It's Wilco de Kreij here back for another episode. Today's episode is going be relevant for you and you specifically. The reason why I know that is because this is going to be very relevant for pretty much everyone who runs a business, everyone who's selling something, whether it's online or offline actually. It doesn't really matter. Today I'm going to talk about, what is essentially the most important aspect of every sale. Whenever you sell something to a customer, like I said, it doesn't matter whether it's online or offline, whether you're in B to B, B to C, or if you're running a set of servers like I do, or it really does not matter. The most important thing isn't what you do up to that point, isn't the kind of adds that you're running, isn't the kind of landing page you get, isn't the kind of emails that you're sending out. It isn't all that stuff. The most important aspect is actually, what do you once someone becomes a customer of yours.              The thing is that a lot of people are like a lot of the times, really focused on getting new customers through the door. A lot of the time as a marketer, it's focused on that aspect, but the reason why we're focusing so much time on that is because it's hard to get customers to the door. Right? Obviously I love it. I'm a marketer. It's not like you just put one message online, and you'll get 1,000 customers. You need to put in the work. You need to put in the work to get the customers in. Here's the thing. Here's the thing.             Once someone is a customer, it's so much cheaper, so much easier to get them to become repeat customers. It's so much cheaper to get someone who's already a customer to buy another product of yours over and over again, compared to going for someone new who's never heard of you before. This goes for every kind of market. Personally, I am as a service, which means that I'm very much focused on recurring. I'm charging a monthly or yearly. Obviously, I want them to actually start using our platforms. I want them to get results that they desire because once they get the results they desire using our platforms, they're never going to leave. Right? They're going to stick around. They're going to pay us monthly, month after month after month, year after year after year. That is our goal. That is our win win. They are getting the value that they want, and in return they're paying us a monthly fee. Right?             Now, the most important part is often to get your customers to consume your product. Right? Let's take for example digital products, digital courses. There's a ton of people who sell digital courses but as you may know, most people who buy an online course, they don't go through the course. They don't. I'm going to assume that let's say you have an online course, and you create something of value. You create a course that I'm going to assume that you're proud of it, right? You created the course. You put all your heart and soul into it and you're proud of it, and you know that if someone is going through that course, it will help them. You know what else will happen once they go through that course? They will thank you for it. They will love you for it. They will respect you. They will see you as the authority.             If someone just sees and ad on Facebook and they see your ad and maybe they go through your sales page, your webinar and then they purchase your course. They don't consume the product, they just made an impulse decision to purchase your product but there's a good chance that next week or so, they don't even know who you are, or a month later or so. You haven't really built a connection. You haven't really helped them. The moment that they start consuming your course, the moment they actually go through your course, that's when things change. Now, obviously you can think, I'm doing every thing I can to sell them. I'm going to get them excited and assuming that they're excited enough to purchase my course, then they're going to consume the thing as well.              Well, that's where you're wrong. Even after they open their wallet, even after they took the credit card and made a purchase, then you sort of need to sell them again into going through your product. You need to do everything you can. I say a wile ago I was at a mastermind, and there was this guy. His name was Dean Harland. He had a genius idea for this. In his course, he's basically adding incentives for people to go through it. He basically he raised the price of the product a little but, but because of that, basically I'm just going to give you an example number. These are not real numbers. Let's say his original course was $50. What he would actually do is he would say, "Hey it's not 50. It's actually $60." Let's say it's 10 modules and then once people bought it, he would say, "Alright cool. You know what? Every single time you finish a module, I'll give you a dollar. Every single time, I'll give you a dollar." Obviously, they'll be paid at the end, because they don't want to send over a dollar every single time, because of the hassle.             Because of that, people got instant gratification. I'm not saying you need to pay people to go through your course. Definitely not. What he did is genius because it made people, even more excited not just to purchase the course, because often people just get excited to buy it because the idea of getting the results, but actually going through the course, that's another thing. He got people excited go through the course, to actually go and consume all the content and because of that, he immediately turned into the guy who helped him, and the actual authority, and the expert in his market. Because of that, it was no so much easier to then say, "I've got all these other kind of products," because now they already knew, this course was insanely good, especially for the kind of money I paid. The next kind of course is probably good as well.             His uptake on his follow up courses, they went through the roof using this method. The reason why I'm bringing this up right here is actually because we're actually going through something in our business as well. As you probably know, or may or may not know actually, one of my businesses is called Connectio.io. It's a platform where we sell various tools for Facebook advertising. For example, we have ConnectLeads. It's a tool to collect Facebook lead ads and add them into your auto spinner. We have Connect Audience which automatically synchronizes any of your email lists. For example, if you're using Active Campaign, you can create a custom audience on Facebook saying everyone who opens a certain email or everyone who did not open. We have ConnectRetarget. You can run behavioral target audiences. You can actually read target people based on for example, if they scroll to a certain section on your page, or based on how many seconds or how many minutes they spend on your site, and all kinds of behavioral things.             We got a bunch of Facebook tools and what I recently did as a test, is I bundled them all together. I sold them as a package all together. We call that ConnectSuite and based on that, they've got all these tools together. Here's the problem. Basically we said, here's ConnectSuite, and you get all these different tools. Then people log in and they saw all these different tools and they we didn't notice but as we started talking to our customers, they were sort of overwhelmed. They didn't know where to start. They didn't even, they were literally overwhelmed. They were literally like, alright, where do I start? Do I start with ConnectExplore, ConnectLeads, ConnectRetarget, ConnectAudience? What do I do first?               