Authentic Business Adventures Podcast

Larry Pendleton - Larry Pendleton CPA

On the Getting the Right People: ""I gotta be able to kind of find the right people to trust instead of finding someone that I halfway trust and I gotta oversee every every step of the way."

Just about every successful business owner has learned, often the hard and expensive way, that taxes can be a heavy burden to carry.  Once your business starts bringing in some money, after going through all of the sweat and challenges, you learn that the government wants a very large piece.  But how do savvy business owners navigate the tax code?

They do it with skilled CPA's that do more than just enter numbers and spit out results.  They do it with careful tax strategy to help you and your business make smart moves before it is tax time.

Larry Pendleton is a CPA that went from hustling numbers like most accountants to really bringing tax strategy to his clients.  Larry shares his transformative journey from having a limited mindset to becoming an astute real estate investor, thanks to the guidance of a trusted partner. We explore Larry’s first profitable residential investment, the challenges of dealing with contractors, and his strategic pivot from property flipping to new construction for better stability and lower risk.

Larry sheds light on the intricacies of cost segregation, a powerful tax strategy popularized by the 2017 tax reforms, and discusses the depreciation rules that real estate investors navigate. We also delve into the concept of self-directed retirement accounts, a game-changing financial tool that allows for diverse investment options beyond traditional stocks and bonds.

Listen as Larry gives details and strategies for both business taxes as well as real estate investing.

Enjoy!

Visit Larry at: LarryPendletonCPA.com

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Former athlete advising on tax strategies and coaching.

05:15 Accountant becomes year-round adviser and coach.

13:09 Struggling with project, need trustworthy professionals.

15:57 Adapting real estate investments to market changes.

22:45 Rolling over retirement accounts, choosing short-term investments.

29:44 Lack of promotion of self-directing investments.

31:30 Investors look for credibility, security in deals.

38:05 Explore budgeting, technology, and planning for accounting.

45:27 Clients aspire to be investors, achieving freedom.

49:50 Public accounting firms specialize in different areas.

55:52 Depreciation benefits and potential government changes summarized.

57:41 Understanding tax savings and depreciation in investments.

01:04:03 Quick cost assessment for new construction.

Podcast Transcription:

Larry Pendleton [00:00:00]:

Then you wanna know, okay, how much you how much is needed? How is secured? Like, who are you? Like like, what's your credibility and and and and what's my returns are going to be. But it's the security aspect of where like, are you sure, like like like if everything goes wrong, like am I at least gonna be like make my money back where, like, with with stocks and bonds, like, you can really lose everything. You can lose everything in real estate as well, but that's more so just not doing the proper due diligence, not, not really knowing what you're doing.

James Kademan [00:00:33]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, a business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie as well as calls on call extraordinary answering service and the Bold Business Book. Today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Larry Pendleton, CPA and tax investment coach. So, Larry, how is it going today?

Larry Pendleton [00:01:04]:

It's going great, James. Thanks for having me. How are you doing?

James Kademan [00:01:07]:

I'm doing well. I'm doing better now because it's interesting. We're talking about taxes. I feel like in a time when we're thinking about next year. A few months ago, I was angry thinking that my accountant, wasn't doing essentially what I thought he should have been doing. In the end, I learned after the fact that accountants just play with or work with the numbers that you give them. They don't necessarily come up with strategies and stuff like that. So he's doing his job.

James Kademan [00:01:35]:

I just didn't know exactly what his job entailed. So I appreciate you being on the show.

Larry Pendleton [00:01:40]:

Oh, no. Like, great for the opportunity. So look looking forward to this.

James Kademan [00:01:43]:

Yeah. Let's start with what is the coaching that you do?

Larry Pendleton [00:01:48]:

So it's it's kind of a play on I'm I'm a former former athlete, and to your point where it's like, accounts, people just typically, like, Hey, I just speak with my account during tax season. And it's but the numbers are the numbers for the prior year. So is is this the advisory role where it was like, yeah, I I can advise you, but like, how do you really like apply apply these these, these strategies is like, that's where the coaching aspect of where I had to train you in a way to, like, how to really leverage the tax code to to best mass maximize. Like, I could just tell you all the strategies. You can Google all the all the strategies out there. There's TikTok Tok and all that. Do a lot of there for you, but how they implement that stuff, that's when the coaching comes into play there and and merge in the worlds of the boring accounting with the sexy investor, and I and I bring it and I kinda sit in the middle there.

James Kademan [00:02:43]:

Fair. So how did you end up in this role? Because going from athlete to a CPA is probably not a path most people take.

Larry Pendleton [00:02:51]:

Well, actually, I've been I've been the mindset of an accountant since high school, due to AAAA teacher I had a crush on. Didn't didn't work out, but it's it's still

James Kademan [00:03:03]:

That's awesome.

Larry Pendleton [00:03:06]:

So, I've always been really big on numbers. And, and then my my dad had a, had a small business, HVAC business growing up and besides, Kurt and Kurt and his football team, you always curse taxes. So I was like, how can I help him? So just always kinda at an early age, but kinda interested, like, there seemed to be a need that he needs. And then once I got to college and started to meet other people, okay, there's a lot of people that have this issue with accounting and taxes, and I can probably find a way to to to help serve in that in that capacity.

James Kademan [00:03:37]:

Nice. I love that it all originated from a crush you had on teacher in high school. That is safe to say 1 of the most surprising things I've ever had for someone driving to go into a certain field. That's funny. That's, is she still around?

Larry Pendleton [00:03:53]:

Yeah. She's still around. Like I said, we're like, man, we we cool. We laugh about it, but that's that's about it.

James Kademan [00:04:00]:

I got into being a CPA because of a girl. That's amazing. That is a so weird. Right. Fair. Totally fair. So tell me, how do you end up in the coaching world versus just being the the guy with the calculator pushing, filling out the 10 forties and all that james? Like the accountant set I end up complaining about.

Larry Pendleton [00:04:20]:

Well, as, and and I'm guilty as many accounts. What we typically do is that we go into public accounting, and we kinda just run the corporate mill, from from that standpoint. And then we step out and, like, hey. I wanna I can do this. I know I have clients and stuff, that that will will will work with me and start my own start my own business, start my own firm. And that was going okay for a while, but when I wanted to kind of work with more more investors because we started investing in real estate ourselves, It was a it was a crossroad that I had to really kinda come, I came to where it's like, hey, like, I need to really be doing more advisory work versus just preparing tax returns and, and not just doing bookkeeping. And then you start to kind of realize that there's different aspects. Similar to doctors and attorneys, there are different types of accountants and different type of CPA depending on what you're what you're looking for.

Larry Pendleton [00:05:15]:

So if I wanted to to grow and and evolve, had to get out of this comfort zone of just being a January through April, accountant and be more of a year round adviser, for, for my clients. And then the coaching aspect of it kinda came in where it's like, the people send me videos, like TikTok videos all the time and Instagram videos. Like, hey. Can I do this? And, like, no, you can't do that or that you doesn't apply. So it was always a lot of noes, like, how can I get you to that point? Like, it may start with a no, not right now, but because you're not doing x, y, and z. So the coaching kinda kinda james a spun off of the advisory where it's like, I can tell you all these things that you could do, but can you are you in position to do that? Like, everybody wants to be a real estate professional. Do you know what that takes? Are you willing to scale back from your job or you and your spouse? Are you willing you willing to quit your w 2 and you all live off of 1, 1 salary so that you can qualify and get these benefits if if this tax burden is is is what you're what you're concerned with. Are you willing to move to a whole different state? And if that's the case, alright, what states do you consider the movement to? Because just because you moved from California to Texas, yes, there's less income taxes, but you got high property tax in Texas.

Larry Pendleton [00:06:38]:

But but it's, like, how, like it's so I can advise you, but, like,...

Mickie Kennedy - eReleases PR Agency

On the Knowing Your Audience: "A journalist's job is, of course, to produce content. But even more importantly is to keep their audience happy."

News is everywhere, and most of it isn't exactly positive.  A lot of it is pretty morbid and serves only to bring the eyeballs to whatever medium the news is being presented on.  But those eyes are watching and reading and interested in this information that is taken as fact, almost to a fault.

Which means that press releases can be a more powerful tool than a typical advertisement, which does not have the trust that a news article does.

How do you get press releases written and released for your business?

Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases, brings over 25 years of expertise in the PR world to his business, helping small businesses craft and distribute impactful press releases.

Listen as Mickie explains why the majority of press releases should be concise, the art of adding human interest elements, and how to build meaningful relationships with journalists. Mickie also sheds light on the early days of Google's pay-per-click advertising and why he remains cautious about using AI for press releases. Plus, we'll uncover practical tips on leveraging earned media for SEO benefits, the importance of strategic PR campaigns, and the potential financial rewards of a well-executed press release.

Enjoy!

Visit Mickie at: https://www.ereleases.com/

Podcast Overview:

05:30 Leverage newswires for wide-reaching press release.

11:39 News organizations pull and license articles from wires.

19:26 Effective PR is about building relationships, not databases.

21:25 A la carte, packages, and press releases.

27:30 Small businesses benefit from sharing relatable stories.

36:13 Small businesses at risk, targeted for breach.

40:46 People can write press releases, AI helps.

46:37 Build relationships with top media outlets.

49:28 Reach out, highlight green efforts, standout quotes.

57:30 Media articles build trust and influence conversion.

01:01:24 PR campaigns need 6-8 releases for success.

01:04:19 Regret over wasted money on ineffective PR.

Podcast Transcription:

Mickie Kennedy [00:00:00]:

Had one client come to me and say, hey, Mickie. I followed your advice, but now my customers are mad at me. And I said, well, then you didn't you didn't follow my advice if your customers are mad at you. 1st rule is do not alienate your existing customer base.

James Kademan [00:00:14]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomerscom. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie as well as calls on call extraordinary answering service, and, of course, the bold business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Mickey Kennedy of Ereleases, the PR model of the world, I suppose you would say, or something of that nature. So, Mickey, how is it going today?

Mickie Kennedy [00:00:51]:

It's going well. How are you?

James Kademan [00:00:52]:

I'm doing very well. Tell me just really briefly, I guess, in a nutshell, what is ereleases?

