Wann es Zeit ist, das Business komplett zu wechseln

0:00I'm trying to figure out whether I should push or I should pivot and I've been having a lot of trouble pushing and that makes me unsure. Okay. The only reason that you pivot is if a fundamental underlying assumption that you came into the business has been proven untrue. If I want to start a uh you know dog uh lash business where it's like I sell lashes to to dog dog owners for their dogs and I think there's going to be a big market and no one wants it, then that would be something I say I'm going to pivot.

0:32If it's uh you know I already like are other people making money in your industry selling what you sell? >> Yeah. Yeah, we got it working. We got $2 million a year in revenue and then 500k a year in profit, but then I uh I had a partner and I lost everything. Long story short, and I probably buy and sell comic books. And the problem is we've been having trouble getting enough high value deals where money can be made on the calendar. It's tons of sellers with like 50 cent comic books and not enough sellers with five and $10,000 collections. Okay.

1:06Do you think that there's not that many that exist or you just don't know how to find them? It's like 1% of our leads and I've already looked at all of the ads in our industry and they all like it's just mining through a ridiculous amount of leads to get like the few gems. Yeah, I mean to be fair there's a lot of businesses that are like that. So that not isn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean you had 50% of margins on a million dollars in business. That's not bad. Um so I don't want to like you know I don't want to dissuade you from necessarily doing something that could potentially be lucrative.

1:39Um what You make how much on the average deal and how much does it cost you to get leads? We're we've CRO optimized the shadow landing pages. We got funnel hacked. Like I know the page is good. We're getting 600 leads a month at $10 a lead. Okay, so it costs you six grand. Okay, got it. And then six of those people are potential good customers, right? Yeah. And we're averaging I think the average deal we wanted at least two grand, but we've had some record months where we got some whales that are 50 or 100k and that's what makes me like interested. Okay.

2:19I think that your issue is that you're dealing with insufficient volume. So volatility is a symptom of insufficient volume. So when you have like I have some big months and I have some small months. If I were to say over a year, do you think you'd have a whale? Yeah, we have we have multiple whales. I I want to 5x ad spend, but then I'm worried that it's not efficient enough and that the sales team has to be too good in selling like or buying comics like training this I've I've been through all your trainings. Like training this where we're buying the comics versus like collecting money has been challenging from a commission and tracking perspective. Training is uh These to me these are not pivot problems. These are just like these are business problems.

3:05Like every business has things that are hard. And the fact that you did a million top line yeah if you did a million top line and 500,000 bottom line like to me I'm like okay. So you've already proven that this works. Yeah. I just keep thinking like this I've had trouble getting this past me and I see what you did with Jim Launch and I can't help but think like oh [ __ ] we could scale a high ticket team teaching all this stuff. Teaching what stuff?

3:32How we run the ads and the setter scripts and the closer scripts and For comic books or for just selling stuff in general? For bot for buying and selling comic books. >> [gasps] >> It's tough, man. Um I'll tell you why. Like All right, maybe maybe I'll like I'll tell you why this is tough. Whenever I hear someone say I'm really struggling to make a business work, so I'm going to teach other people how to do this thing that I'm not doing well with, it like makes me like yeah, you know?

4:01I'm not struggling to make it work. I'm struggling to scale it to the point where I you know build it to a multi multi multi million dollar business with multiple drivers, not just me doing Well then is there a way that we can enable Is there a way that we can like arm and like make an army of people who are like running your play and then you can somehow like not not get a percentage of the deals that they're like what would they struggle with if you were to show somebody how to do this? Like what would be the biggest issue? Cuz if they're if they're being efficient with their leads, right? They're spending whatever. Let's say they spend $500 a month instead of 6,000, right? So they're going to get 50 leads.

4:44What are they going to struggle with? They struggle with they don't know how to get leads. Then they don't know how to work the leads properly. Then they don't know how to set appointments. Then they don't know how to close a deal. Then they don't know how to properly sell the comic books. Then they don't know how to just like keep doing it. Again and again. >> Well is there a way that you could just like give them a menu and say like like if you could take care of the them like can you buy the comic books from them and then resell them and just basically have them basically decentralize the sales and then you still flip them? Cuz that would probably be I would imagine getting the ability to sell the comics for a lot of money would be the hard part is my guess.

