Beyond A Million

Erik Van Horn is an entrepreneur, advisor and the co-founder of Front Street Equity Partners, a strategic advisory and private equity investment firm focused on the franchise industry.

After purchasing his first Liberty Tax Service franchise, Erik went full throttle, eventually growing to 42 locations. After that, Erik built out the blueprint to successful franchising, buying seven more brands as a franchisee, exploring the franchisor space and making a successful 8-figure exit to private equity.

For entrepreneurs looking to build an owner-absentee business, franchising can feel like a logical journey. So today, I'm sitting down with Erik to get the scoop on the franchising world. What are the steps to success? What are the pitfalls? And how can interested investors make their first move into franchising?

Key Takeaways with Erik Van Horn

• How Erik went from mowing lawns to owning 42 franchise locations despite having no prior franchising experience.
• A breakdown of what investors eager to get into franchising should do — and what they shouldn't do.
• A look at the potential exit paths for franchisees and franchisors.
• What variables will hurt the exit value of a brand?
• How franchisors could see a 15-20x EBITDA valuation from private equity on a $5M+ business.
• The metrics that make a brand a prime candidate for franchising.
• What are the closest options to an owner-absentee model in the franchise space?
• Can it be beneficial to work in a business niche you know nothing about?
• What is the difference between a franchisee and a master franchisor?
• The pros and cons of being an entrepreneur vs. being a franchisor.
• Why second franchise locations often struggle more than first franchise locations — and the point at which it becomes easier to scale multiple locations.
• Why are tax offices so prevalent in low-income areas?

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Jian Tam is a marketer, NFT and crypto investor, and the CEO and co-founder of Samurai Saga, a Web 3.0 gaming project centered on NFT artwork, utility-based tokens, and a play-to-earn gaming experience.

Before crypto, Jian made his first $1M selling camera lenses on eBay. Soon after, he started a DTC clothing business and found an untouched niche after selling $50,000 of customized sweatpants in a single day.

After buying Bitcoin in 2009 and selling it early for $400, Jian made another venture into the crypto space, turning $20K into $2M with Dogecoin. Finally, he transitioned into NFTs, using a creative marketing approach to earn $3.9M in the first 8 minutes of an NFT drop.

While NFTs and crypto have fallen out of favor in 2023, Jian believes they're poised to make a comeback. In today's episode, you'll hear about the specific type of NFTs Jian is focusing on moving forward, how potential investors should look at the space, and successful NFT launching strategies.

You'll also hear about how AI could be leveraged in the NFT and crypto space, how to raise funds for NFT projects, and marketing techniques that work across various industries.

Key Takeaways with Jian Tam

• The unorthodox marketing strategy that brought in $3.9M in the first 8 minutes of Jian's first NFT drop.
• The new vehicle for raising capital that can keep founders from diluting their ownership.
• The part people are skipping when it comes to laying the groundwork for successful online sales.
• What is the next trendy industry that could take off like NFTs and crypto?
• The future of NFTs, how they may change as they stage a comeback, and how investors can take advantage.
• The strategy for success when launching a product in the NFT community.
• The core principles of sales success that are just as applicable to selling clothing as they are to selling NFTs.
• How can you market in the crypto space when ads are banned?
• Taking a close look at the structure and benefits of blockchain-based video game platforms.
• Who are the ideal influencers to engage with in the crypto and NFT universes?
• Why Jian transitioned from eBay and Amazon to DTC sales through his own website.
• How Jian went from making $7.50/hour to making $1M flipping camera lenses on eBay.

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Tucker Max is a 4X New York Times bestselling author, investor and the former co-founder of Scribe Media, a multi-8-figure publishing company that helps aspiring authors tell and sell their stories.

Tucker's books have sold more than 4.5 million copies, while Scribe Media has helped publish memoirs for people like David Goggins, Tiffany Haddish and Dan Sullivan. After helping Scribe grow to $24M, Tucker exited the company in 2021.

For many entrepreneurs, however, chasing sales and bestseller lists may not be the best way to crack 7 and 8-figures with writing. In today's episode, you'll hear Tucker talk about the nontraditional avenues entrepreneurs and aspiring writers can use to monetize their written ideas in a big way.

You'll also hear Tucker share the key questions nonfiction writers must be able to answer before putting pen to paper, how Scribe adjusted its organizational structure to grow from $2M to $24M, and the role AI will play in book writing in the years to come.