Mickie Kennedy [00:00:59]:

So ereleases is a press release distribution platform. I started it a little over 25 years ago. I started it as a database of journalist. I was doing PR and I was faxing at the time and a lot of journalists started requesting it for me to just email them. And I was like, wow, email is so much easier. And so I just started reaching out to journalists and building a database and took about a year. And I launched with 10,000 journalists who said I could send them press releases. And I was just a matchmaker sending press releases to journalists.

Mickie Kennedy [00:01:37]:

And, over the years, PR Newswire reached out to us and said, hey. You know, we like what you're doing. We'd love to support you. You're helping small businesses and entrepreneurs. Why don't we give you a discounted state or city distribution? And I was just like, Hey, most of my customers are e commerce. They're doing national business. I'd really like to offer national distribution. And so, you know, they they charge $1600 for a 600 word press release today.

Mickie Kennedy [00:02:06]:

So I was it was a big ask. So, we we met. One of the things I discovered was that they have an overnight editorial team that doesn't do very much. They have to be there in case there's breaking news or getting something out to Asia. But there's lots of hours of downtime. And I just said, hey. I could schedule all my releases for next business day by default. Your people could set them up overnight, so it'd be no additional labor.

Mickie Kennedy [00:02:33]:

And with that in mind, we finally did agree that they would, give me a national distribution for all of my press releases. And so that's that's a big with us is you get a national distribution over PR Newswire, which is the oldest and largest Newswire or press releases with, you know, spending about a third of what you would pay, if you went directly through them.

James Kademan [00:02:55]:

Nice. So just for those that don't necessarily know and even for me because I think I know, but maybe I'm wrong, what is a press release?

Mickie Kennedy [00:03:04]:

So a press release is just an announcement, to the media. It's usually written in the 3rd person. You may have a first person quote where you say something in the first person And it basically is just a message to the media where you're announcing something. It's usually you wanna make sure you cover the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your announcement. And, hopefully, it's important enough that it's got the building blocks for journalists to write an article about you. The goal of a press release is not to have that press release duplicated on a bunch of websites. There's there's, you know, a big, I guess, misunderstanding in the industry that that's what a newswire is. And that's what the goal of press releases is to get your press release duplicated.

Mickie Kennedy [00:03:49]:

And that's a distraction. That's syndication. It's always happened when releases go out, especially publicly trade companies like to have the release under, like, Yahoo Finance and things like that. But that's not the goal. The goal is to have a journalist write an article about you, have it appear in the New York Times or, you know, even your local newspaper, you know, appropriate trade publications magazines. It also conveys to TV and radio as well as well as social media. You know, there's a TikToker who is called the Snackalator. And each week he does a roundup of new snacks hitting, store shelves.

Mickie Kennedy [00:04:26]:

And he also does a weekly roundup of, fast food, new products and things that are coming out. And all of that he bases off of press releases that he pulls from The Wire including the images and things like that. So, you know, what what media is is evolving and changing. It started decades ago with blogs and now it includes a little bit of everything. But a lot of these same people do rely on press releases because it's a great way to get information, to get photos and get it, you know, really early in in advance of everyone else and be able to use that and collect it. And the great thing about a wire, I mentioned PR Newswire is that it is a single place where a lot of people use it in the US. We have a duopoly basically where 2 people control the wire of press releases and it's PR Newswire and Business Wire. And it is the main place that most journalists go to because they probably, you know, 97% of all press releases of importance do end up there in either of those two places.

Mickie Kennedy [00:05:30]:

And so, you know, for that reason, you definitely wanna make sure that you're on one of the major newswires. And, it is a great way in which you can just, you know, push a button, hit send, and your release is available to so many people. And you know, the the real magic of that is when you have something that's really breaking news. Like early in the pandemic, we did a free press release for the dining bond initiative, which was set up to help restaurants that were closed during the pandemic. You nominated your favorite local restaurant and they were able to get in contact with them. You would give money that went directly to that restaurant to help them during that time. And they would be secured through a dining bond, sort of like a gift certificate scenario. And, you know, just by, you know, hitting send once it got over a 100 articles, major places picked it up, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post.

Mickie Kennedy [00:06:22]:

You know, we quit counting local newspapers because there were just so many. But we reached over a 100 articles that were individually written about them through that. And it just shows you that, you know, the leverage opportunity that's out there, over $11,000,000 was raised through that one marketing effort. And I challenge anybody, you know, no matter how good you are at marketing, you know, show me where what would have cost $350 You can hit a return of over $11,000,000 And it's, you know, I think it's very difficult to do. And I will say that this is a very unusual case study that I have on the website, but it does show a wide example of the opportunity that's out there if you do have something that is of interest to the media

James Kademan [00:07:08]:

Dang. That is quite a return. That's cool. Tell me when somebody puts out a a press release because I thought they were just copying and pasting. I guess I didn't realize that the journalists or editors or whoever were rewriting it. When that gets released to these wires and all these places,...

Jamie Gale - Helping Leaders Create Content and Podcast Guru

On the Power of Gratitude: "People that are grateful, abundance tends to come to them."

Podcasts.  Almost everybody has them, almost everybody listens to them.  But how do you as a business owner get a podcast going?  Should you get a podcast for your business?

Jamie Gale, serial entrepreneur and podcast builder for businesses in many areas explains how podcasts work and if you should get a podcast for your business.

The dynamic entrepreneur Jamie Gale delves into the essential aspects of launching and promoting a successful podcast, emphasizing the importance of investing in quality equipment and clear branding. She also shares her robust marketing strategies and highlights the significance of constructive feedback versus protective criticism when starting a business.

Jamie, owner of Jamie Gale LLC, brings a wealth of experience from teaching kids yoga to managing a podcast network. She offers profound insights into managing business risks and the transition from in-person to virtual support during COVID-19. Tune in to discover Jamie's journey from a nonprofit marketer to a successful entrepreneur, her tips for podcast production, and her mentorship for business-owning moms.

Listen as Jamie explains all that podcasting involves and if it is right for your business.

Enjoy!

Visit Jamie at: https://www.jamiegalellc.com/

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Started kids' yoga company, expanded to include parents.

06:02 Passion for kids yoga led to entrepreneurship.

09:20 Teaching kids yoga to promote mental wellness.

13:00 Balancing projects with family and childcare.

14:59 Growth through small steps and collaboration with educators.

18:06 Business grew organically through minimal marketing efforts.

20:16 Created personal and professional development group for moms.

24:30 Certifications and training to lead diverse groups.

28:43 Identify supportive voices and filter their feedback.

31:12 Starting a business was treated casually by narrator.

35:46 Entrepreneurial-minded individuals face fear in business.

37:59 Preference for in-person meetings over virtual.

40:49 Enthusiastic podcast consumer embraces learning about production.

43:45 Podcast networks support shows in various ways.

48:22 Invest in a good mic for clarity.

52:54 Video editing more laborious than audio. Consider audience preferences, add video accordingly.

Podcast Transcription:

Jamie Gale [00:00:00]:

But, I really urge my clients to think anytime their mom, let's just in this example, says something like, what are you gonna do if nobody buys it? Instead of feeling like, yeah. What am I gonna do if nobody buys it? You know, that that they say she's just coming from a place of protection.

James Kademan [00:00:18]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, a business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at draw in customers dot com. Today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Jamie Gale, the owner of Jamie Gale LLC. And today, on this podcast, we're talking podcast. So, Jamie, how is it going today?

Jamie Gale [00:00:46]:

It's going awesome. I'm really glad to be here.

James Kademan [00:00:49]:

Yeah. Thanks for being on the show. So tell us just to lay a foundation here. What is Jamie Gale LLC?

Jamie Gale [00:00:55]:

Yeah. So Jamie Gayle LLC is my company. I own a program agency, and through that, I develop and operate programs in 2 main areas. 1 is for kids and families. So I have own a kid's yoga company. I co direct a summer day camp and after school enrichment program. I have trainings for educators. And then the other section of my programs is for business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Jamie Gale [00:01:18]:

So I have a podcast network, and we host personal and professional development podcasts. And then I run a program for moms that wanna start and grow businesses to helping them, yeah, just get their business off the ground, creating connection groups between them, and offering help in that way.

James Kademan [00:01:35]:

Nice. So how long has this been going on?

Jamie Gale [00:01:38]:

Yeah. So I started my company in 2013. So a little over 11 years.

James Kademan [00:01:42]:

That's been a little while.

Jamie Gale [00:01:44]:

Yeah. It's evolved over the years, but it's yeah. Started it then.

James Kademan [00:01:48]:

And was the podcast thing always part of it even back then?

Jamie Gale [00:01:51]:

No. The podcast thing is newer to to my company, and it's a perfect complement to all the other things that I'm doing. It's been such a great way to start getting the word out about things and make the connections, but, no, it's newer in the, one of my most recent programs.

James Kademan [00:02:06]:

Alright. So let's start with the the first vertical that you were talking about with the kids and all that jazz. Tell me, was that the what initially started?

Jamie Gale [00:02:14]:

Yeah. Well so, the program that I initially started was a kid's yoga company. I have a background in education. And at the time when I started the business, I had 3 little kids, and I was looking for something to do with my mind. And I love being home with them, but I really wanted something that could allow me to teach again because I had come from an education background. And so I started, a kids yoga company, but then I knew that I also wanted to serve the parents in a way as well. And so I my company had the kids yoga programs, but also op opportunities for families to connect, moms to connect. And so that was kinda where things started, and then everything has evolved from from there.

James Kademan [00:02:58]:

Alright. Let's back up a step from before you started your business.

Jamie Gale [00:03:02]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:03:03]:

What made you decide to go off on your own?

Jamie Gale [00:03:06]:

So I had a, excuse Jamie, I had a background in teaching all different james, and so I loved working with especially little kids. I also had a background in teaching, high schoolers, and I had a background in camps. And so I had been worked at summer day camps for I was a summer day camper and then and then worked at camps until I became a mom. So I was working at camps and teaching preschool and also some high school education things. And then when I became a mom, I knew, you know, I was teaching preschool for a nonprofit organization. So I had an infant. It would money wise, it didn't make sense for me to go back to teaching in that way. And so I took a job as a marketing and management coordinator for a nonprofit organization.

