Pawn Leaders

Todays Episode I recap what I took away from the Midwest Convention. To continue the discussion join the Pawn Leaders Facebook Group. Schedule your complimentary Strategy Session today at pawnleaders.com

A 3rd generation pawnbroker, Jordan is the CEO and owner of Beverly Loan Company, an upscale pawnshop specializing in discreet collateral loans against fine jewelry, watches, artwork and memorabilia. This pawnshop caters to socialites, business people and celebrities who require collateral loans against their prized possessions, in a confidential office building. In 2013, Jordan founded New York Loan Company, and most recently, purchased Chicago Loan Company. Jordan is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Loyola Law School, a member of the State Bar of California and sits on the Board of Directors of the National Pawnbrokers Association.

[01:46] Jordan's grandfather started the business in 1938, who later gave his mother the business. When his mother passed on, Jordan decided to take up the mantle.

[05:25] Beverly Loan Company charges a standard of 4% a month

[06:04] Most of the items pawned includes jewelry, fine watches and artwork, especially at the New York location

[07:33] What's been the hardest part of running the stores? "Opening stores 3000 miles apart from one another is not an easy task"

[08:24] "There's a stigma attached to our industry, and it's my goal to debunk that stigma"

[09:51] When do people with money need money? There are times when persons' capital are tied up in investments and big properties. There are also people with poor credit, but have a lot of money in properties that need personal loans

[15:35] One of the most unique items Jordan has seen was an expensive wine collection

[14:17] What makes you so involved in the industry and why is it important for people to be as involved? It's important to dispel the stigma that pawn is for low class people and the NPA does a great job of conveying this

[15:55] Success tips for pawnbrokers:

1. Hire the best and compensate well
2. Have a loan first mentality
3. Be confidential
4. Run every penny through the company

[20:20] "Don't be scared to take on new forms of collateral. Don't be scared to take on things that you don't know a lot about. Educate yourself"

[22:05] "I like having a client in my office. I like having my clients come in to make their payment in person and not paying mobile".

Todays Episode I touch on creating a plan to win. To continue the discussion join the Pawn Leaders Facebook Group. Schedule your complimentary Strategy Session today at pawnleaders.com

Antoine Dupont, CEO of Katapult Marketing, was born in Paris and has spent the last five years studying Marketing while creating hundreds of videos for his clients. Katapult Marketing is an internet marketing company that manages the web presence for business owners. The company creates videos and websites that generate leads and increases credibility. Antoine's clients have seen a 3 to 5 times increase in social media engagement, while others have seen a 37% increase in sales because of their video marketing strategies. We see how integrating video marketing in the pawn business can reap great rewards in today's episode of Pawn Leaders.

[02:07] Approximately five years ago, Antoine was introduced to doing video marketing by one of his employees

[03:59] "As a Marketer, what you're trying to do is to put your client's brand or your brand in front of people's eyes. What are they looking at? Are they looking at billboards? Are they listening to radios? Are they watching television? What are they looking at collectively; my target audience? And the answer for you as pawnbrokers is 'They are looking at videos.'"

[04:40] Your audience is paying attention to YouTube and Facebook, and they like to watch videos on these platforms

[05:48] People are always looking for "How-To" videos, for example: "How Do You Negotiate the Pawnbroker?"

[07:37] People love authenticity, so your video does not have to be perfect

[08:30] You can start recording with a mobile phone and a microphone

[10:19] "We cannot get enough of stories"

[11:52] Stay away from Facebook live. Only utilize videos that are live worthy

[14:24] "Facebook is a marketing and branding apparatus, it is not a sales engine"

[15:30] It is not advisable to put a commercial on Facebook, unless it is very specific

[17:54] The pawnbroker must be in front of people on a regular basis, but not in an aggressive manner

[20:59] Google is where people go and look for what they want to buy, while Facebook is where people spend their time, but not with an intention to buy

[21:56] Putting 1 video on Facebook per month is good traction for your business

[23:17] What strategy can a pawnbroker use to advertise a content? Post on your Facebook page, share to your personal page, then to your followers, while boosting your post. Segment your target audience using various selections.