Key Takeaways with Tucker Max

• The internal changes with roles and responsibilities that helped Scribe Media grow from $2M to $24M.
• Should your book deliver content that your readers want to hear or content that your readers need to hear?
• What are the steps to writing a nonfiction book – and why writing for niche audiences can be so lucrative.
• The idea of "dirty authenticity" as the future of effective marketing.
• How will AI impact authoring books?
• Why some books can be marketed successfully for cheap and others fail to gain traction regardless of marketing spend.
• What are the character traits that make a great CEO?
• The nuances behind the decision-making processes for what lands on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.
• Why are high-end service businesses so difficult to scale?
• The employee growth number Scribe hit when things started to break.
• How avoiding the traditional route to professional writing helped Tucker monetize his work early in his career.
• How Tucker went from writing blogs to landing on the New York Times bestseller list with his first book.

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We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find some golden nuggets within this interview. Trust us, it's there!

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Bashar Katou is an Amazon FBA seller, mentor and the founder of BJK University, a leading online platform that teaches users how to sell on Amazon.

After the restaurant Bashar owned burned to the ground, he found himself $150K in debt. Soon after, a friend introduced him to the concept of making money online. He decided to focus on Amazon sales, bought a course and launched his first products.

Fast forward to today, Bashar has launched more than 100 products on Amazon and his BJK University is a multi-8-figure business with more than 35 employees. Bashar grew BJK from $150K to $2.3M in one year primarily through social media, at one point spending $325K/month on Instagram shoutouts.

In this episode, you'll hear how Bashar uses social media to drive traffic, how he manages to post 4-6 pieces of content a day, and the social media channels he focuses on in today's environment.

You'll also get insights on running a successful Amazon store, adjusting the entrepreneur mindset as your company scales, and the No. 1 tip social media-focused businesses should hear for 2023.

Key Takeaways with Bashar Katou

• How Bashar grew his business from $150K to $2.3M in 12 months by using Instagram shoutouts.
• The No. 1 tip for driving traffic to a social-media-reliant business in 2023.
• Should entrepreneurs follow a passion or pursue a business for the sake of the financial upside?
• The 3 cycles of business from Lex Sisney's book "Organizational Physics" that entrepreneurs can follow to create perpetual growth.
• How Bashar prioritized product-market fit and building an offer over building a business to create a multi-8-figure company.
• Why build an Amazon store instead of a traditional eCommerce store through your own URL?
• The assembly line approach for integrating organic traffic into your existing marketing model.
• Why Bashar eased up on Instagram marketing after earning 1,200 opt-ins a day – and where he shifted his attention to.
• The mental change that has to happen for entrepreneurs to avoid burnout and keep pushing forward.
• How motivation and the pressure to perform can change as your company experiences more success.
• Adopting a mindset of responsibility and ownership to find solutions and keep problems from compounding.
• The management lessons Bashar learned from managing a restaurant that burned to the ground and left him $150K in debt.

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Kasim Aslam is an entrepreneur, author and the founder of Solutions 8, one of the top-ranked Google Ads agencies in the world. He has also started four 7- and 8-figure businesses and has completed two exits.

Kasim has a knack for innovation, and has won War Room's Wicked Smart competition 5 times – an award given to the War Room member with the best proven and tested business-growth solutions.

Today, Kasim sits down to share the digital marketing expertise that has led to the growth, success and sales of his companies. In addition to discussing his best marketing practices, Kasim also pulls back the curtain on a few off-the-beaten-path marketing "hacks."

You'll also hear Kasim share insights around navigating an M&A exit, how agency owners can use AI to get ahead, and why his next multi-million-dollar venture may take place outside the agency and SaaS worlds.

Key Takeaways with Kasim Aslam

• What does it look like to manage an 8-figure M&A deal?
• The marketing tip that "shouldn't be legal" that helped Kasim become the 4th-ranked GoHighLevel affiliate.
• What are the most important variables to nail when preparing for an exit?
• Kasim's Slack hack that allowed him to achieve nearly 100% deliverability to cold prospects.
• The best advice Kasim got after his 8-figure sale – and how entrepreneurs can use it to avoid lackluster ventures after successful exits.
• Rethinking the 8-figure business approach to consider analog businesses instead of SaaS or agency models.
• How agencies can capture arbitrage opportunities from AI in the near term and adjust to AI to capture market share in the long term.
• How website owners can prepare for the death of third-party cookies by capturing and analyzing first-party data.
• The opportunities for generosity that come from negotiating an all-cash exit from your business.
• A quick look at the parameters around obtaining a "golden visa" to earn full citizenship in a second country.