We thought, this is an amazing value for Facebook advertising, and it is. We see that people who are already using Facebook ads, they immediately see the value because the get it. They get what all these tools do and they get the amount of value. They get what kind of impact it has on their results. We also get customers in, who are just starting out with Facebook ads, and they're sort of overwhelmed. Because of that, they're not actually going through everything and they want to be taken by the hand and show them what is what.              Because of that, because people were not actually going through everything, because people were not really consuming it, the actual cancellation rate was way too high. As I said, I'm in a software as a service, so we are depending on recurring revenue. We need to decrease our turn out rate. We need to make sure that most people are going to want to stick with us. They don't want to cancel. If people are canceling because they don't even know what we do, then we have something to work on.              I'll give you an example. Here's something we're currently working on to fix this. I still want to sell all of these products as a package because I think it's an amazing value and I know it's going to help a lot of Facebook advertisers, but because I don't want to overwhelm them, I'm actually thinking. This is right now just something that's in my mind. If you want a bit of a back story, you might actually see this later on in a webinar or somewhere in a special offer anything like that, when I'm testing it out. Here's the idea.              Instead of basically selling ConnectSuite, I'm actually thinking of creating a course which basically takes them by the hand, and then going through every step by step, how do you basically from zero to creating a profitable Facebook ad campaign. Not just using our tools, but leveraging our tools but also leveraging all the regular things that are inside the Facebook ads, all the regular strategies and how do you write your ads and things like that. By doing that, we can actually if we sell that course to potential customers, and along with that, we actually say, "On top of that you'll actually get a trail to ConnectSuite." They'll still be able to use all these tools, but now instead of buying all the tools, and in their minds they should be getting value out of all of these tools, now they are actually purchasing that course. That course has a single entry point. They have a single entry point like this is what I should actually go through. Lesson one, module one, module two, module three, module four, module five, module six, et cetera, et cetera.             Because of that, it's going to be easier for them to go through everything without being overwhelmed because it's going to be short videos one by one, and instead of confusing them with like five different options. Where do you get started. You get the point. My idea is that that's going to help a lot. On top of that, still I don't just want to assume that people are going to go through the content. On top of that, I'm currently setting up various email automations that basically will check. This is something more advanced. I'm not sure what other easy tools for this to create. I'm using ActiveCampaign so I'm a bit of a nerd. I would say so. Actually doing some checks and sending custom bags over to see if someone went through a module or not. Basically, what we're going to do is basically create a photo sequence that will depend based on what people have already been through.             If they purchased but they haven't been through the course, they're going to get certain emails. If they already went through certain parts of the course, then they're going to get emails about the parts they have not yet been going through. We're not just going to say, go through the course. No. We're actually getting them excited. We're still kind of selling them on the idea. We're showing for example case studies and what people have done using that system, or we're sending out small triggers or curiosity gaps or anything we can do to try to get people excited about the next step they should take. We know that once people actually go through and consume everything, they're going to be way more likely to actually stick around. By the end of the course, they might just have a profitable Facebook ad campaign, which is awesome. They'll also be doing that, leveraging our tools inside of Connectio.io.             Because of that, because they are not sort of dependent on it. Now they're used to it, they're not as likely to cancel because they already know if they will cancel on Connectio.io, then for example, their retargeting ads are not going to perform as well, because they don't have ConnectRetarget anymore. They will have to find another solution for their Facebook lead ads. They will have to manually create and update their custom audiences instead of ConnectAudience doing that automatically for them, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.             My point here is that whatever you are selling, whatever it is. It could be a service, could be B to B, could even be B to C, doesn't really matter. Make sure to get your customers to consume your product. Make sure to get them, whatever you're selling them on, whatever your product is solving for them, don't just sell them the idea of that. Make sure to actually go through after the sale. Make sure you follow them. Make sure you over deliver with even more value than you delivered upfront. If you make sure that they will go through your product, they will consume your product. If you even add more value to the product than you initially promise them, then they're going to be a loyal customer for life.             The most important thing, what you can do, when every sale happens is what you do after the sale. I'm going to be completely honest here, I haven't done that in every part of my online career. Initially I just had a couple of email campaigns and when I started out, what I was basically doing is just pitching them in the next product, next product, next product. Even though short term that kind of works. It's okay to have an upsell, but initially I was thinking, I need to sell them more. Now, I know that it's even more important to get them to consume the product, to get them to build that connection and forge that connection and then, later when the time is right, then of course, yeah, you can make them another offer if that is relevant for them, if that actually helps them. That's fine.             At that point, you already have established yourself as being a real relationship. You already have a good relationship with them. It's going to be a customer for life if you treat them well right and with respect. That's my tip for all of you today, to make sure that every single time you get a customer though the door, do whatever you can do to make them feel special, make them go through your content, make them consume your product, and just make sure you're doing whatever they want you to do and be awesome.             With that having said, I'll see you all on the next episode. Talk to you soon.              

"It's the forcing of things, the ego-rich need to control, that leads to stress.  Simply allow things to be as they are"  - Thom Walters Question of the Day: When, if ever, was the last time you did something and simply said "Whatever will happen, will happen"? Action of the Day: Make a list of all the possibilities of outcomes from your next action, whatever it is. THANKS FOR LISTENING! Thanks again for listening to the show! If it has helped you in any way, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the page. Also, reviews for the podcast on iTunes are extremely helpful, they help it reach a wider audience.  The more positive reviews the higher in the rankings it goes.  Of course that means more peace in the world.  So please let me know what you think.  I read ever one of them.