[27:11] Visit Answer the Public to get all the questions on YouTube and Google for the word searched

[32:00] Utilize long-term strategy to reap high returns

[33:24] Look for "How Pawnshop Works" in YouTube and search will retrieve over 35,000 results. This proves that you can post similar content. Anything close to 1 million is a no go and anything within the hundred thousand is just right

[36:52] Visit Antoine's YouTube channel for workshops on video marketing

Todays Episode I touch on extreme clarity and what that means to you both personally and professionally.

• To continue the discussion join the Pawn Leaders Facebook Group.
• Schedule your complimentary Strategy Session today at pawnleaders.com

Scot Keller joins us on today's episode of Pawn Leaders. Scot was born in Philadelphia and then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where his father was a professional poker player. He attended high school in Las Vegas and went to Arizona State University. Scot later moved to Lake Cormorant to help his family run Keller's Pawn.

[01:52] Scot encourages small pawnshop owners to go to conventions to meet with veterans in the business

[02:51] "For the amount of money you get charged, especially at the smaller conventions, it's worth every dime."

[03:14] Scot recounts in his younger days, the strategy he would use to get products at the flea market cheaper than usual

[06:30] Mississippi is lenient with the regulations. They charge 25%, holds for 2 months and allowed to hold buys for 2 weeks if they do automatic computer transfers to police and 3 weeks if uploading or faxing pawn tickets to the police

[07:44] Based on the zip code of the Keller's Pawn, there are 2,200 people with a median income of $45,000 and a ratio of males to females is 75 percent to 25 percent.

[08:08] Keller's Pawn is located on Highway 61 and gets many tourists, including persons from Italy and England

[10:56] Scot knows many pawnbrokers who were previously bartenders

[11:25] "If they wanna do business, I'll go as fast as I can. But if they wanna take their time, to stay, absolutely stay!"

[12:06] Being able to play multifaceted roles to attend to your customers, gives you a better outcome

[12:46] "I have great customers that I see on bad days"

[18:58] Lessons learned:

1. Don't be afraid to admit to mistakes
2. Be willing to try everything, even if it doesn't work
3. Have fun

Leadership isn't always about being serious all time it's about having fun. On today's episode, I challenge you to start having more fun.

To continue the discussion join the Pawn Leaders Facebook Group

Russ Perry joins us on today's episode of Pawn Leaders. Russ is the founder of Design Pickle – the #1 unlimited and flat-rate graphic design service in the world. Design Pickle was launched in 2015 and has achieved unprecedented success. Russ is also the author of the Sober Entrepreneur, a book that speaks about his journey from rock-bottom and his commitment to sobriety. He is a certified trainer with Wake Up Warrior and enjoys traveling with his wife and 3 daughters.

[02:44] Russ looked at where he could provide value where there's a gap in the market

[03:33] Design Pickle is 1 price, with two (2) plans; $370 and $995 plan

[05:23] Being able to take the designing off business owners' plate so they can focus on the operations of the business makes Design Pickle amazing

[06:09] "The worst part as a business owner is when you're not being proactive with your marketing and communication because you think it's too expensive…it's too much work"

[07:19] Becoming an entrepreneur means that you have to be addicted to that business

[07:51] Russ, at 22, became addicted to launching and growing his business, which in turn led to him pushing away his family and becoming isolated

[09:05] The isolation led to Russ having an affair

[09:49] "The patterns of our past, or the patterns of our industry, don't have to become our patterns"

[09:55] Sober Entrepreneur was written so that business owners could learn from their mistakes and also getting sober after being addicted to a substance or a business

[12:42] Realize that you're not alone on the path of addicts trying to get sober

[13:17] Be strategic about dealing with the stress by replacing bad habits with healthy habits

[15:34] Becoming sober is a life-changing experience

[16:41] Design Pickle was launched 14 months after Russ became sober. During the sobering process, be reflective and meditate about what you want in the future

[18:56] How does somebody know that they're an addict? Addictions are where a lot of your time, money and energy are being spent. If they are leading you to a better life, there are no worries. However, distractions and stress are red flags.