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We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find some golden nuggets within this interview. Trust us, it's there!

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John Rampton is an entrepreneur, connector, and online influencer who loves building amazing products and services that scale. He's purchased, started, grown and sold several companies online with his latest company quadrupling a 7-figure revenue stream in 6 months.

According to John, he has built over 4 unicorns in the past 10 years, with over $18 billion in online revenue directly attributed to his teams.

He has written 5,000+ pieces of online content and was recently ranked #2 on the "Top 50 Online Influencers in the World" list by Entrepreneur Magazine.

In today's episode, John shares the secrets behind his success when it comes to scaling companies using SEO and content marketing.

You'll learn his 2-minute content creation process, his strategy for hiring quality copywriters, how to add verticals to scale beyond 7-figures, and the massive opportunity that exists for businesses who learn how to optimize their content using AI technology.

Key Takeaways with John Rampton

• The BIG opportunity for AI-powered content.
• The repeatable model entrepreneurs can use to produce articles in 2 minutes or less.
• Avoid the biggest SEO content mistakes and boost your online visibility.
• How to add verticals to scale beyond 7-figures
• The secret behind multimillion-dollar relationships: the "1-in-10," "1-in-100," and "1-in-1,000" philosophies.
• How to convert readers into "super fans" for increased product sales through compelling content.
• Leverage your core skills and add "multipliers" to break through plateaus and scale your business.
• How affiliate marketing-style sales boosted John's sales 70x compared to his colleagues.
• The three different types of editors John uses for every online post.
• The Harvard study that shows how families who give money to charity increase their incomes by an average of $375/month within a year.
• Build successful symbiotic relationships with interns through effective processes.

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We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find some golden nuggets within this interview. Trust us, it's there!

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Ricky Joshi is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of Saatva, a direct-to-consumer luxury mattress and bedroom company that earns more than $400M in revenue and has been named to the Forbes Top 100 Most Promising Companies list.

While going mattress shopping for himself one day, Ricky noticed a few shortcomings from mattress retailers. Confusing messaging. Bad customer service. No core values. Ricky thought he could do better, and in 2011, Saatva became one of the world's first DTC brands.

In this episode, Ricky shares Saatva's success secrets, including effective marketing strategies, key metrics to focus on, and brand awareness tips for entrepreneurs in the DTC space.

You'll also hear about how Saatva created an in-store experience that leads to greater than 50% conversions, how competition helped Saatva 3x its sales in one year, and how companies can decide when it's time to branch out and launch new product offerings.

Key Takeaways with Ricky Joshi

• How increased competition helped Saatva grow from sales of $9.5M to $28.7M in one year.
• What are the best and worst things Saatva has done in marketing?
• How Saatva's brick-and-mortar retail stores have a conversion rate higher than 50%.
• How selling a product with a high AOV can lead to a better customer experience.
• Two core components to building growth and success.
• How Saatva has branched out to having more than 42% of its buyers coming from a non-mattress product.
• The major advantage small companies have over big companies when it comes to marketing.
• How is AI impacting marketing right now?
• Why established brands and large companies often struggle in the DTC space.
• How to weigh investing in brand awareness with the growth trajectory of your company.
• When do you know if it's time to branch out and start selling new items alongside your flagship product?
• Balancing your consumer's awareness level when choosing which platform —like TikTok, Facebook or Google Ad Words — to market on.
• How entrepreneurs can analyze SEO traffic to determine alternative revenue streams.

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We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find some golden nuggets within this interview. Trust us, it's there!

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Aaron Amuchastegui is a real estate investor, fund manager and software CEO who has bought and sold more than 1,000 foreclosed homes and owns 850 single-family rental properties.

Aaron made his way into the real estate market in 2005. As he watched the Great Recession gut the industry from 2008-2009, Aaron discovered an opportunity to purchase and flip foreclosed homes, pioneering a business venture that quickly led to delivering millions of dollars for investors.

Today, Aaron sits down with me to discuss the ins and outs of his decades-long real estate success story, including nitty-gritty details on the art of buying and flipping foreclosures, how new investors can enter the market, and how he bounced back from going to zero — twice.

You'll also hear how Aaron went toe-to-toe with investment management behemoth Blackstone, how he successfully added a software venture to his revenue mix, and which asset class investors with cash on the sidelines should be eyeing right now.