Guest Hero: Katy Bowman - Part biomechanist, part science communicator, and full-time mover at nutritiousmovement.com Hello cubicle crouchers, open space sitters, corner office pacers, home den dancers and coffee shop squatters. My name is Brock Armstrong and I am… You’re expecting me to say “I am the Workplace Hero” but I am not. The goal of this podcast is to make you into a Workplace Hero. I am simply here to give you something to listen to on the subway. Before we really dive in, here’s a teaser - some stats for you to be horrified at: Only 18% of adults get the total amount of physical activity recommended for good health. And 40% get no physical activity at all! We average North Americans work more than 47 hours a week and we are sitting down for most of that time. In fact we’re sitting down more than ever before in history: 9.3 hours per day! That's more time than we spend sleeping which is 7.7 hours per night. Before I overwhelm you with even more stats and percentages, I want to encourage you to visit SkywalkerFitness.ca. That is the coaching business that I run. Whether you are wanting to run a 10k or a marathon, race in a triathlon, pack on some muscle, clean up your diet, or get totally ripped, I will create a plan for you. And there are no cookie cutter programs allowed. Just 100% tailored programs that fit around your life’s commitments. And for being a Workplace Hero, I will give you a special deal on your first 3 months of coaching. Head over to SkywalkerFitness.ca and send me a note referencing this podcast so I can start building you the perfect program to meet your wellness goals. And now back to some the horrifying stats… Did you know that sitting for 6 hours (or more) per day makes you up to 40% more likely to die within 15 years than someone who sits less for than 3 hours per day? And here's the kicker – this is true even if you get regular exercise. Humans evolved to participate in an assortment of daily movement and physical challenges. Unfortunately, the vast majority of humans aren't honouring our genes. And being a fitness enthusiast, or even a serious competitive athlete, doesn’t give you a free pass here. Between 1980 and the year 2000, exercise rates in the UK stayed the same but sitting increased by 8% and obesity doubled. Bluntly put - sitting on our butts is killing us and making us fat! Wait that was a strange order to say that in… let me try that again: sitting on our butts is making us fat and killing us! Obese people on average sit for 2 and a half more hours per day than thin people. And, incidentally, 1 in 3 of us is currently obese. Our desk jobs, commuting, watching TV, and playing video games all conspire to make us sedentary and this comfortable lifestyle takes its toll. Even those of us who exercise regularly still spend much of the workday planted in a chair in front of the computer. The solution: Reduce our sedentary behaviors to a total of just 3 hours per day and we have the potential to increase our average life expectancy by 2 years. Awesome! Right? Let’s look at what happens in our bodies when we sit? • Electrical activity in our leg muscles shuts off, • Calorie burning drops to only 1 calorie per minute, • Enzymes that help break down fat drop by 90%, • After 2 hours of sitting our HDL (good cholesterol) drops by 20%, • After 4 hours, our insulin effectiveness drops 24% and thus risk of diabetes rises, • After work, each extra hour of "couch time" raises all of these risks factors by another 11%. I have a confession to make. I am one of those people who has a standing workstation. I originally bought it because I read that standing at my desk, I can burn up to 50 extra calories per hour. That is approximately 400 extra calories per workday! I rocked that standing desk in a room full of sitters and I was pretty darn proud of myself… until I met Biomechanist, Katy Bowman. If you hang out on internet health sites, chances are you’ve read a headline that screams something like "sitting is the new smoking." That’s Katy. These headlines imply that sitting, like smoking, is statistically associated with numerous health issues including death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. And that it will take some time before we all wise up and quit. I’ll let her explain her job. As a biomechanist and kinesiologist, I help people understand that the shape of their body on the gross level (i.e. their posture) affects the shape of the cells themselves. In other words the way you have been sitting has changed the tiny parts that make up your structure; like the shape and density of your bones, the length of your muscles and tendons and the resting tension in your connective tissues. The adaptations to sitting on this deeper cellular level means that reaping the benefits of not sitting so much requires more than just swapping one static position for another. It requires an entire overhaul of the way you think about and move your body. Standing Workers (even the stationary ones like I was when I worked behind a cash register at a liquor store) burn about 1,500 calories while at work; a person behind a desk might burn 900. This goes a long way in explaining why people gain 16 pounds within 8 months of starting a sedentary office job. But even those with active jobs are generally engaged in repetitive tasks that only mobilize a fraction of their joints and muscles. Furthermore, the grind of physical labor can lead to assorted overuse injuries and health problems. But ok… what it really comes down to is that you don't absolutely have to stand all day long but you should absolutely interrupt your sitting and move around as often as you can. Back to Katy… As a longtime proponent of the "stop sitting so much" campaign, I am thrilled that sitting is finally getting attention in the media. Research into diseases associated with sitting like cancer, aren't new. The first article I ever read in 1997 on sitting and risks of cancer was published in 1993, which means scientists, at least somewhere, have known about this relationship for at least 20 years. In light of sitting resurgence, sitting less campaigns, healthy minded individuals (like me) have been super motivated to get out of there chairs and on to Physio balls, standing workstations (like me), and tread desks. The options to sit less are endless so the notion that standing in one place is a solution to sitting so much reminds me of that joke about all accidents happening within 15 miles from your home. “I read that all accidents happen within 15 miles of one's house so I moved” or “I read that sitting kills so now I'm afraid to stop standing.” Which is pretty much what I did when I was working for an email marketing firm in 2011. And… many of my coworkers followed my lead. As I explained more deeply and my book “Move Your DNA - Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement" the sitting itself really isn't the problem. It is the repetitive use of a single position that makes us literally become ill in a litany of ways. For example, muscles will adapt to repetitive positioning by changing their cellular make up, which in turn leads to less joint range of motion. This muscle and joint stiffness can lead to a stiffening of the arterial walls within these muscles. Is this bumming you out? Just hang on… The positive news is that because we've all been sitting "static" the same way for decades, changing our static positioning, i.e. standing more, can improve our health as can moving intermittently throughout the day. Ah ha! Moving intermittently throughout the day! Now this is actionable. When I was working for a big financial firm in downtown Toronto, I would often set an alarm on my iPhone to go off every hour, on the hour, and do pushups, or calf raises, or squats, or jumping jacks, or burpees. Getting up and raising your heart rate for 4 minutes, once an hour, gets you the 30 minutes per day that your doctor has been nagging you about. Plus it makes you more productive, clears