[22:42] In order to have a lasting marriage, Russ had to eliminate alcohol from his life to build trust

[26:16] Legacy makes you think more logically when making decisions

[28:07] How important was coaching to you to create the man you are today? "Coaching was an accountability mechanism for me to level up as a leader, communicator, and teacher, which I could do in my own business"

[30:34] Managing your long-term vision with clarity and lining them up with short-term actions is important

[31:19] Journey to sobriety:

1. Get into a support group
2. Be committed to your reason for being sober

[33:36] There will be free books at soberentrepreneur.com

[35:47] Follow Russ on Instagram @russperry

On today's episode, I touch on a very important question. When was the last time you've been to the doctor?

• To continue the discussion join the Pawn Leaders Facebook Group

Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of Entrupy and co-inventor of Entrupy's patented technology, earned a degree in Journalism while designing and developing video games for Raptor Entertainment. He embarked on a career across a variety of roles including Sales, Business Development, Marketing, PR and filmmaking while working for software giants; Intuit and Microsoft. Entrupy was established in 2012 with co-founders, with a mission of using scalable technologies to enable trust and commerce to combat counterfeits. Entrupy launched in 2016 as an instant authentication service for high valued goods for the resale market. In 1 year, Entrupy has authenticated over 14 million dollars' worth of inventory for its customers.

[02:08] Entrupy aims to build trust in transactions

[03:21] "Over time, we realized together that, as an industry and across commerce and across trading in the world, there's a huge problem with counterfeits and that problem pervades almost every single industry."

[05:48] The co-founders of Entrupy have a solid technology background and realized that they needed to solve the problem of getting instantaneous results regarding imitation products.

[08:21] The technology allows you to scan a product to see if it is authentic

[09:01] Most customers use Entrupy to detect handbags and leather accessories

[09:57] "The fact that we are versatile and scalable means that we have to be looking into expanding into either adjacent or completely horizontal/verticals."

[10:11] Entrupy is looking to expand their business to compare watches, jewelry, shoes and are working with retailers in Europe

[10:46] Vidyuth never planned to enter the pawn industry until meeting Michael Mack of Max Pawn and then realizing that the pawn business relies on the speed of sales and being able to know if persons selling an item are trustworthy.

[11:46] Most pawnbrokers don't take handbags because they are unsure of the authenticity of the products

[12:41] "The people who jumped on at first were the folks in the pawn industry"

[14:24] If you take in an item that has been certified as authentic, by Entrupy, and it is confirmed otherwise, Entrupy will give you money for the cost of the item as well as take the item off your hands.

[16:08] Many persons in the pawn consignment business, get their products sold 40-60% faster when they advertise a product with the authentication certificate

[17:02] "Once you have trust as that bottom layer, the buyer gets a good product that's trustworthy, the seller makes extra money faster, and we make a small cut off that entire transaction"

[17:34] How much of an increase, in the sale of handbags, do pawnbrokers have after using Entrupy? Not all customers focus on handbags, but everyday there are at least 3 to 4 enquiries regarding handbags.

[21:19] What are the biggest tells of counterfeit?

1. "Oh, I got this as a gift." – Why would someone get rid of a gift?
2. When people go into a pawn shop acting like they are in a hurry
3. If the item or deal is too good to be true, it might be counterfeit
4. Coming up with a fake address where they bought the product

[23:52] There are 4 components of the Entrupy technology;

• A handheld microscope is used to take image samples of varying parts of an item
• The images are sent to the handheld mobile app
• Images from the app go to the computers
• And the computer gives a result

[25:01] Visit Entrupy