Key Takeaways with Aaron Amuchastegui

• The story behind Aaron's journey beginning in the 2005 housing boom to the depths of the Great Recession to owning 850+ single-family homes in 2023 — and the lessons investors can learn from it.
• The process of buying and flipping foreclosed homes — and how to enter that market today.
• The applicable lesson that large-scale real estate investors can learn from Blackstone's model.
• The secret to quick growth in real estate — and how to do it at scale.
• How Aaron positioned himself as a "picks and shovels" provider to run a software company that brings in 6-figure months.
• What asset class should investors with extra cash be looking at in the current environment?
• How can you determine who's worth learning from in real estate development?
• The bank-imposed parameters that can hamstring entrepreneurs trying to get a portfolio loan for real estate investing.
• How do the criteria for buying a single property vary when considered in the context of a total portfolio?
• How should investors set up the financial structure of a new rental fund?
• Tips for entrepreneurs who fall victim to shiny object syndrome.
• How AI is impacting real estate investing.
• The life event that pushed Aaron from being an employee to an entrepreneur.

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We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find some golden nuggets within this interview. Trust us, it's there!

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Tim Swindle is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of PaddleSmash, a Pickleball and roundnet hybrid that's making waves in the backyard game world.

After starting in commercial real estate, Tim pivoted to software where he built and sold a company for 8-figures in 2016. Soon after, Tim moved into the toy and game industry with his card game Utter Nonsense, which he sold to U.S-based PlayMonster for 8x EBITDA. As Pickleball became the fastest-growing sport in North America, Tim rode the momentum, launching PaddleSmash in 2018.

In today's episode, you'll hear Tim share lessons from his success with retailers, including tips for negotiating deals, getting your product noticed by decision-makers, and how to stand out on the shelves for shoppers.

You'll also get an inside look at the creation of PaddleSmash, the reason Tim chose to license the product, and ideas on how to effectively iterate your product during the design phase.

Key Takeaways with Tim Swindle

• How PaddleSmash went from $0 in sales to getting picked up by large retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods and Scheels.
• What are the biggest potential pitfalls to look out for when entering into contracts with retailers?
• Tips, tricks and nuances for designing packaging to both optimize profits and attract customers.
• How should entrepreneurs who want to break into the retail space structure their pitches to buyers?
• One of Tim's biggest business takeaways — and how he used it to land the first clients for his software product.
• How Tim went from commercial real estate to his first 8-figure software exit.
• How can you build an effective focus group to improve your early-stage product?
• The practical considerations behind deciding whether or not to license a product.
• An experienced look at negotiating deals with big box retailers.
• Why deciding what not to build is just as important as deciding what to build.
• Tim's first exit in the retail space — an 8x EBITDA sale of his card game Utter Nonsense.
• The tailwinds and chance connections that led to PaddleSmash's creation.
• Why most of the innovation in the toy and game space comes from individuals as opposed to corporations.

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We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find some golden nuggets within this interview. Trust us, it's there!

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BAM! 💥

This week, we're shaking things up! After 70+ interviews with 8, 9 and even 10-figure entrepreneurs, I wanted to round up the best marketing advice shared on the pod, and deliver it straight to your ear drums.

My team went back through the archives and pulled the biggest takeaways from 5 entrepreneurs who are absolutely crushing it in the marketing world. You'll hear SUPER actionable tactics from Ryan Pineda, Keala Kanae, Perry Belcher, Jason Fladlien, and George Bryant.

In this episode, you'll learn how to automate your lead generation using instagram reels, strategies for increasing email open rates, what the best marketers do to improve customer LTV, the power of strategic positioning, and much more!

Key Takeaways

• The story behind Jason Fladlien's $57M product launch.
• Understanding the customer journey and what prevents so many companies from scaling beyond 8 and 9-figures.
• The content creation playbook Ryan Pineda uses to warm up his audience, generate leads, and make more sales.
• The process Keala Kanae uses to achieve a 59% email open rate
• How to cross-sell your existing audience by using the "Randolph Hearst" model.
• The role that 'belief' plays when it comes to achieving greatness.
• How to map a better customer journey so you can scale beyond 8 and 9-figures.

Subscribe to the Podcast

We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find some golden nuggets within this interview. Trust us, it's there!

If you want episodes delivered straight to your inbox, consider subscribing to the show and we'll email you each time a new episode is released!

Thanks for tuning it & keep being awesome.

BAM! 💥