your head, gets you refocused and energized. Yes, getting up from your desk is good for your brain as well as body. When you are not at work, look for opportunities to move around as well. Never sit on a bus. Always take the stairs. If you are on an escalator, pretend it’s stairs. Ignore what your mom told you and bounce a leg or fidget whenever you can. This extra movement is called “Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis” or “NEAT” and it all adds up! Here’s a good one - I never sit through a commercial break. They’re a built in timer that should cue you to get up and do something. I keep a set up dumbbells by the TV to swing around or I just wander into the other room. Just remember to come back before Rick tells Carl to stay in the house again. But anyway, lets get back to the comparison of sitting and smoking… Sitting and smoking are different. Sitting itself isn't the creator of ill effects the way a cigarette is. Sitting, the position, is perfectly harmless when consumed appropriately. It's not like putting your butt into a chair makes you ill. As they say, it's the dose that makes the poison. But isn’t “sitting still” what got us in trouble in the first place? Language can also get us into trouble when seeking solutions because we keep equating sitting with not moving. But in many cases the physical effects of sitting are just as much created by repetitive geometry (always sit in the same way) as they are by the metabolic changes that come with being sedentary. So in the same way that standing can improve your health, so can sitting differently which is great news for the millions of people who aren’t fit enough to stand for a considerable amount of time yet. Yes, even you who wants to change your risk profile for disease but feels trapped by your current physical limitations can change how you sit and improve your health on a cellular level. So this week your homework is clear. No, I don’t want you to take up smoking! Come on, man! No. Every day this week, set an alarm on your phone, computer, tablet or whatever to go off every hour. When it goes off. stand up and do some sort of movement that you don’t usually do. Like I said before: pushups, calf raises, squats, jumping jacks, burpees, dips on your chair, even some moves you learned in your yoga class would do. Just do something for 4 minutes and enjoy the feeling of rejuvenation, focus, clarity and a smidgen of superiority… ‘cause, well, you earned it. Extra points if you do it in the middle of a meeting. I’m serious. Every revolution needs a leader. ** Workplace Hero is researched, written, narrated and recorded by me Brock Armstrong with additional editing and social media from Eleanor Cohen. Artwork by Ken Cunningham and music by my old band, The Irregular Heartbeats. Today’s Hero is Biomechanist and DNA mover, Katy Bowman. Go to primalblueprint.com/dont-just-sit-there for more of Katy’s suggestions on how to become and better non-sitter. Special thanks to Katy and Primal Blueprint publishing for allowing me to use portions of their Don’t Just Sit There audiobook for this podcast.

On this episode of Court Appointed, Mike and Tommy discuss the real life trial of Doc Holliday and the Earp Brothers following the shootout at the OK Corral. What ???? But they were the Good Guys .......... Right ? I mean ........ Right? Let's go back for some frontier justice and find out how shootin' Cowboys wasn't quite as acceptable as the movies make it out to be. Later you can weigh in on which movie did it better. The Court is now in Session with music, "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" by MCRB.

On today's episode, I'm sharing some of my proven practices that help me keep a positive mindset. We're back with our 91st episode of the Fed+Fit Podcast! Remember to check back every Monday for a new episode and be sure to subscribe on iTunes! Find us HERE on iTunes and be sure to "subscribe." Episode 91 Sponsor Today's show is proudly sponsored by Aaptiv! Episode 91 Transcription

On today's episode, I'm sharing 5 healthy swaps you can make for a healthier, happier you this year! We're back with our 88th episode of the Fed+Fit Podcast! Remember to check back every Monday for a new episode and be sure to subscribe on iTunes! Find us HERE on iTunes and be sure to "subscribe." Episode 88 Transcription On today’s episode, I’m talking about 5 easy swaps we can make in 2017 that will have huge pay out with regard to your long-term healthy lifestyle. Cassy Joy: Welcome back to another episode of the Fed and Fit podcast. And Happy, Happy New Year! I hope this finds you well and having started off on the right foot in this New Year. And if you feel like you haven’t started off on the right foot; no sweat! Look at all the days ahead of us we have to start on the right foot {laughs}. So the important thing is that we are just putting one foot in front of the other and we are just doing our best. So don’t worry. I know there’s a lot of expectations and hopes going into the New Year. And there’s nothing wrong with those. There’s nothing wrong with New Years’ resolutions, and harnessing all this brand new start momentum and jazz around January 1st. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you feel like the first few days don’t live up to your expectations, just remember that they were just that; they were just expectations. So; I wanted to start off today’s episode with just a quick reminder about that. Maybe a little perspective, as we remember that every day is a new day to get started. So, today’s episode is really aimed at those of you maybe you didn’t necessarily come up with a new years’ resolution; or maybe if you did, maybe it was just to be a little bit healthier. You know it could really be anything across the gamut. What I wanted to cover today are five easy swaps that we can all make in the new year to make a healthier, happier version of ourselves. And they’re really simple. And to be honest, if you’ve been following my work for a long time, you probably already do a lot of this stuff. And if you have not been following my work for a long time, then I hope that you’re able to get something significant from today. And even if you are a seasoned veteran, maybe you’ll get something out of it, as well. I hope I have got a surprise or two in here for you. Five easy swaps. I tend to; if you have followed my work for a long time, you probably know and understand really well now that I don’t really like to create or foster an environment of constructing unrealistic expectations of ourselves. Because what do we do when we make unrealistic expectations of ourselves? If we don’t follow through on those, then we tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Right? So if your New Year’s resolution was to, say, never eat another piece of bread again, and then come January 2nd someone offers you up; I don’t know, a cupcake, and it’s your favorite cupcake in the world and they pressure you into eating it, and you buckle and you have a bite of the cupcake. If you had these huge unrealistic expectations that you would never have another bite of bread or breaded good again, you might feel like you failed it. And if you failed it with one bite of a cupcake, then you might as well go home and have pasta for dinner and cereal for breakfast the next morning, because we’re officially off the bandwagon. That’s what they mean by throw the baby out with the bathwater. So what I like to do is foster an environment of; maybe let’s start thinking of goals; really, goals are really good, healthy activity to work through, and we do work through those very strategically within the Fed and Fit Project online; but I think it’s important to set goals as far as our mindset and our perspective with footnotes that make exceptions for real life. Right? Let’s think realistically about what we can accomplish in this New Year. Let’s think realistically about the changes we can make that will have a huge im...