5:25Yeah, so acquisition so getting more quality inventory. Think uh gold versus scrap metal Sure. is like analogy. Like getting is the definitely the constraint of the business. The problem is getting those high quality deals on the calendar versus just regular you know regular stuff on the calendar you know where it's like you're buying tons of 50 cent comics. Like that's that's been the constraint. So even if we tried to build like an agent model, like I'm worried that A we still get those leads on the calendar and violently spend on ads and then B which we can absolutely do, but and I and I and I want to do that, but then B it's like they can screw us and I'm worried about like it's hard to track like how much you can make on this deal. It's very subjective. It's physical. It's not like revenue where it's like clear cut as to like how much it means. You know what I mean? Yeah, I mean it's a used car business.

6:18>> worth it. Yeah, it's a used car business. Same thing. People come in with a car. It's used. Now the issue there is that there's Kelly Blue Book and there's some standards there, but like I understand what you're saying. Um I mean you kind of run a digital pawn shop. Kind of. Um Okay. So what do you do? I mean I'll say this. I think you have a good skill set. I'm not sure if flipping this into a business opportunity is the right play.

6:41Like that feels meh. I think you could sell it, but you know it's I like I it it makes me meh, you know? Yeah, that's why I haven't done it. Like I if I want to go biz op I want to go B2B and I want to scale it to something like Jim Launch and I think the TAM is too small and I think it has to be all buying and selling biz ops all together and I think I'm not a good not a good enough leader yet. I think I need another two years and I I'd rather just own the whole market cuz I know that there's two options you said between you could own the whole gym market or you could just license it. So I think I think I'd go either way. I think I just keep running into challenges in scaling it.

7:20>> Yeah. Dude, but I just I I just want to encourage you in saying this. Like dude business is [ __ ] hard, man. I know you know that, but sometimes it takes someone from the outside to be like yep, that's that's how it is. It it just like there's hard [ __ ] you know? Um Do you make any content? Uh no. I've been all focused No, honestly I I haven't because I've been all focused on trying to solve this constraint and trying to be disciplined even though I want to start like 25 different things. I've been trying to solve this one problem. I do think that you building making some content or cuz like I think comic books is definitely like a super contentable. Like it's super easy. You can show them. People like watch it cuz it's cool. All of that kind of jazz, right?

8:02Um but I think it could it could generate demand for you on the buy side that would just decrease it would offset CAC and it would start to build the brand overall, which is how this thing becomes long term a more sellable asset. And I like you're like I want to own the space. That's how you would own the space. And the problem is so the problem is we run our ads on a national level like the logistics of even buying those deals that are past local is like like a traveling circus. It's so cumbersome and I can't help but think like this is not I don't think this is the easiest business to start, but I do think it's the one I have the highest advantage in and that's why like despite health issues and moving everything twice like I haven't quit. You're not on your third time yet. So you're good. Two is two is the is the is the sweet spot, you know?

8:48All right. I want to help you though. So here's here's here's what I would I would consider as next steps and I will say this before I get into it. Push and pivot is an eternal personal question. It's like how much do I consume versus invest? There is no right answer. How much risk am I willing to take? Right? Those are those are personal questions. So I just want to be clear about that. This is me saying if I were potentially in your shoes what I'd consider. I would say there's two paths.

9:14One of the paths is not the biz op. I'd say option one is you double down on this and you do own the market. You make the content. You figure out the sales stuff. You probably need to increase your ad spend so you can decrease the volatility. If you were spending 18,000 a month, that one whale per quarter would be coming in one time per month. And you can just know that law of large numbers it would be there. Right? That's path one. >> That's what That's what I want I want to do that. I want to do that and then it's just a question of like getting the ROAS up high enough and I've tried to like down sell the list of course and I've been struggling with the ROAS Yeah. and the efficiency there. No, I hear you.

9:48But when you get your whales your ROAS is really good. Right? >> Yeah. Yeah, I was like oh [ __ ] we can make a lot of money with this. >> Again, I would just look at so okay, I'm going to I'm going to zoom out cuz it's going to be important point for everyone. So, you spent $72,000 that year that you did a million dollars in sales, right? Yeah. Okay. No, no, no, no. But it probably it would probably be it would probably be I probably spent 15,000 a month on ads and do a million in sales.