Jamie Gale [00:03:55]:

And I was a new mom with a 5 month old baby, and they had this part time from home opportunity, which I was really excited about. In college, I had got a certificate in business. And and I'm I just, like, really have a mindset that I'll figure whatever it is out. And so this opportunity came up. They handed me a recreational campus that had a camp and a pool and a big building and 50 acres of land, and they were they said to me, okay. We just need someone to first run this facility and make it you know, like, all the things that happen, ordinate everything, and then they said, and make it make money. Oh. And so big deal.

Jamie Gale [00:04:34]:

Right? No big deal. Right? So here I am. I was this and this you know, it's a nonprofit. They have this board of directors. And so here I am, like, super young. I was, like, 24 years old. And I'm going into these board meetings with these men in business suits at 8 AM. You know? And I'm I'm learning as I'm going.

Jamie Gale [00:04:55]:

I learned so incredibly much in that role. I absolutely loved that work. I had that job for many years. It was really, really wonderful. It taught me so much about everything. It hit my nerdy parts of my brain that I love to do. It kept me in touch with adults at a time when I was with a lot of babies because I then went and had 2 more kids over the next few years. And and so that really taught me that you can take something that is just an idea and make something lucrative from it.

Jamie Gale [00:05:27]:

So when I then I had the 2 more kids. This from home part time thing didn't make sense in my life anymore. When I was with the kids, I knew that I was needed to make a change. And so for a couple years, I stayed home with my kids, but I was itching the whole entire time to figure out, like, what is my next thing. And I knew that I was ready. I I just, like, had this pull to create something. I had a pull to go off on my own, but it was more just a pull to create something. And so I decided that I wanted to blend the things that I loved.

Jamie Gale [00:06:02]:

I loved working with children, and I had this sort of eager business itch to scratch. And so I knew I didn't wanna just go and yoga at that time had made a really big impact in my life for all of the reasons. And so when I decided I wanted to do some teaching and especially in kids yoga because that fit into my life at that time as well, I knew I didn't wanna just go get a job at a studio. I knew that I wanted to something. So right from the get go, I worked to create a brand, launch a company, and that's I just sort of announced I own a new business, and this is what it's gonna do. And and kind of that that's how it started. So it was a blend of my background, but then also that, like, great fun desire to take something and make it make sense, make it make money, and make it grow.

James Kademan [00:06:50]:

Nice. So the yoga studio at the time, did you have your own building or place Or how

Jamie Gale [00:06:55]:

does that work? A mobile program because with kids,...

Sue Gresham - The LinkedIn Lady

On the Power of Gratitude: "People that are grateful, abundance tends to come to them."

Social media for grown-ups is really what LinkedIn has become.  It is the place to be as a professional and as a person wanting to connect with business owners and professionals to help you on your professional journey.

But like most social media channels, there are a ton of different things you can do and the rules are always changing.  This means it helps to have a professional help you get the most out of your time on the LinkedIn platform.

Sue Gresham, the LinkedIn Lady, as she is affectionately called, helps people with their LinkedIn profiles.  With this truly inspiring guest, we're diving deep into the world of LinkedIn—covering everything from crafting impactful posts to leveraging the platform for professional networking and personal branding. Sue shares her invaluable insights on creating meaningful content that resonates with your audience, the balance of providing value vs. selling, and the importance of consistency and authenticity. We'll also explore the do's and don'ts on LinkedIn, including avoiding scams and fake profiles, and Sue's personal journey of rediscovery and entrepreneurship after losing her job during the 2008 recession.

Listen as Sue explains how she has built her business and some tips to how you can improve your LinkedIn profile.

Enjoy!

Visit Susan at: https://www.sue-gresham.com/

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Networking encounters often involve vague corporate language.

05:58 Many people not using LinkedIn regularly for networking.

06:50 Professional social site with occasional political content.

10:51 Building trust and awareness for authentic branding.

15:44 "Connecting on LinkedIn: known vs. everyone"

19:54 Scrolling on Facebook for personal and learning.

22:36 LinkedIn constantly changing look, adding video features.

26:20 Email marketing targets audience, with varying costs.

29:37 Suspicion of identity theft schemes and scams.

33:30 Massive unemployment led to widespread job loss.

34:59 Struggled to find direction, now teaches LinkedIn.

38:19 Initially built business through personal referrals and networking.

43:56 Received severance pay, traumatic, found support, passion.

47:34 Discovering impactful stories, knowledge, and emotional intelligence.

51:24 Helping entrepreneurs elevate their business through LinkedIn.

Podcast Transcription:

Sue Gresham [00:00:00]:

The skills area has changed 18 different ways, 20 different times as far as how it looks, where it's showing up, the value, how it's weighed in the algorithm. So there's a lot of that stuff that's constantly happening with LinkedIn. But the bottom line is that LinkedIn is was started for job seekers and for people for their for career advancement. That has not changed.

James Kademan [00:00:27]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, a business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, calls on call extraordinary answering service, as well as the Bold Business Book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Sue Gresham, the LinkedIn lady. So, Sue, how are you doing today?

Sue Gresham [00:00:55]:

I'm just doing great. Thanks for asking, James.

James Kademan [00:00:58]:

Yeah. So LinkedIn lady, tell me a story. You got that name for a reason, I imagine.

Sue Gresham [00:01:04]:

I did. It's it's very interesting, maybe. We'll see. I guess you can decide. You can tell me if it's interesting.

James Kademan [00:01:11]:

I will just go on and assume that it's interesting.

Sue Gresham [00:01:13]:

Alright. So, a tiny bit of backstory is that I am out, I am located in Hartland, Wisconsin, which is just outside of Milwaukee, not too far from Sun Prairie. I think I'm almost, like, halfway between Milwaukee and Sun Prairie.

James Kademan [00:01:25]:

Yeah. Definitely.

Speaker C [00:01:27]:

And, I have belonged for years to the Greater Brookfield Area Chamber of Commerce. And they hold tons and tons of meetings including every other Wednesday morning at 7 o'clock, we get together for breakfast. I know. 7 o'clock. And for years, I would attend just about every week or every time. Okay? You know, I'd miss a few here and there. But I was a pretty consistent attendee for many years. And you get up and you give your 30 second, 60 second spiel, you know, the whole thing.

Sue Gresham [00:02:01]:

So I have been doing LinkedIn forever, helping people, helping entrepreneurs with LinkedIn. What what wound up happening is in the networking piece, people would come up to me and they'd say, oh, you're the LinkedIn lady and then blah blah blah. Maybe they'd have a question or let's talk or whatever it was. I think it was about 6 months of hearing people say, oh, you're the LinkedIn lady. Then it occurred to me, I'm the LinkedIn lady. Ugh. So it took me about another 6 months, maybe a year to feel comfortable calling myself that, but I did. I have.

Sue Gresham [00:02:35]:

I am. And so that's kind of where that came from locally. In the, definitely, in the Midwest, I'm the LinkedIn lady.

James Kademan [00:02:42]:

Oh, that's incredible.

Sue Gresham [00:02:44]:

And it's all from consistently showing up and just consistently being the same same old me.

James Kademan [00:02:53]:

You know, it's interesting you say that because I've gone through a lot of networking events, met a lot of people, and I've chatted with people for probably 5, 10 minutes. And as you're leaving, right, you go on to the next person, I think. I talked to that person for 10 minutes. They were doing the talking 90% of the time, and I still have no idea what they do. Yes. They're just jabbering. And I it wasn't like I wasn't listening. I was actually trying, but I feel like they had this corporate nomenclature and using a lot of words like the best or something like that.

James Kademan [00:03:28]:

Like, what what do you do? Right. So when you have the LinkedIn lady, I can get a pretty good idea about what you

Sue Gresham [00:03:36]:

Generally speaking.

James Kademan [00:03:38]:

Broadly. Right? Right. So for those that don't know, tell us what is LinkedIn. Let's just start there.

Sue Gresham [00:03:43]:

Oh, gosh. Okay. So what link what is LinkedIn? It's LinkedIn is a social platform. It's not really social media, but in a way it is. It's a platform that has over a 1000000000 users around the world. It's owned by Microsoft and short version story is that it is a site for business professionals. Well, anybody that works is considered professional. So for anyone that is working or thinking of working or in school, it's a site for them to post, to engage, to build a network, to keep track of people, to connect with them, have really, what I what I promote with everyone is to use it to build, nurture, and maintain your professional relationships.

James Kademan [00:04:27]:

Build, nurture, and maintain. That's awesome.

Sue Gresham [00:04:29]:

Yeah. I

James Kademan [00:04:30]:

didn't know that LinkedIn was owned by Microsoft. When did that happen?

Sue Gresham [00:04:33]:

Yeah. They went I'm gonna say 7 years ago now. I the years fly by so fast. I can't remember. But it's been at least 7 years.

James Kademan [00:04:40]:

I'll just jump up from under the rock I've been hiding under. That's

Sue Gresham [00:04:43]:

It's okay. It's no big deal. It's no big deal.

James Kademan [00:04:45]:

So interesting thing about LinkedIn from my point of view is there are some people that I feel like that are active on there. If you get in your death scroll or infinite scroll, whatever, that I feel like they are showing up every 3rd post that I have. And then you have others that you looked at and they still have the job that you know that they don't have from 20 years ago, whatever. Yeah. So in your experience, how often are people actually either posting or at least updating their profile of some kind?

Sue Gresham [00:05:13]:

Well, that's a great question because I it's both. How's that? How's that for it depends. My favorite

James Kademan [00:05:20]:

First time I've ever heard it.

Sue Gresham [00:05:21]:

I know. I know. It it seriously, everybody has a different reason, and there are people that posted, created their accounts years ago because they were looking for a job and they never went back. And then there's others that are using it for very creative network development. Some of them are using it for spamming and selling their stuff. People some people use it for authority building where that you'll see them posting about the thing that they know the most about. So there's a it there's a little bit of everything. I don't have the stats off the top of my head because to be honest with you, I'm not a numbers person.