steve larsen: All right everybody, hey. I'm super excited for today. This is the first interview that I've actually done on, Sales Funnel Radio. It's actually one of the main reasons that I started this podcast. There's so many cool, silent, unspoken entrepreneurial heroes out there. I really, I just wanted to go expose a lot of those stories and share with you guys how possible it is to make a profitable sales funnel. Today, I have, actually one of my good friends, Ben Wilson, on the phone here recording. Ben and I actually have quite a history together. I'd say that I first got into sales funnels online with him, doing products with him. Anyway, I'm excited. We want to go through our story a little bit and share with you guys things you guys can do in your own business. Ben, how's it going? ben wilson: Absolutely good, man. Great to be here. steve larsen: Awesome, awesome. I was thinking back to the time when you and I first met. That was ... We were in college, that was back, what class was that? ben wilson: I think we were probably, Marketing 101, something wasting our time. steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: I remember leaning over and you were looking at Stripe, and I was like, "Most kids aren't looking at Stripe in class. Why is this kid looking at Stripe?" Then I leaned over and I was like, "Hey man, we should totally set up an API for you. We could get that going." You're like, "What do you know about Stripe?" I was like, "Yeah, man, I've set up Stripe." That was the start. steve larsen: That was the start right there. I remember I was making an e-book. ben wilson: Yeah. steve larsen: Yeah. That was my first attempt ever at making a landing page on WordPress, and I had spent two days trying to get this stupid theme to do what I wanted it to do. Yeah. That was funny. That project, I think I've sold two copies of that thing. It's on Amazon. ben wilson: That was a good book though. steve larsen: How did we get together after that though? What did we do? I actually can't remember. I just remember... ben wilson: I think we started bouncing ideas off as to what had done in the past. You started sharing to me about, I don't think you called it funnels at the time, you really started looking at affiliate marketing, and how to push products online without necessarily being attached. I think, I don't know if it was a clash, or some type of beautiful art piece. I always got attached, like, "Well, we have to brand it. We have to be attached to some level at what we're doing." You're like, "It doesn't matter what it is. Let's do it and we're moving forward." Just like a rubber band. Sometimes we'd have the snap, but the snap wasn't a bad thing. The snap was like, okay, I'll give up that I don't have to be that attached. You're like, "Okay, we can kind of brand it," and something would actually happen. Then we convinced our teachers. steve larsen: Yeah, yeah, yeah. ben wilson: I was describing this to someone yesterday. We convinced our teachers that what we were doing was a lot more beneficial. steve larsen: Than in class. ben wilson: Yes! steve larsen: I remember that. That was our internet marketing class itself, man. ben wilson: We missed ... I mean, we convinced several teachers... steve larsen: To not go to class anymore. ben wilson: To [call up the class 00:03:52] the class, and they're ... Oh man. I can't believe we actually pulled that off. steve larsen: Me neither. I was thinking about it. We drew up that plan. We got in our internet marketing and they were doing that stupid, SEO old school stuff. We both wanted to shoot ourselves. I noticed you were the other kid in the class that was just pounding their head on the wall. Like, "Oh this crap is so old. It doesn't work." ben wilson: Yes. I remember they were trying to teach WordPress, and they were like, "How do you do such and such?" I was like, every answer, both of us just raising our hands. steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: I was like, "Do we really have to sit here the entire time and build you a website? Can't we go build ourselves a website?" steve larsen: Yeah. That's funny. Then we wrote up that plan. It was basically a flow chart for pages. ben wilson: Yes! steve larsen: He said, "Yeah, go for it. Just bring a deliverable." Then we started meeting every morning for two or three hours. Way more than the other kids in class were doing it. I remember we made that first affiliate product. I think it was, Click Bank. Right? ben wilson: [inaudible 00:05:00] was it? Was our first one the weight loss supplements? steve larsen: It was something like ... No, no, it was the social media producer thing. We put a landing page together using some guys weird generator and put 50 bucks on it and woke up the next morning, saw that 50 bucks had come back, and I was like, "Holy crap! We didn't lose money!" We got 17 people to opt in, and we sold it. ben wilson: I was so stoked the moment we didn't lose money. That was the first accomplishments of, like, no way! steve larsen: How did we get with Paul Mitchell after that though? ben wilson: I think he was assigned to our class, and I had to go over ... steve larsen: That's right, you closed him. ben wilson: He was trying to do something with Facebook, and I noticed he had a lot more other issues than trying to do Facebook advertising through our class. Then we had an assignment that was to get 10 people to fill out the survey. You and I looked at each other like, "We could get a lot more than 10 people, but I'm not calling anyone." Right? Let's think hard of a way to get a lot more people. I think there ended up being, was there 1100 people we got to take the survey? steve larsen: Yeah. Everyone else got 100 or something. ben wilson: Yeah. I think they called their 10 people. steve larsen: Yep. ben wilson: Yeah. steve larsen: That was hilarious. Then we started driving traffic for them. Which, I can't believe we did that. Oh, and then the [Arhenis 00:06:32] Project. ben wilson: Arhenis. You and I were out for what, 72 hours straight building a website, and then come to find out, the guy didn't even mention his website that we had built for him after being asked by him to build this website. steve larsen: Gosh, that whole thing was so weird. ben wilson: We were like, "There's a million people watching right now, and the only way you're going to further your career is by sending people to this website, and you got 2 hours to do it." We sat, I sat, we sat there and even Paul Mitchell watching. They're like, "Okay, any time now, any time now." steve larsen: Mention, just say the URL, just say, and he never did. ben wilson: We're like, "We do not have to run any type of funnels. If you just by chance mention this email address that you paid $1800 for, if you could just mention it once." steve larsen: It would be