10:13Okay. So, you spent $200,000 or 180 that year and you made a million dollars in sales. So, you're five to one minus the cost of acquisition, right? But the cost of acquisition I'm guessing is not very much considering you spent whatever. Uh cuz you told me 500,000 in profit, right? Sure. Yes. Okay. So, the issue is like, okay, you're spending 70 currently. It's like we need to triple it and just me even if your tracking is not like this is like getting a data infrastructure is just part of scaling, dude.

10:46We need a money model to downsell the 99% that aren't a good or the 95% that aren't a good fit like a $97 appraisal and then you can liquidate the assets in that way. I love that. I love that. Include with the appraisal some sort of digital thing that they would find cool or valuable. So, I just like call 100 people and and tell and like give a triple guarantee until they buy it and it's like like this works. Like I I will like if you do not get at least $300 of value, I will be free. Like I like I tried this so far and they're like they don't want it.

11:20Like they're too curious and I can't help but think like there is something that liquidates this. Like I know it's there. Yeah. I would just ask them what they want. That's an easy way to do it. >> [snorts] >> But all they want is me to buy their comics and if their comics aren't good, it's like a problem. Yeah. They're still interested in something. Um and it might just be repositioning how that night So, the the the $97 offer that you have tried and no one buys is what?

11:48So, I tried a course for 37 which was a which was we'll show you how much it's worth and how to sell them yourself and they hated it. It converted at 1% and then I started calling a few people here and there. Was this a self-liquidating? How about this? How about you give uh So, one is you can give like you give priority number one um to those people. It's like, "Listen, we have a lot of people who have comic books. You can jump to the front of the line by doing this, right?" I do like I do like the idea of it's 97 and um if we buy your thing, we'll we'll credit it towards it kind of thing.

12:23Yeah, yeah. I've been trying I've I tried the course for years and I wrote seven different VSLs and I'm like, "Either this this traffic doesn't won't convert or I just haven't done it right." I don't think it's the I don't think it's a course angle. I think it's I think it's about the sale. Right? So, you've got risk, you've got ease, uh and you've got speed, right? Those are the elements of value. And so, speed it's like I can see you first, right? The risk component is I can guarantee that I see you which is like not like you'll go to the top of the pile and I guarantee that you'll get it you'll get your response back for from us within a day, right? Something like that.

13:01Um risk reversal is and you know, if and when we do it and it's not a fit, like we'll give you half of it back or something. So, it's not an appraisal. We we we score leads automatically so we can have our best leads go to the closer which is right now me. Like we have 70% of form DQs. Do we make an on offer on the landing page to the form DQs to Yeah.

13:31Yeah, I mean >> video sales letter. We're also I mean there's this whole idea of like we need to make a self-liquidating offer. There's also just the like you got five to one last year and you could just spend the money again and just know that your your volatility will happen and be counteracted with more more volume. Yeah. I just know that I money's tight as every building. If I just nail this one liquidation thing, we could scale the [ __ ] out of it. But to me like that's the thing. Yeah. Then I mean then you like this is the work of business.

14:03Let me let me frame this question differently then I got to hop to the next one. But if let What do you think would happen if you can get the leads to offset if you can offset CAC or even 50% of CAC with some sort of self-liquidating offer? What would it do for the business? Oh my god, we can start bringing in really really good people and and scale scale it like that. Right. And so so, let me So, let me frame it for you. You only have to solve this one thing and in so doing can build a large $10 million plus business that's sellable.

14:34Yes. So, it's a it's a instead of thinking like, "Man, this is a hassle." It's like, "Yeah, and that's why you're going to create $10 million of value when you solve it." Not bad. No, but I've been trying it for two years. I downsell course didn't work. I just haven't done it >> I don't know if a course is the way. You're right. Like if you kept trying to resell a course, it's like that's to me that's not trying for two years. It's trying the exact same thing over and over again. Like you're trying to you're trying to persuade better on a course when that's just the wrong offer.

15:13So, I have to You need to find product market fit for something else that somebody who has that wants. So, I need to talk to every single customer forever. Or maybe it's a listing fee, dude. Yeah, maybe it's a listing fee. Maybe it's a combination of appraisal and listing. So, it's like, "Listen, we can't buy it but we have a big network of other buyers and for $37 we'll send it to our list of other buyers to see who's interested."

15:40Okay. I'm going to try it. Okay. I'm going to keep doing this until I figure it out. Thank you you're the best. Appreciate you, man. No, you're the best, dude. Appreciate you.