Sue Gresham [00:05:58]:

But I'm going to say that of the 1,000,000,000 people that are using it, maybe maybe 25%, 20% are at or I'm sorry. Of the 1,000,000,000 that have accounts, maybe 25%, 20 are actually using it. And what I mean by that is going into it every once in a while. I'm a big proponent that we should go into it and use it if you wanna be networking and growing your business. Of course, you know, that's what I say. But that being said, a lot of people are busy doing their work and they're not jumping in to LinkedIn because they don't have time. Or there are some companies that have it blocked because they think it's a social site just like you can't get into Facebook or Instagram from work. So, there's a lot of different there there's pretty much every single reason why someone is using it or why they aren't.

James Kademan [00:06:50]:

So interesting....

Eric Cogorno - YouTube Golf Education

On Believing In Yourself: "That was the first time that my brain felt like it was allowed to think big enough.  It was the first time I really allowed myself to imagine, what would even be possible here?"

Just about every kid wants to be famous on YouTube.  Many adults have the same desire.  But what does it take to make it on YouTube?

Eric Cogorno has made a name for himself in the golf world.  Through his videos and lessons he has taken his skills and brought them to life for others to grow with.  He has taken his skills and made a career out of them.

Today we’ll explore Eric's innovative approach to content creation, his strategic use of platforms like YouTube, and the lessons he learned from industry giants like Tony Robbins and Grant Cardone. We’ll also discuss the challenges of standing out in a saturated market, the importance of finding the right partners and employees, and the value of pushing through discomfort for personal and professional growth. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a social media enthusiast, or just curious about golf, there’s something here for you.

Listen as Eric discusses his process and the path he has built and followed to lead to the success that many YouTubers, myself included, can learn from.

Enjoy!

Visit Eric at: https://cogornogolf.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/c/EricCogornoGolf

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Video editing requires a lot more work.

07:30 Three buckets: content, editing, and engagement.

15:22 Watched goal-setting video, expanded mindset, new possibilities.

21:42 Realizing need for backup plan after college.

24:31 Coaches feel insecure and over deliver.

28:39 Utilized social media for financial and coaching growth.

35:49 Seeking insight on coaching and taking action.

39:26 People have pain threshold for achieving goals.

47:45 Delegate tasks to specialists for faster, better results.

51:40 Analytical guy trusts gut, values quick onboarding.

59:39 Slow and steady growth, prioritize main goals.

01:03:58 Analyzing content for patterns and themes.

01:09:49 YouTube is my main focus, not Instagram.

01:12:34 Key conversation can make 1000s. Marketing efforts initiated.

01:22:14 Confusion over golf and desire to learn.

Podcast Transcription:

Eric Cogorno [00:00:00]:

And I think a common trait of a lot of coaches in the beginning is when you feel insecure and probably in a lot of transactions, we tend to over deliver or over give too much talk and too much information. Like when I get a golf lesson now, James, just to put in perspective, I might give a student one, maybe 2 main things to work on. Probably like if you delve into someone's business model and you're like, hey, we gotta focus on, like, this one thing first. Same thing with a golf lesson. But in the beginning, when you're nervous, you know what's going on. I might be slinging out 10 things. I mean, I'm giving them all kinds of stuff to do and then nothing gets done.

James Kademan [00:00:35]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and strength and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at draw in customers .com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie and calls on call answering service, as well as the Bold Business Book. And today we are welcoming slash preparing to learn from Eric Cugorno, how to build an online coaching business. So, Eric, hopefully, I didn't butcher your last name too bad. How is it going today?

Eric Cogorno [00:01:08]:

Yeah. Everything's good. You said that perfect. Most people have a hard time with that. That was, that was perfect, man. Everything's great. Appreciate you having me here, James, and look forward to, providing some value for the audience.

James Kademan [00:01:17]:

Yeah. So just so the audience knows, I was on your YouTube channel just a little bit ago, and I was watching one of the videos, the one that you had right away that pops up. And I wanna ask you about this before I forget because we're on YouTube, lots of people on YouTube. The editing that you have in your YouTube videos seems to be excellent. And from my experience, editing videos takes about 50 times longer than it takes to record the video. So can you tell me before I forget, tell me about your process for editing, if you hire someone, if it's you, and just the story of where it started to where you're at now with your editing.

Eric Cogorno [00:02:01]:

Yeah. Sure. Thanks, man. I appreciate that. So I got incredibly lucky that when we started our YouTube channel, I had a partner. I had a business partner and still do have a partner named Mary Langel. So she has done all the filming, all of the editing, behind the scenes. And so, like, the ultimate hack, you know, with building the social media, if you can find someone good to do it with, is certainly finding someone who's good at that.

Eric Cogorno [00:02:25]:

And so, you know, I've gotten better on camera on the speaking and the coaching part. I like to think that's my strength and my niche. And, like, when I tried James, when I first bought a camera and I tried to film myself and edit it, I literally had a hard time getting the camera on. And that's Oh, no. Serious. Yeah, dude. It was it was a disaster. And so I think a lot of people who try and get into social media have the the exact problem you just mentioned, which is, like, dude, it takes so long.

Eric Cogorno [00:02:53]:

The back end of the video, like you said, is way more difficult than the actual filming itself. For example, if we we put out a 10 minute golf video, it takes us 10 minutes to film. We don't script it. We turn the camera on. We do it one take and go, but it might take, you know, 6, 8 hours to get the video together, and then we come up with, like, 20 variations of thumbnails to pick through titles. Like, all the back end stuff to your point is is takes a lot of work. And so I don't have any great strategies to do that on your own because I've never had to. I would say my advice and hack would be to find someone who's great at it, unless unless you're someone who's thinking you wanna build and develop the skill over time.

Eric Cogorno [00:03:37]:

What I see James a lot is like us, maybe someone who runs a business or coaching or we we do things to make money. And then we end up spending time learning these other side things. Whereas like, if we just would have focused on us doing the money making activity, we could find someone and pay them to do a far better job, you know, than we're than we're able to. So so definitely higher higher help. But the short version of the story, man, is, I coach golf since I've been 18 years old. And Mary came in for a lesson one day. And at that time, I was coaching a lot of junior golfers. So we would have, like, 30 kids there, James, and there'd be, like, music playing and joking around busting chops.

Eric Cogorno [00:04:15]:

It was just a fun cool environment. And she was in the PR world, so she came in for a lesson one day and I had these like 30 kids there. She's like Eric, you know, this this should be like a show. There's like a show here or something. And I said, gosh, it's so funny that you say that because I had just decided that I wanted to do YouTube. This is 2016. Like, okay. Hey.

Eric Cogorno [00:04:33]:

I just decided I wanna do YouTube, but we talk right then and there about building a YouTube channel. And, and this is our this is our 8th year now posting, posting golf videos, and we just started our new personal development channel. So it's funny starting, starting from scratch there again, but that's how it all started.

James Kademan [00:04:50]:

Nice. That is awesome. So she came in for a lesson, and next thing you know, she's your business partner editing, doing super awesome things, helping your business grow.

Eric Cogorno [00:05:00]:

Thank you. 100%. Yeah. And, like, that's a great example, James, as someone who's like, I was good at the golf coaching part, but I would have been terrible at everything else, the filming, the editing, so on and so forth. And so had I not found a partner, I probably would have never done it.

James Kademan [00:05:16]:

Alright.

Eric Cogorno [00:05:17]:

You know, like, it it can be such a you know, I mean, like, it can be such a wall to climb that doing it in addition to your main thing. If there's a way to figure it out, getting help early on, it's just has helped me tremendously.

James Kademan [00:05:29]:

Yeah. It's interesting. I went to a workshop on YouTube. I mean, we're talking 15 plus years ago, long time ago. YouTube was definitely a thing. I don't remember exactly, but I feel like it wasn't the thing that it is now. And the guy essentially said, put up something because something is better than nothing. Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:05:55]:

And he had his iPhone. He has little stand for his current

Eric Cogorno [00:06:01]:

stuff

James Kademan [00:06:05]:

current stuff included, and that's more or less what we do. I mean, there's editing and stuff like that, but the quality of some of the edits that I see in some of the other videos that are maybe shorter form. This one, I guess what we do here with the podcast, I'm not expecting someone to just sit down, grab a bowl of popcorn, and watch this. Be cool if they do. I'm not expecting it. It's long form. Just you got you're listening to this more than watching it. In the case of some of the shorter form stuff, the editing that goes into that is just it's next level.

James Kademan [00:06:36]:

It's next level. I think of the one of my favorite guys to watch is, Ryan f 9. Because when I get into motorcycles, he's got this channel. I don't know if you're familiar with the channel. Mm-mm....

Melissa Brumm - Slow Life Revolution

On Achieving Victory in Business: "So it's sort of like if we help them win, we win. And then if we keep helping them win, we win. Everyone wins."

Every entrepreneur shares at least two common traits: 1) They have boundless ideas and 2) They are crazy busy trying to keep up with all that they have going on.

Melissa Brumm has taken these two challenges and created a coaching program to help entrepreneurs understand control amongst all of the technology that is endless in it's demand for our attention.

On top of all of this, Melissa discusses her many other business pursuits, including "Melvis.Rocks" and explore her passion projects, as well as her work with a Beatles tribute festival outside Louisville, Kentucky.

We'll also chat about her experiences in the entertainment world, her mother's influence in music and broadcasting, and her ventures in event planning, yoga instruction, and horticulture therapy. Plus, don’t miss her insights on the impact of technology on our daily lives and her heartfelt stories about pursuing her dreams.

Listen as Melissa explains the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur full of ideas and learning how to act on only a few of them.

Enjoy!

Visit Melissa at https://www.melissalbrumm.com/

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Response to overwhelming connectivity, advocating for relaxation.

03:58 Modern overwhelm: online, emails, constant mental clutter.

08:34 Questioning the need for social media validation.

10:51 Balanced perspective on technology and self-worth.

14:31 Encourage interaction instead of phone distractions.

17:56 Questioning the need for constant entertainment.

21:06 Unexpected journey from joke to professional singing.

22:50 Humorous performances featuring Sunny and Cher impersonations.

26:29 Livestreaming singing and dancing from bedroom setup.

29:55 Feeling safe in Halloween costume, gaining confidence.

35:05 Preference for various music acts and impersonations.