great. Those of you who are listening, Paul Mitchell asked us to come build out ... They basically said, "Hey, we're getting on tv in 2 days, we need a website people can go to, and we need a lead capture system and all this stuff." This was ... Just mapping the same time, this was when ClickFunnels was still in beta. It was a while ago. It was way longer than that ago. Man, how long ago was that? That was 2 or 3 years ago now wasn't it? ben wilson: We're coming up on ... I mean, it's been 18 months since I graduated, and that was before my last semester. Yeah, at least 2 years. steve larsen: Yeah, yeah. Paul Mitchell, they hired us ... I think we're okay. I'm going to say names. This is a while ago now. They wouldn't pay us, and this is what I love about Ben. Ben looked over at me, and I can't remember the exact phrase. You know, I won't say the phrase he said, but you had this crazy look in your eye. You're like, "Dude, I'm going to go put one period in their code." I was like, "What?" I remember just watching you, and we were in the library on campus. You opened up the back end code, and you put one period in their PHP, in their code, and it white screened the entire website. I was like, "This kids a cowboy. This is awesome!" ben wilson: Like, that's it. Your website's done. You're not paying us, you don't get our benefit. Then, we set out to make Beauty School Index. steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: Do you remember that? steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: We were like, "We're just going to just give out free leads to every other beauty school for free, and not Paul Mitchell." steve larsen: We scraped 100, what was it like, 1,000 email addresses for them? ben wilson: A thousand email addresses. We ran a campaign to get beauty schools on board with us of how we were going to give them free leads. Our open rate was through the roof. steve larsen: We did a 77% open rate. ben wilson: Yeah, and we had a really big return. We asked people to fill out questions. I don't even remember the questions. I remember you coming back and being like, "We got to get them involved and we need their feedback. That way they're contributing and they're loyal to whatever we're going to do for them. That way they value the leads that we give them." I think one of them was, How is it, or what are you struggling with and how can we help you? steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: That's everything we have been doing, and everything I do now always stem from that question that you ask them. We've got to provide a value, so if we listen to them, they're a lot more loyal. We're like, if that's what you want, let's give it to you. steve larsen: Yeah, yeah, yeah. ben wilson: It started from there, and then I moved to Colorado, and it seemed out of sight and out of mind. That's where my life got dark Steven. No longer with you. steve larsen: I got obsessed with sales funnels at that time, and I started dueling for different companies in the area. That was good times man. Talk about a walk down memory lane there. That's awesome. Now you, I mean, it's funny. I can't remember, you sent a message over to [inaudible 00:11:04], would you look at this site. I was wondering if you could just tell everyone who's listening right now a little bit about your website, and what is it you do, and how you came about with that. It's pretty genius. At first, it was like, I had never heard of it, and then you were like, "Oh I have 2,000 subscribers a week later." Oh, now we've made a butt load of money already and not spend a dollar on ads. It's like, what the heck. I thought it would be kind of cool if you want, this is totally your brag moment. Just tell what happened. ben wilson: No, you're good. It's similar, I guess backtrack a bit. Steven and I also once ... Remember when we launcHed [SWOG 00:11:38]? Some of it stemmed from that. There's this new concept of Trilify stemmed from what we were doing at SWOG when you and I came up with a business, entered into a business competition, and we've really been doing it for a week and half. A lot of it was just driving traffic and getting, running people through a certain type of funnel which is so funny because it wasn't ... Neither of us knew what ClickFunnels, at least I didn't and I didn't never think of it necessarily like ClickFunnels, but everything at the time was exactly what is going on at ClickFunnels. We were running people through a certain cycle getting a certain amount of information each time. That way there was creating this loyalty. Similar process as to what you and I were doing with SWOG, is running through certain sales cycles. The concept is only running through affiliates. Affiliates, typically there is the affiliate program that you send out, and anyone can join and sign up. steve larsen: Mm-hmm (affirmative)- ben wilson: Where as, what we're doing is approaching... steve larsen: Like, specific ones? ben wilson: Very specific people who have followers already. Right? When they send out a tweet, they've already gained a genuine sincere following. We don't have to worry about traffic when they send out tweets, or a Facebook post, or making a YouTube video, or anything of that nature because they already have the followers. There's a certain amount of followers that we're trying to gather as well as a certain age group of people who haven't done affiliate marketing, they're not seeking to only do affiliate marketing. We're looking at it at a more of a, how do we provide value to them? They don't recognize how much value they can provide. Millennials are a perfect target because a lot of them are seeking more fame and if they can get fame and money without having to go through the typical college and Corporate America, and they can continue doing and being famous, even it's to several thousand people, they still consider themselves like a taste-maker. We look at those people, try to run some ways of how can we provide value. A lot of it is creating a brand for them or running through certain memorabilia designs that they don't have to worry about their backend. It's like an agency coming to a talent and saying, you keep doing you, and send people to your new "Websites." This is what's going to drive a lot of traffic. We just launched on June 9th. steve larsen: Just a month ago? ben wilson: Just a month ago. Came up with a concept and 3 weeks later we just threw together a Shopify because we didn't have to deal with PCI compliance. steve larsen: Sure, sure. ben wilson: Or any of the other reasons of our design. Easily threw it together, found a bunch of products that we could have drop shipped that looked pretty cool that we didn't have to necessarily have any products on hand. We weren't going to lose out on any up-front costs. It was simply, "Hey, it's brand new. It's going to take 3 weeks to get to you, and we're sending it to you from our Chinese suppliers." steve larsen: Right. ben wilson: Which was the beauty behind it. Suddenly everyone didn't have to care about Trilify, they cared about the person, and the person who had a brand within Trilify. steve larsen: You effectively have gone, and you created an e-commerce store, based around clothing that is totally outsourced to China? ben wilson: Completely. steve larsen: That's amazing, dude. ben wilson: Completely. We've got no products on hand, and we don't have any storage cost. We're not shipping anything, we're not wasting our time. steve larsen: So it's a huge drop ship operation basically? ben wilson: Completely. Now, we could definitely make a lot more money per product if we were to buy upfront. However, we also had, we wanted to come out with a hundred products and then start narrowing down, and then selecting which products are being purchased and obviously moving forward looking at finding a new fulfillment service that we could buy in bulk and then have someone else fulfill it. We're run ... We'll scale it as it needs to be but, we had a hypothesis of how much traffic would come, and our traffic was a lot more than we thought we had. We ended up doing 50,000 by the end of the month. steve larsen: 50,000 people? ben wilson: 50,000 people off of 1 tweet and 1 Instagram post. That was simply it. steve larsen: Wow. ben wilson: From there, all we were doing was, we needed ways to capture peoples information, filled up a MailChimp account within a week. That was when I called you. I didn't actually ever run into that issue before of not necessarily ... We had a lot of names before, we had a lot of information. We just had it on hand and we had scraped it and stuff. steve larsen: Right. ben wilson: More so of, I've got to now start dumping names out of this because I'm not, I don't want to start paying for MailChimp quite yet. steve larsen: Right. ben wilson: I was just exporting names so that I could continuing running a map free account. We're up to 10,000 names at the moment of emails, of people who've opted in. steve larsen: 10,000? Dude, a few weeks ago, you were like, "Dude, we're already at 2,000 subscribers." You've grabbed 8 more thousand subscribers in the past 2 weeks, or whatever? ben wilson: Correct, yeah. steve larsen: Oh my gosh. Man, that's amazing. Okay, so you're "attracting," people through authority figures. Pulling them in and then ... What's causing someone to subscribe? ben wilson: We want all of our, I'm going to call them a brand ambassador, that's probably the best way to say it. We want all of our brand ambassadors to take ownership of what they're doing. That way it's not a 26 year old guy behind the computer who's actually running. I got 2 other guys that are running this with me, and one's in production, and the other is an actual talent agent so it's a lot easier to contact a lot of these people because he's got the experience. steve larsen: Right. ben wilson: He knows what to say. We run through and have all of them take full ownership. This is something that they created, therefore, when they send people over to the sites, and there's this taste of that person. Right? This goes back to that branding. It's got to be branded. steve larsen: Right. ben wilson: Everything comes back to how this person is perceived by their audience and not how they think they are perceived. steve larsen: Interesting. ben wilson: It might be a little confusing so we look at, what is this person actually wearing in their posts? What is that they are into? Then, find similar pictures that we can gather to create the same aura, so it's another, on the social media means to finding more information about this person, or how this person that they already admire, that they can further their knowledge of someone that they look up to. That's kind of the approach behind it. steve larsen: You go and you ... What are you asking for, I guess what are you giving for someone to subscribe. You know what I mean? What's causing them to subscribe. From the 50,000 that have hit so far, I'm sure it's way more than that now and 10,000 subscribe, what's causing them to do that? Just to follow you? ben wilson: Literally, yeah. 10% off, and it says something quirky that probably a millennial would be really attracted to. Right? They're looking at this thinking, "This person I admire who's 18 years old, what's their lingo?" The lingo that pops up right away is, we've got an A/B split test. One of them is, "Let's be BFF's. Sign up here and we'll shoot you a 10% off discount on your purchase." The other one, a little more risque, but I like it. Which is working is, it pops up and says, "Let's be friends with benefits." It also has a 10% off discount. That one is killing it. steve larsen: These people are signing up for a 10% discount. That's not only saying, A: Follow us and we'll give you cool stuff. A 10% discount is implying that they're going to make a purchase in the future obviously, very near future. You're really knocking out more than one bird with the same stone. That's amazing. ben wilson: Yeah. They've all got on a drip campaign. We've got a ... Shopify is really nice, and I know ClickFunnels does a lot of similar things where you can do other affiliates, or similar products, or similar brands, and you can keep sending people to where they want to go. Right? Listen to where people want, follow their clicks, understand your analytics. We set up cross sales and up-sales where people are purchasing certain products with, and they're looking at other products. steve larsen: Right. ben wilson: Everything is an up-sale and that's really where we're making a lot of headway is it's all in the up-seller, it's moving people through a funnel. steve larsen: Yep. ben wilson: If they have a ... In a cart, we send out an abandoned cart. If they didn't do it from there, I would figure out what products that they had. All of this, there's a lot of programs out there that can help you understand what your customers want, and you just have to listen and find out ways to remind them as to what they came for initially. steve larsen: Absolutely. There's a, I can't remember if it's called the secret formula or what Russell Brunson calls it, but he said, "Basically all you need to do is find a raving niche who is willing and able to make purchases and then just give them that thing." It's as simple as that. It's not that hard, especially online. You create these virtual pieces of real estate and they just work for you. That's amazing. Do you mind, if I ask sales? Things like that, like numbers? ben wilson: Yeah, go for it. steve larsen: Of the people that are coming in, what percent are opting in right now? ben wilson: Percentage wise, it's low. steve larsen: Okay. ben wilson: Which is the