35:48 Admiration and amusement for impressive skills.

41:44 Connecting with nature through hands-on activities.

43:28 Certified yoga instructor planning meditation retreats.

47:22 Introduced to playing cello out of obligation.

51:30 Mechanic has expensive equipment but no profit.

52:18 Business program showcasing owner's struggles and successes.

Podcast Transcription:

Melissa Brumm [00:00:00]:

There is something to, like, horticulture therapy of, like, getting your hands dirty, working with your hands to, like, get you out of that mental, like, yeah. Just being, like, oh, I need to get that thing done. And you respond to that person. It's just, like, no. Just to put your hands in some dirt.

James Kademan [00:00:16]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, a business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. We're locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Melissa Brum, the founder of Slow Life Revolution. So Melissa, how is it going today?

Melissa Brumm [00:00:42]:

It's great.

James Kademan [00:00:43]:

It's good. Just fine.

Melissa Brumm [00:00:46]:

It's good. Yeah. Alright. It's really stressful, you know, it's a little stress stressful time right now, but

James Kademan [00:00:50]:

Because of being on the show? Yeah. I'm sorry. No. So other just stuff going on.

Melissa Brumm [00:00:56]:

Just life, you know. Yeah. Alright. All the different things I got going on in my head, which you'll Yeah. Right. We're about

James Kademan [00:01:02]:

to crack that can right open here. Yeah.

Melissa Brumm [00:01:04]:

How are you?

James Kademan [00:01:05]:

I'm doing tip top. Good. I got a super awesome guest in the studio here today, so I can't go wrong.

Melissa Brumm [00:01:10]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:01:11]:

Yeah. I have, I believe that the world's a little bit on fire with because it's beginning of the month and all that kind of stuff. So in our world, that's a big deal. Right. So but I got employees taking care of it.

Melissa Brumm [00:01:21]:

So Okay. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:01:22]:

It's all I guess we'll find out in an hour. Right? Is everything cool? Yeah. Anyway, so we got this time now. We just shut off the phone and chat.

Melissa Brumm [00:01:31]:

Right.

James Kademan [00:01:31]:

It's all good. So tell us, what is slow life revolution?

Melissa Brumm [00:01:35]:

Well, you just brought up shutting off the phone. That's essentially what it's about. So, my yes. Slow life revolution kinda started as this way of like as a reaction to how connected everyone is and how overwhelming that can be. And, like, we're all in each other's business at all the times and everyone is expected to respond to text and respond to messages and post things and like and comments and can just be like way too much. And Mhmm. So slow life revolution was my way of trying to turn the notifications off on your phone and just relax. And remember what life was like before we had cell phones because some people don't remember that, but a lot of people can remember that time, you know.

Melissa Brumm [00:02:22]:

Oh, yeah.

James Kademan [00:02:23]:

When we

Melissa Brumm [00:02:23]:

just had like the phone on the wall and you could only answer it when you were home and otherwise you and like you could only meet people at a certain time. And how kind of freeing that was in a way. So It

James Kademan [00:02:35]:

was liberating. Yeah.

Melissa Brumm [00:02:36]:

Right. I remember.

James Kademan [00:02:37]:

Like you

Melissa Brumm [00:02:37]:

were like, I'm meeting this person at this time and if they don't show up in 10 minutes, I guess they forgot and I'm gonna leave or whatever. Anyway, so that's what Slow Life Revolution kind of is. It's my life coaching business where I teach people how to get out of the rat race and the overwhelm that happens in their head because of being over connected on the Internet all the time.

James Kademan [00:02:59]:

Alright. So the people that come to you, are they coming to you saying I'm frazzled or, pissed at the social media thing or my spouse or my partner or whatever is telling me that I don't ever look up from the phone or when are they coming to you?

Melissa Brumm [00:03:15]:

That's funny. They sometimes they'll say, like, my spouse or my kids are on their phone too much. Like, they'll

James Kademan [00:03:21]:

Oh, I'd say it's not it's not them.

Melissa Brumm [00:03:23]:

It's not my problem. It's the how do I help them get off their phones? And I'm like, well, you have to show them how to do it.

James Kademan [00:03:30]:

I love it by watching you.

Melissa Brumm [00:03:31]:

Yes. Yeah. So it's that or it can be people who are just like, I don't know how to, like, they're overwhelmed with their kitchen or their closet strangely. It it would just be, like, the clutter that happens digitally expands into your real life, you know. So it'd be like, how do I not feel so overwhelmed about all the clothes that are on the floor? You know, like, strangely, that's kind of what comes up even though

James Kademan [00:03:57]:

Oh, wow.

Melissa Brumm [00:03:58]:

But it can tie back to that, like, oh, I'm also overwhelmed because of all this stuff around me, but also the mental stuff that happens online and all the emails I have to, you know, all these stuff that we didn't really have 20, 30 years ago. Mhmm. I guess it was more like papers. So the emails are like letters and stuff, but so there still was stuff to overwhelm you, but that's kind of yeah. It'll be people overwhelmed in some capacity of their life.

James Kademan [00:04:27]:

Got it. Yeah. I think of all the different channels for communication. Yeah. And whatever, 30 years ago ish, whatever, you had phone or you just maybe a letter. Yeah. Or you would actually go to someone's front door. A little fax.

James Kademan [00:04:40]:

Yeah.

Melissa Brumm [00:04:40]:

Maybe a pager.

James Kademan [00:04:42]:

Sure. Yeah. Go on.

Melissa Brumm [00:04:43]:

And don't remember how those were though? Mhmm. It just be like beat someone's pager would go off in like a quiet orchestra concert or something.

James Kademan [00:04:50]:

Mhmm. Like,

Melissa Brumm [00:04:52]:

Yeah. And now it's like everyone's like

James Kademan [00:04:54]:

Right. It's all phones.

Melissa Brumm [00:04:55]:

Taking pictures of stuff all the time.

James Kademan [00:04:57]:

I do not live for the moment. Yeah. I live for this I get to watch this again on the 4 inch screen.

Melissa Brumm [00:05:01]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:05:02]:

Sometime maybe never later.

Melissa Brumm [00:05:03]:

Yeah. I think people don't really realize it either that they're doing it. Like, I do it too. Like, I'm gonna show them, like, oh, I wanna remember this, but then you're not quite living in the moment. So

James Kademan [00:05:13]:

Yeah. You know what's interesting? I've caught myself where when I go to a concert now, I take a picture, maybe 2 just to remember just to trigger my memory.

Melissa Brumm [00:05:22]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:05:23]:

But I have never I don't believe I've ever recorded a concert, Maybe my kids concert or something like that. But no no concert where you see people trying to hold the phone the entire time. Right. Like, that seems crazy annoying Yeah. For you, for everyone around you, and just I mean, you paid money for this ticket to experience the live music. If you want a recording, there's probably an album or a website you can get it from.

Melissa Brumm [00:05:47]:

Exactly. Go watch Taylor Swift's whole show.

James Kademan [00:05:50]:

Right? Someone else recorded it,...

Clayton Bates - Shopify Expert

On Achieving Victory in Business: "So it's sort of like if we help them win, we win. And then if we keep helping them win, we win. Everyone wins."

Shopify has grown to be dominant force in the e-commerce world.  Holding about 20% of the market share of e-Commerce platforms, it allows sellers to get up and running quickly.  But how do you take your Shopify store from existence to actually making sales?

Clayton Bates is a Shopify Expert.  He helps Shopify store owners build their stores and get them known to customers that buy.  One of only a few certified Shopify Experts, Clayton has seen it all and shares his insights.

In this episode, we dive deep into the strategies that have made Clayton a sought-after consultant, from leveraging personalized Loom videos to building rapport by offering free value upfront. We’ll explore the significance of Shopify 2.0, the growing trend of businesses migrating to Shopify, and the importance of a simple, user-friendly website structure for maximizing conversions.

Clayton also discusses the vital role of social media in driving traffic to Shopify stores and how businesses are using unique approaches to grow their customer base. Plus, we uncover five common mistakes Shopify store owners make and the essential factors that influence success in the competitive world of e-commerce.

Listen as Clayton explains his steps to help grow Shopify businesses and how you can grow your Shopify business as well.

Enjoy!

Visit Clayton at: https://www.inspiresmallbusiness.com/

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Analytics show low conversion, high potential profit.

04:53 Chose to learn and build, gained agency.

08:42 Became Shopify expert, handled surge in leads.

10:45 Previous employees struggled, eventually found skilled coder.

12:54 Insecurity and growth in freelance quoting experience.

16:19 Free software advice, grabs attention, builds rapport.

22:23 Scanning and adding trading cards to website.

24:23 Shopify Expert hiring process changed 6 months ago.

28:17 Shopify prioritized country, mostly Australia, few clients.

31:11 Using images and headings can improve readability.

35:59 "Time is finite, use it wisely. Conversion rates?"

37:04 Good images, structure, and user experience important.

43:16 Experienced consultant helps businesses optimize conversion rates.

46:04 Focus on building relationships, not just websites.

47:17 Help clients grow and we succeed together.

Podcast Transcription:

Clayton Bates [00:00:00]:

It'll tell you, like, conversion rate is 1%. Average order value is $50. Returning customer Bates 15%. The traffic is coming from here. People landing on the home page this many times, this many traffic. So it's got basically everything sort of thing. So, yeah, I'm very good at, like, just looking at analytics and being like, oh, how are you not making $10,000 extra a month? And then we rebuild the website. They make 10,000 extra sort of thing.

Clayton Bates [00:00:26]:

So it's sort of like I can't explain how my brain actually can do it probably, but normally, if I say, like, 5,000, I'll make 10,000 extra. So I normally lowball myself. So

James Kademan [00:00:40]:

You have found Authentic business adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomerscom. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, and today, we are welcoming slash preparing to learn from Clayton Bates, the founder of Inspire Small Business, a Shopify expert. So, Clayton, how is it going today?

Clayton Bates [00:01:06]:

Yeah. Good. Thanks. Thanks for having me.

James Kademan [00:01:08]:

Yeah. Thanks for being on here. So let's for the people, I'm gonna say more or less like me, tell us, just broadly speaking, what is Shopify?