humble pie I'm eating at the moment. I know it should be a lot better. We've had ... Dealing with Chinese manufacturers is a lot more time consuming than I initially thought. That's where I've got a lot of time. In this regard, out of ... Boy, percentage is dramatically low. If we've had 10,000 people who have opted in, we've had 50,000 to the site. steve larsen: So, 20%? ben wilson: 20% which... steve larsen: That's awesome. ben wilson: That should be better, Steven. steve larsen: I mean, it should be, but when you think about other industries and ... People get stoked. Most people have a 5% off on their rate, 20% is crushing it dude. I mean that really is awesome. ben wilson: I appreciate the lift up, I need that. Definitely, I know ... You know when you are doing something, and you're like, man, there's so much more I could be doing? steve larsen: Yes. ben wilson: That's I guess where the justification comes from. Definitely, 20%'s a good number in looking at what the [inaudible 00:24:13] rate is, but it's always that inner feeling. You've definitely got to trust that movement of flight. I could be doing more to convert. steve larsen: How many customers, purchasing customers have you had? ben wilson: We've had 175 as of yesterday. steve larsen: 175 customers purchased ... I'm pulling out my calculator on the phone because my brain doesn't do all those numbers. ben wilson: That's okay. steve larsen: Here we go. That's awesome. From all the subscribers, the people that actually do subscribe, you have about a 2% conversion rate. That's good. ben wilson: Yeah. steve larsen: I know you look at it and say, we need to do better, but you're not even paying for traffic, man. That's amazing. That's what blows my mind about this. You have a 10,000 person list. I mean, you go drop an email to those people, 2% go and purchase, and you make all this money on the backend also after you acquire the customer. That's amazing. ben wilson: I appreciate it. Yeah. We're starting to run some more campaigns on testing single products as oppose to just sending people to the whole store itself. steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: Which we're really excited about launching. We've got something coming out this Thursday, which is more of this memorabilia take on the individual, like you would going to a concert. Right? steve larsen: Right. ben wilson: We're testing out the single product that's more branded and specifically to the person with their name on it. We're excited to see if that changes anything. If the name now suddenly on the clothing as oppose to just similar items of clothing that the person wears. steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: We may have to do a round 2, Steven. steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: Thursday. steve larsen: That would be awesome. That would be awesome. It's trilify.com, right? ben wilson: Trilify with one L. T-R-I-L-I-F-Y. steve larsen: Okay. ben wilson: .com. steve larsen: Trilify.com. ben wilson: At the moment it's just at an MVP. It's just testing out for our, I guess our test run of an individual person, and then we've got a lot more affiliates in the pipeline who are watching what we're doing. We're keeping them up-to-date as to how we're doing it, and that gets them excited. They can see that we, that their influence is going to provide them with a lot more sustainable of a future with the amount of followers and they can continue doing what they love doing with us basically running the show. steve larsen: Yeah. ben wilson: Yeah. steve larsen: That's amazing. I'm looking at the site right now. I mean, this is fantastic. It looks really good. Yeah, definitely applies to or appeals to millennials and what they love and stuff also. Do you know what the average cart value is for someone who purchases? ben wilson: We're running an average of $40 a purchase. steve larsen: Oh my gosh. That's so cool. ben wilson: Our hypothesis, or our reasoning I guess, within our justification of why we think it's 40 is we set free shipping at $35. steve larsen: Okay. ben wilson: Which is pretty low, but yet again, our average purchase is $40. We think a lot of people are taking advantage. We're going to start creeping that number up and seeing if that actually changes and test the hypothesis that, that is the reason why the average is up. I mean, it can really only benefit us if we can average each purchase to $45 or even 50 and start seeing if that's going to move any further purchases. steve larsen: That's awesome. That'd be an interesting split test and this is super cool. I just want to recap just in case, because I get close to projects and I forget the coolness of them or something like that. You got 50,000 people by asking 2 people to drop a tweet and something else, right? ben wilson: The same person. steve larsen: The same person? You're out there tweeting people. ben wilson: An Instagram post, yeah. steve larsen: 10,000 opt in, you get a 175 purchase, average cart value of 40 bucks, so you've pulled around 7 grand for this thing and you haven't paid a dime in advertising. This is the classic awesome story. It's cool. ben wilson: I appreciate that. We're excited. we're testing each social media to see what kind of pull. Learning Instagram, at least of what we've seen is that there's not as much traffic. We've got a speculation it's because there isn't a link. Sometimes, or link in each picture. It's in the bio. Then at the same time, we also figured out that there isn't as much text that goes below. If you're describing the pictures that you have posted, we've learned put it in the first sentence, in the first line if you're going to try to get someone to do something. Below that, they typically won't see it in their feed. Twitter has driven most of our traffic which was more surprising than we initially thought. We're excited to, like I said, we're also dropping a vine and a YouTube to see how that affects our traffic as well. steve larsen: That's awesome. Hey, I don't want to take all your time. I just want to thank you for this. This is fantastic. Guys, this is Ben Wilson. After one month, one month! People try forever to get profitable, and after one month he's got this awesome result and awesome site. I guess, where can people head? It's trilify.com. Go ahead and opt in and you can see his sales process. Ben, I want to thank you for this. This has been awesome. ben wilson: Absolutely, man. Glad I could come chat and reminisce about the good ole times, man. Definitely miss those time for sure. steve larsen: I look forward to seeing your face all over The Wall Street Journal, soon. ben wilson: It'll be the millennial Journal. steve larsen: Awesome, man. Thanks so much. We'll talk to you later. ben wilson: Absolutely, dude. Bye.

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