Clayton Bates [00:01:17]:

So, basically, Shopify is a platform where you can build a website. Most people that use Shopify are in ecommerce, so they sell physical products. So, yeah, it's basically a website builder for for physical products to sell.

James Kademan [00:01:34]:

And is it does Shopify take care of payment processing and helping with shipping, sales tax, all that kind of stuff?

Clayton Bates [00:01:40]:

Yeah. They can do all that or they can connect connect, like, your PayPal to the, website, things like that. So, yeah, yeah, they do all that.

James Kademan [00:01:49]:

Alright. I

Clayton Bates [00:01:49]:

didn't Shopify doesn't have a solution. Someone's probably made a app or a plug in to solve the solution. So

James Kademan [00:01:55]:

Okay. So it does allow add ons and stuff like that, plug ins or apps, whatever. Yeah. Okay. Got it. And how user friendly would you consider it?

Clayton Bates [00:02:07]:

I think sometimes it's too user friendly.

James Kademan [00:02:10]:

Too user? Okay. Okay. Easy to break. I suppose.

Clayton Bates [00:02:14]:

That's actually an issue sometimes because, like, when it Shopify is trying to make it super simple for someone, so they don't really break their website. But then if you wanna go outside of that, sometimes it can be a little bit challenging sort of thing. So that's why a lot of people hire people like me to build websites and stuff.

James Kademan [00:02:33]:

Alright.

Clayton Bates [00:02:34]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:02:35]:

Tell me so you're a Shopify expert. And if I read that correctly, that's an actual it's not just saying, like, hey. I'm really good at Shopify. That's an actual designation that Shopify has given you. Is that correct?

Clayton Bates [00:02:47]:

Yeah. So I think at the moment, there's only about 50 Shopify expert in Australia and then about 500 in the whole world. Wow. It's actually super hard to become a Shopify expert. So I I if it's still the same as when I was a show become a Shopify expert, Shopify has to pick you. You can't even apply for it.

James Kademan [00:03:09]:

Oh, you don't go to them. They go to you.

Clayton Bates [00:03:11]:

Yeah. I think Wow. When I become a Shopify expert, they closed down the program for 1 year, and they never let anyone in. So they're doing, like, a bit of a cleanup because they let a lot of, like, rogue agencies in and stuff. So they're all very picky on, like, who can be an expert and stuff. So, yeah, it's like if a lot of people say they're Shopify expert, but I'm actually authenticated Shopify expert by Shopify. So

James Kademan [00:03:36]:

Alright. Once you get that designation, is that a lifetime thing, or do you have to keep I don't know. They're continuing to add a

Clayton Bates [00:03:42]:

You can get booted you can get booted out. So one thing why people used to get booted out before is if they got really bad reviews on the platform, all different things like that. They keep changing, like, the rules and stuff. So it's hard to always know a 100% why they kick people out or or stuff like that. So yeah.

James Kademan [00:04:04]:

This seems to be the the MO of most tech companies or software based companies to just keep the mystery alive and change the rules of the game without necessarily knowing or tell I should say, without necessarily telling the players or letting them know. Yeah. So it how did you land in in Shopify?

Clayton Bates [00:04:25]:

I I wanted to I I've actually had my own store before. So I in 2,000 14, I went to I was selling products myself. I used to sell trading cards. So, a lot of people don't know I've sold 100 of 1,000 of dollars worth of trading cards, like little cardboard sort of thing.

James Kademan [00:04:44]:

You're talking like baseball cards or management or something like that?

Clayton Bates [00:04:48]:

Yeah. Like Australian sports, so like rugby league and cricket and stuff like that.

James Kademan [00:04:52]:

Oh, nice.

Clayton Bates [00:04:53]:

And and I, yeah, I went to build a website myself. I I discovered Shopify. I started to build the site myself. I I realized that I couldn't do it myself. So I contacted agencies and stuff, and a lot of them had sent over, like, really large quotes and stuff. And I was like, do I pay the agency, or do I learn how to do it myself and buy more stock? So I decided to learn how to do it myself. What I've learned now is if I hired one of those agencies, I probably would have made 2 or $300,000 expert, but then I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now. So me going and learning how to build a website, really, like, ended up being how I ended up having an agency building websites.

Clayton Bates [00:05:42]:

Because I'd I'd done that business for a while. I I was a bit burnt out from it, and, I was having a bit of a crisis in my life. I had a good job, had a business on the side, and I was like, I'm not happy. What do I enjoy? And the only thing I could think of is that how much I lacked building the website. And I thought, and I started an agency building websites, and that's how it sort of started nearly 6 years ago now.

James Kademan [00:06:07]:

Oh, nice. So you at what time at what point, I should say, did you decide to leave the the regular job, the w two well, maybe it's not w twos in Australia. The regular paid job before and actually flipping the switch to be exclusively on your own.

Clayton Bates [00:06:25]:

I basically sat down at my work computer, wrote race the nation, gave it to him while I cried. Bates hate to admit that I cried, but it just had got me down so much sort of thing that it sort of broke me a little bit at the end. And then I had no plan. I still had my my card business on the side. Had no plan. The 1st year in business, I hardly made any money. Like, I nearly went bankrupt the 1st year. I can't move in about a week of going bankrupt.

Clayton Bates [00:06:58]:

...

Phil Anderson - Candidate for US Senate

On Discovering a Disturbing Truth: "It was an indication to me right off the bat that things weren't being run as honestly and fairly and democratically as I had thought they were."

It is a rare person that believes that any government is doing the best job they can for the people they are supposed to represent.  But while most people complain or attempt to solve these problems from their arm chairs, Phil Anderson is actually getting up and doing something about it.

We cautiously venture into the realm of politics with our guest, Phil Anderson, a dynamic figure running as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate. We'll explore his personal insights into the process of running for political office, the intense challenges faced by third-party or independent candidates, and his distinct strategies for engaging in a political landscape dominated by two major parties.

We discuss the challenges facing anyone running for office and the deeper challenges when you are not backed by one of the 2 major parties.  We also discuss the limitations that the 2 party system has caused, likely by design of the 2 parties in this 2 party system.

Listen as Phil explains his journey that led to him running for many political seats, from governor to senator.

Enjoy!

Visit Phil at: https://www.andersonforussenate.com/

00:00 Life-long political observer runs for Senate.

05:58 Efficient time use for volunteer door-knocking.

09:04 Ran for office, gained experience, learned campaigning.

12:39 Russian man stranded on island, rescued after 20 years.

14:31 Acknowledging US government's historical influence on people.

17:05 Presidents lack control, donors hold the power.

22:08 Politics fueled by tribalism and climbing ambition.

23:50 Grown from small group to widespread support.

28:13 Gaining media attention and increasing poll numbers.

31:03 Libertarian candidate considered, family support emphasized.

35:32 Campaign staff working to gather signatures.

37:41 Traveling across state to meet supporters.

40:17 Campaign emphasizes disrupting corruption, capturing protest vote.

44:04 Fundraising for debates, past donors, phone calls.

45:57 Candidate seeks open dialogue & accountability from opponents.

48:49 Debate criteria restrict independent and third-party candidates.

Podcast Transcription:

Phil Anderson [00:00:00]:

The people that I worked with were very nice, the local people. But you could see, like, the I don't even know what the word is for it. But like the the tribalism that went on and my experience was with the Republican party in Wisconsin, but I'm sure it's the same with the Democrats. This tribalism and everyone's desire to climb, it was really more a lot of people that were trying to work up the ladder either in running for public office or in the administration or bureaucracy of the party, and that's all they were about.

James Kademan [00:00:30]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and strength and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at draw in customers dot com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, and today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Phil Anderson for US Senate here. So, Phil, how is it going today?

Phil Anderson [00:00:54]:

Fantastic. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it very much.

James Kademan [00:00:56]:

And I'm excited to chat with you because I don't know that I've actually conversed with anyone that was running for office to learn about the ins and outs of what it takes to actually run for office. There's a lot

Phil Anderson [00:01:07]:

to it. When I first started, I ran for office for the first time in 2014 and knew basically nothing, just decided that I needed to do something and then discovered things along the way.

James Kademan [00:01:17]:

Alright. You know what's interesting you say that? Because we run into all kinds of people. I imagine you even more so that are talking politics or whatever and how if they were in charge, right, what they would do. Exactly. But they never run or I don't even know if they coach a little league.

Phil Anderson [00:01:31]:

They might not even vote.

James Kademan [00:01:33]:

They might. Oh, it's even more interesting right there. So I'll just complain. I want to play the victim kind of thing, but you are actually getting out there and doing it. Absolutely. So tell me, what was the compelling reason or the the thing that got you going the first time?

Phil Anderson [00:01:47]:

Well, I followed politics, religiously my entire life and then in 20 2008 and 2012, I was a supporter of Ron Paul and I saw how poorly he was treated, not just, you know, by voters but by the Republican party itself and by the media and the polls. They were leaving his name out even when he was doing really well and it just Oh, wow. It was an indication to me right off the bat that, that the things weren't being run as honestly and fairly and democratically as I had thought they were. So I complained about it a lot and my children who were, like, 14 Phil 11 at the time said, dad, you should do something about it. You know, you you can happy to talk about it, so why not do something? So I decided to run for Senate assembly, District 47 in Wisconsin in 2014, and, that was a that was a really big adventure, but I learned a lot. That's basically how I got started. And once I it's kinda like, anytime you see something unjust or that you feel like you need to deal with, it's hard to forget that. It's you can't un unknow certain things.

Phil Anderson [00:02:43]:

Right. And it's not be and to lose your motivation about certain things. So I've been, fighting for liberty and prosperity and cleaner government ever since.

James Kademan [00:02:52]:

Alright. And have you been successful? No, not yet.

Phil Anderson [00:02:57]:

Not yet. But I hope to be this fall.

James Kademan [00:02:59]:

Not done yet. Nope. Fair. So tell me, when you decided that first time, you said 2014? Yes. Alright. 2014, let's start with what it takes to actually get on the ballot. Is that just you Phil out a form? It's like, hey, I'm cool?

Phil Anderson [00:03:13]:

No. It's not it's not that easy. It's not bad in Wisconsin though. Every candidate except for the presidential candidates of the of the major parties has to gather signatures during a certain period of time in order to be on the ballot. And it's scaled based on what level of office you're going for. So for state assembly, it's at least 200. For state senate, 400. For congress, the house of representatives is a1000.

Phil Anderson [00:03:37]:

For US senate and any of the statewide races, governor, lieutenant governor, etcetera, it's 2,000. And you have approximately 6 weeks, April 15th through June June 1st, to gather those signatures from people in your district or in the state in the case of statewide voters and submit them to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and they check them over to make sure that they're all authentic and that you've crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's and and that sort of thing, and then you're on the ballot.

James Kademan [00:04:02]:

And are these physical signatures, like, you're going with a piece of paper?

Phil Anderson [00:04:05]:

Exactly. There are petitions with 10 spots for signatures on them and you have they have to be wet signatures. They can't be electronic signatures, nothing like that. Wow. They have to be hand signed by people, and Phil in their print their name and their address on there, their voting municipality, and the date. And then whoever's circulating the the paper has to sign at the bottom once it's all done to verify that they, in fact, personally gathered the signatures. So you can't even, let's say, leave a clipboard in your break room at work or something like that. It has to be attended and those those signatures all have to be witnessed.

James Kademan [00:04:37]:

Wow. Alright.

Phil Anderson [00:04:38]:

That's a chore. But I but at least in this state, it's fair between the parties.

James Kademan [00:04:43]:

Mhmm.

Phil Anderson [00:04:43]:

There are other states where there are different requirements for independent or third party candidates versus Republicans and Democrats. Illinois is one of them. Alabama and Georgia and New York all have really, really high signature requirements for independent and third party candidates.

James Kademan [00:04:57]:

Really? Yep. Wow. That's

Phil Anderson [00:04:59]:

So I'm grateful. Yeah. That's I'm not complaining. We're in the process of doing that right now. We started April 15th, so I'm out gathering signatures. I've got volunteers all over the state doing that. But it as you can imagine, it's one person at a time would you consider signing. And the premise is do they want more choices on the ballot? Mhmm.

Phil Anderson [00:05:17]:

And most people, even if they're already in their mind committed to another candidate or they already know they're gonna vote Democrat or Republican, most people are fair minded and want more choices on the ballot for other people because that's what democracy looks like.

James Kademan [00:05:30]:

Yeah. Yeah.

Phil Anderson [00:05:30]:

So it's usually not too many noes, but it's still a question of actually doing the work over 6 weeks to turn those many in.

James Kademan [00:05:37]:

I imagine that's a lot of nights and weekends then knocking on doors.

Phil Anderson [00:05:40]:

It is. It is. And I've been doing that already. And as I said, I've got volunteers doing it at different parts of the state. There are different ways to be more efficient about it. Mhmm. If there are parades or farmers markets or things like that when there's a lot of people there and they're not nece

Nathan Boehm - Diventures - Sun Prairie, WI

On Knowing Where to Set the Bar: "Always the goal for the first day is not to cry in the water. You know, set it nice and low.."

Nathan will share with us the fascinating growth story of Diventures from a modest beginning to an enterprise spanning 18 locations nationwide offering an array of aquatic services, including a robust swim school and exciting scuba diving adventures.

Nathan dives into the intricacies of managing such a complex operation, touching on everything from the difference between dry suits and wetsuits to the challenges of teaching swimming techniques effectively. He'll also discuss the importance of building lasting relationships with clients and how he's helping the business thrive by fostering a community through swimming, whether they're four months old or part of the senior citizens' classes.

Listen as Nathan explains the ins and outs of getting both kids and adults in the pool and learning how to swim comfortably and while having fun.

Enjoy!

Visit Nathan at: https://www.diventures.com/locations/sun-prairie/

00:00 Classroom work then certification vacations to dive.

04:55 Transition ideas from womb to water, baby excels.

07:51 Living in tent after rent increase, job searching.

12:29 "Rewarding aquatics work with special needs children."

15:23 Comparing strength and swimming technique casually.

16:35 I run the business and have employees.

20:32 Testing water pH using colorful science kit.

24:51 Parents can start swim lessons at age three.

26:26 Free trial swim lessons offered for parents.

30:23 Flippers used for fun and better swimming.

33:57 Coordinate movements, maintain momentum, and express emotion.

Podcast Transcription:

Nathan Boehm [00:00:00]:

You can totally default the doggy paddle. Just make sure you're not doggy paddling like this. And you want to have your arms out a little bigger.

James Kademan [00:00:04]:

Okay.

Nathan Boehm [00:00:05]:

So you can move more water, man.

James Kademan [00:00:06]:

That's great advice.

Nathan Boehm [00:00:06]:

No, you can't. You can't be a t rex and swim, right? No t rex arms allowed. You need big arms.

James Kademan [00:00:11]:

All right.

Nathan Boehm [00:00:11]:

You need bigger. Unless you have a tail. If you have a tail, then you could be a dinosaur. So, yeah, most kids don't have a tail either, so that's usually what I tell them. Yeah, if you have a tail, you can totally swim however you'd like.

James Kademan [00:00:22]:

You have found authentic business adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle, stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link. [email protected] we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie, and today I am welcoming, preparing to learn from Nathan Boehm, the aquatics experience manager at Dive ventures in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. So, Nathan, how is it going today?

Nathan Boehm [00:00:50]:

It's going good. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. I was looking forward to this.

James Kademan [00:00:53]:

Yeah, this is exciting. Aquatics experience manager. Tell me about that.

Nathan Boehm [00:00:57]:

Yeah, so, yeah, I handle the day to day operations of the diventures in the swim school side of things, so enrolling people into swim lessons, training the instructors, overseeing the swim program, and making sure everybody's having a happy and fun time. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:01:12]:

So diventures, is that franchise or is that so?

Nathan Boehm [00:01:14]:

No, we have one single owner. His name is Dean Hollis. He's a wonderful man. We started in Omaha, Nebraska.

James Kademan [00:01:19]:

Oh, wow.

Nathan Boehm [00:01:20]:

And then when I came on, and I started in 2020. Yeah, you wouldn't think of like a swim school dive location, Omaha, Nebraska. But people like to travel, so it helps them.

James Kademan [00:01:27]:

All right.

Nathan Boehm [00:01:28]:

And so, yeah, I came in on 20 June of 2020. We had six locations, and now we're up to 18 locations across the country.

James Kademan [00:01:37]:

Holy cow.

Nathan Boehm [00:01:37]:

So, yeah, it's a lot bigger than most people think, but yeah, it's super been super fun and watching the growth of the company.

James Kademan [00:01:41]:

That is crazy, girl.

Nathan Boehm [00:01:42]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:01:42]:

So was the idea. Tell me what the idea is.

Nathan Boehm [00:01:45]:

Yeah, so the idea is we're just all inclusive for everything. One stop shop for everything related to the water. So I get you in. Young is two months for a baby in me class. If you're really feeling like you want to do that. Absolutely, come on in. And then we teach you through swim lessons. You can decide to go into the swim team route where we have preps and things like that.

Nathan Boehm [00:02:01]:

Or if you want to go into snorkeling, potentially free diving, and then ultimately maybe scuba diving and traveling with us. Is that so? We try to keep you for a customer, for life.

James Kademan [00:02:09]:

Nice. So traveling. So you take people to different.

Nathan Boehm [00:02:12]:

Yeah. So different part. Yeah. So that's a different, like, different section of the company. We have a whole travel department that. Yeah, we do, like, 150 plus trips a year around the world.

James Kademan [00:02:20]:

Wow. Yeah.

Nathan Boehm [00:02:21]:

And scuba diving. Yeah. All fun resorts.

James Kademan [00:02:24]:

All right.

Nathan Boehm [00:02:24]:

Concierge level service. Very fun stuff.

James Kademan [00:02:26]:

Very cool.

Nathan Boehm [00:02:26]:

Yeah, it's been super fun.

James Kademan [00:02:27]:

Yeah. I was thinking dive ventures in Sun Prairie. We have water.

Nathan Boehm [00:02:32]:

Yeah, we're not. Yeah, we're not doing a ton. No, it's more of just, like, to get you the prep work and the basis to then be able to go and explore the world.

James Kademan [00:02:39]:

All right, so tell me about the population that uses this. Let's just dive into the scuba diving portion of it.

Nathan Boehm [00:02:46]:

Sure.

James Kademan [00:02:47]:

Are there a lot of people that do that?

Nathan Boehm [00:02:48]:

Oh, yeah, there's a lot. Yeah. People are always just looking for a new adventure and new things like that. Yeah. Okay, so we typically. We just started our scuba program here up in Madison at our Fitchburg location. So we're doing Triscuba. So it's just like you to just get.

Nathan Boehm [00:02:59]:

Dip your toes and play in the water a little bit. You'd be able to stand up if you get scared. Nothing too crazy like that.

James Kademan [00:03:04]:

Okay.

Nathan Boehm [00:03:04]:

But, yeah, just to get your toes wet, do the classroom work and things like that. And then we can go do, like, we have these things called certification vacations where you can go down to, like, cozumel, Mexico, or down to Florida to get your open water search so you don't have to, like, dive in, like, lake Menona or Lake Mendota or, like, devil's Lake. So there's different options along those lines and things.

James Kademan [00:03:22]:

So you can go there somewhere warm. Exactly.

Nathan Boehm [00:03:24]:

Yeah, that's the idea. Cold and you can't see anything. Yeah, yeah.

James Kademan [00:03:28]:

Is the water so cloudy that you really can't see anything?

Nathan Boehm [00:03:30]:

It depends. It depends on your ability to, like, control your buoyancy so you're not messing with the bottom and the silt and things along those lines, because if you kick up the dirt, it's just. It all goes to poop pretty quickly. So, yeah, that was my experience when I learned how to dive.

James Kademan [00:03:41]:

Oh, really?

Nathan Boehm [00:03:42]:

That was my experience when I learned how to dive in Lake Superior.

James Kademan [00:03:44]:

So, yeah, in Lake Superior.

Nathan Boehm [00:03:45]:

That's crazy cold. Yeah, it was crazy cold. Yeah, I have, I think I still might have the record for coldest dive in the company in a wetsuit.

James Kademan [00:03:52]:

Wow.

Nathan Boehm [00:03:52]:

So it was, like, 46 degrees.

James Kademan [00:03:54]:

Oh, my gosh.

Nathan Boehm [00:03:55]:

No one. Yeah, that's for a class.

James Kademan [00:03:56]:

Okay. So I don't know much about as far as what you can sustain.

Nathan Boehm [00:04:00]:

That's about. That's about the max. It doesn't get much. Yeah, that's where most people are. Yeah, they're. Most people are like, no, we're gonna use the dry suits. And all the instructors had dry suits and things like that, so. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:04:10]:

Oh, what's the difference between a dry suit and a wetsuit?

Nathan Boehm [00:04:12]:

You stay dry in a dry suit.

James Kademan [00:04:14]:

I didn't even realize you got.

Nathan Boehm [00:04:16]:

Yeah. Yeah. It kind of goes into you. So there's, like a. There's, like, a little bit of water between you and the wetsuit that heats up to your body temperature, so then that curates a little buffer between you and the water.

James Kademan [00:04:25]:

Oh, I just assumed you stayed dry.

Nathan Boehm [00:04:28]:

No. Yeah. Well, that's good. Yeah, yeah, they're in the dry suit. It'll be a little more awkward. So they just kind of, like, little movie magic. Yeah. Just casually under it.

Nathan Boehm [00:04:40]:

Yeah. It would work with a dry suit, but, like, it's not gonna. It wouldn't be as, like, movie friendly.

James Kademan [00:04:44]:

All right. Yeah. No wrinkles or anything.

Nathan Boehm [00:04:46]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:04:46]:

Ties in place. Oh, it's funny.

Nathan Boehm [00:04:49]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:04:50]:

So tell me, two months for swimming. That's a baby that can't even.

Nathan Boehm [00:04:55]:

...

Randy Lenz - Real Estate Agent Extraordinaire

On the Cost of Change: "It's a little bit daunting right now because some of the new people coming in have no clue how they're even going to get paid."

We all need someplace to call home and for those trying to live the American Dream, that means buying a house.  But with some recent changes in how real estate agents get paid, interest rates going up and home prices not really dropping, the market is a tumultuous place to do business.

Randy Lenz is a real estate agent with decades of experience.  As of this year, he has seen it all.

We're lucky enough to hear some insights as Randy shares his thoughts on the current market conditions influenced by changes in interest rates, the impactful rise of online platforms like Zillow, and the shifting dynamics in property listings and agent commissions. We’ll explore how these factors are reshaping the way realtors operate and the implications for buyers and sellers in the Madison area and beyond. Randy also discusses the potential future changes, including the impact of artificial intelligence and other technological advancements on the real estate industry.

Listen as Randy explains the best time of year to buy a house, the best time of year to sell a house and how to navigate the minefield that is real estate.

Enjoy!

Visit Randy at: https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/56737bd67e54f701001dd179

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Excited about first house, interest rates fluctuate.

05:13 Realtors face challenges with keys and commissions.

06:27 Home buyers will struggle due to spending habits.

11:42 Realtors face real expenses for their work.

13:36 Housing prices soar, making it unattainable for many.

16:50 Flexible timing benefits buyers in our market.

20:23 Zillow dominates market, inaccuracies frustrating for buyers.

23:26 Realtors essential for immediate market response.

25:55 Realtors uncomfortable representing property they haven't seen.

30:08 Get broker's license, open real estate company.

34:55 Buyer's agents may undercut fees, risking inexperience.

37:41 Investors bought cheap, rehabbed, and sold for profit.

38:46 Market shift due to rejected low offers.

43:20 Income determines housing affordability, market correction expected.

47:07 20% belief, 20% disbelief, 60% indifferent.

50:44 Willingness to learn affects pay and prices.

52:21 Office lease abandoned due to lack of foot-traffic.

Podcast Transcription:

Randy Lenz [00:00:00]:

Realtors aren't stupid. I had a house once that I listed across, from a graveyard. I mean, one of the Next said, quiet neighbors.

James Kademan [00:00:08]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. We're locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. Downloadable free audio episodes of this podcast can be found at drawincustomerscom at the podcast link. Today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Randy Lenz. Randy is in real estate Randy he's gonna teach us all the things about all the changes in this crazy, crazy real estate world.

Randy Lenz [00:00:37]:

That is true.

James Kademan [00:00:38]:

Randy, how is it going today?

Randy Lenz [00:00:40]:

Not bad, James.

James Kademan [00:00:40]:

Good to

Randy Lenz [00:00:41]:

see you again, my friend.

James Kademan [00:00:41]:

How are you? You? I'm doing well. I am looking at the market. I look at the market every single day for what's for sale and all that kind of stuff, just dabbling in there, seeing what's going on.

Randy Lenz [00:00:51]:

Turn it off, James. It's gonna make you crazy right now.

James Kademan [00:00:53]:

You know, I just feel like maybe I'm just grossly underpaid or it's just a weird it's a weird dynamic. Right? Interest rates were way way low, then interest james rates went what I considered, because I'm old enough to say this, I considered them to be a correction. But a lot of times people are saying like, oh my gosh, they're crazy high.

Randy Lenz [00:01:16]:

Well, most of the buying market today hasn't ever seen an interest rate above 3% until this last wave. And now we're almost up to 7%. First house I bought was at 16%. So I'm 16? 16. So I'm still not feeling real terrible about the where where we're at right now and people complaining about 7.

James Kademan [00:01:32]:

Okay. So I was excited. Our first house, I got it 6.875. Good. And it was some, I think it was a Super Bowl special or something like that because I didn't have to suffer through 7 And I thought, top of the world, man, I got this game figured out, and then the rates just down down down, and now they're whatever, 7 ish, whatever. So but I'm looking interest rates went up. See that, hey, the market, the prices, all that kind of stuff are gonna go down. And at least in the Madison, Wisconsin area where we are Right.

James Kademan [00:02:03]:

Haven't seen that happen even a little bit.

Randy Lenz [00:02:05]:

Not quite. Yep.

James Kademan [00:02:06]:

Okay. Have you or maybe I'm wrong there.

Randy Lenz [00:02:08]:

No. And I think you're right. I mean, but here's what I was telling people earlier this year. I mean, every year that I've been in business and, unfortunately, now it's more than 30 years. Alright. Presidential election. Right. Because people have short memories and to get audited or to make things look great right before the election.

Randy Lenz [00:02:24]:

Right. Because people have short memories.

James Kademan [00:02:25]:

They're about to get audited.

Randy Lenz [00:02:26]:

Right. And after November, no one cares. Right? Because then it's Katie bar the door. But if we're gonna see lower rates, it'll be sometime this spring, this summer, maybe early fall. And if the Federal Reserve reduces the discount rate and and even even a little bit, quarter of a point, half a point, mortgage rates will come down a little bit. So we might be looking at 6, 6 a quarter by the end of this year. After that, who knows? Alright. Because they're talking $5 gas now.

Randy Lenz [00:02:54]:

They're talking, you you know, some things that are just gonna take off. And who knows if the if there are gonna be issues we have to deal with after November. But if you're looking, this is probably a pretty good time barring the things we're gonna talk about today and try to

James Kademan [00:03:07]:

explain what's

Randy Lenz [00:03:07]:

going on

James Kademan [00:03:08]:

because it's

Randy Lenz [00:03:08]:

a mess out there right now.

James Kademan [00:03:10]:

Let's start with the big one.

Randy Lenz [00:03:12]:

Okay.

James Kademan [00:03:12]:

With the, the payment. I guess, you would call it commission?

Randy Lenz [00:03:16]:

Yes.

James Kademan [00:03:16]:

For real estate agents and all that jazz? Let's just, can you give us a little bit of a history? Sure. About sellers, agents, buyers, agents, commissions, all that kind of stuff, what it was, and now what it will be?

Randy Lenz [00:03:28]:

This whole discussion might be a little bit easier if we talked about the meaning of life. Oh, sure.

James Kademan [00:03:33]:

That's awesome.

Randy Lenz [00:03:34]:

Okay? Because it's a mess, James. But here's so let me give you a little example or a little background. So if I'm a listing agent and I would go out to a home seller's home, I would list their house for a specific price, and then we would have, a commission rate. Let's just say 6% in our market. Well, how it traditionally worked and how it's worked up to right now, basically, is that when you sold, that commission would be split between the listing company, my company if I'm the listing agent, and the buying company for the buyer's agent. Across the country over the last year and a half, a lot of home seller groups started class action lawsuits that said, no. It's artificially inflating the price of the Home. Plus, the buyer's agents don't represent us, which is true.

Randy Lenz [00:04:16]:

They don't. They represent the buyer. We don't wanna pay them. And we think home prices will come down, which is a joke. We'll talk about that in a little bit. But we don't wanna have to pay a buyer's agent anymore. They won every one of those lawsuits. Every major real estate company across the country has paid 1,000,000 of dollars to get out of this.

Randy Lenz [00:04:36]:

And last week, the National Association of Realtors made a huge payment to end this.

James Kademan [00:04:43]:

Right?

Randy Lenz [00:04:43]:

But how did it end? It ended where as of July of this year, if I'm a real estate agent right now, I can take an MLS sheet and say, oh, okay. I'm getting paid this. And you know right off the bat. By the end of July of this year, commissions have to be off an MLS sheet. So there's an agent out there right now that can tell me or tell you where they're gonna find out if they're even gonna get paid. They might have to call every real estate company. I mean, it it takes me back to very early when I first started. We didn't have lock boxes when I started back in another century.

Randy Lenz [00:05:13]:

I literally had to go to the offices and pick up the keys for every showing I was gonna do and then take them back that day. So imagine how many buyers you could work with. Right? Because you can only run around and get 8, 10, 15 keys in one day, right? And that kinda takes me back to that because I think what's gonna happen is there'll probably be some resource where realtors will go Randy they'll say, oh, this property is paying this commission. And you'll at least know Randy then or you're gonna end up make writing it into the offer, which the state and the and the and the US government don't like because it makes the realtor a a party to the transaction. And you're not really you're not the buyer....