Latest / The Sports Card CEO Podcast / Episode 20, S2: Special Guest Brandon Steiner | CEO of CollectibleXchange & Serial Entrepreneur

Transcript

Episode 20, S2: Special Guest Brandon Steiner | CEO of CollectibleXchange & Serial Entrepreneur · The Sports Card CEO Podcast

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_03]: What is happening everybody?
• 0:01
  [SPEAKER_03]: Welcome back to another episode of the SportsCard CEO.
• 0:05
  [SPEAKER_03]: We are the official collectibles podcast of just baseball, Bubba and Ham holden it down today in the house, flex on them, Bubba, looking strong and healthy today, baby.
• 0:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: trying to do it man, trying the journey is still continuing.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it does.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a day by day thing.
• 0:21
  [SPEAKER_03]: No doubt, man.
• 0:22
  [SPEAKER_03]: No doubt.
• 0:22
  [SPEAKER_03]: We have a very special guest today.
• 0:24
  [SPEAKER_03]: And we are excited to bring this gentleman on.
• 0:26
  [SPEAKER_03]: He offers a wealth of knowledge and information both in the business space, a specific two sports cards as well.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_03]: We'll get to that in just a moment.
• 0:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: There it is, he did it a 47 season and a season unlike any other individually baseball history
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, it's this round hard.
• 1:11
  [UNKNOWN]: He's the liar, the last, my truck, that's right to go round.
• 1:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: What's up, guys?
• 1:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is Mike Trout.
• 1:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: And this is the sports car C.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E
• 1:19
  [SPEAKER_03]: But as we normally kick off our day with the round table, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_03]: but it has forced me to focus on some things that were probably in the background.
• 1:45
  [SPEAKER_03]: And so, I've been dealing with some health stuff.
• 1:47
  [SPEAKER_03]: It's wild because we've had so much kind of personal success and professional success in the last month, like wild man, like things are just going ridiculously well.
• 1:57
  [SPEAKER_03]: But anytime you have something, at least in my experience, if you've got this really good area of your life, it seems like other areas get under attack.
• 2:05
  [SPEAKER_03]: So I'm kind of, you know, set up the fortress
• 2:09
  [SPEAKER_03]: letting the guard down in these other areas.
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_03]: But a little Matt and I are pumped, man.
• 2:14
  [SPEAKER_03]: I think I shared, you know, last week, we had a big win on some grading orders, which was huge, and we are flying out Thursday to the Dallas Card Show.
• 2:22
  [SPEAKER_03]: First time we've been to Dallas in a couple of years, looking forward to seeing a lot of our listeners, you know, please come up and say hello, look forward to connecting with you guys in person, and just getting back in the saddle in the show environment, a big show environment.
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_03]: So we fly out Thursday morning for that, we'll be going this weekend.
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, man, we're baseball classic is heating up a lot of fun.
• 2:41
  [SPEAKER_03]: The boys are watching it.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_03]: They're like, Dad, a kooon you hit a bomb, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, judge hit a bomb.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know, the boys are running around the house, you know, the chatter is here and very real with the, with baseball around the corner.
• 2:54
  [SPEAKER_03]: So it's exciting time.
• 2:55
  [SPEAKER_03]: But that's about it for me, man.
• 2:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, on the personal side for myself, it is baseball season in the Wilson household, all three boys.
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think I mentioned it last week.
• 3:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're in full swing.
• 3:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we travel ball season is started here in Georgia.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: All three boys playing ball.
• 3:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: We have practiced pretty much every night games every weekend.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that's taking a lot of my attention and time.
• 3:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: for sure, but I mean, I wouldn't wouldn't have any other way, man.
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, just time is flying by with these boys.
• 3:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I can jack and I had a long conversation last night and I'm old as son and I just had flashbacks of him being a 780 year old boy in our in our driveway 12 years old now and I just want to really soak this in this year and I know a lot of you other listeners have kids out there and
• 3:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Really just wanting time to slow down right now.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know about you.
• 3:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: But time just seems like it is just flying by every seemed like we just recorded yesterday our prospects episode last week and so just really trying to slow life down a little bit on the personal side right now.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is not working my attempt to spam.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I'm going to continue to try to figure out how to do that and just in be, you know, staying in that zone with the family and just enjoy every minute of it.
• 3:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: But.
• 3:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's pretty much it on the personal side.
• 4:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: On the card side, I'm really trying to do exactly what we talked about on the show last week.
• 4:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: The sale process has begun a little bit getting in reallocation.
• 4:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: I really enjoyed last week's episodes.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of my favorite episodes we've ever filmed going through all next year's top 30 prospects.
• 4:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: My top 70 prospects, since I mentioned like 17 minutes, but really just started to try to like really reallocate and go, okay, what is next?
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: who is next.
• 4:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: What is next?
• 4:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, it's been really cool to see McGonagall out there getting great.
• 4:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: And, and still not getting the love that he deserved.
• 4:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't make sense.
• 4:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Other whole hit a bomb yesterday.
• 4:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's looking good.
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then, you know, just a lot of, uh, good stuff going on right now.
• 4:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: You see, guys, like we talked about Gabriel Gonzalez, you know, and just about a big failure.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: I thought you about Gabriel Gonzalez.
• 4:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I love you guys paying attention
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it's just kind of cool to see.
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's cool again.
• 4:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: We talked about this journey every spring where guys that are kind of forgotten get that chance Honestly, I'm taking some some dips on some of these guys dip in the toe and on a couple of these guys and so on the card front That's really where I'm at it's time to kind of reallocate a little bit look at where things are obviously We're in a weird time right now in our country with fuel and everything else I hopefully that's smooth of self-out sooner than later, but uh
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's pretty much it for me, man, trying to continue to buy, I am reallocating, and I'll share more of that as we get into future episodes.
• 5:24
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yes, so one of the things that's interesting, I actually did a little real on the sports cards CEO of Instagram page, which by the way, if you're not following us, the sports cards CEO on Instagram would love to do that.
• 5:34
  [SPEAKER_03]: And I basically said the three guys we've been touting for a year now, Connor,
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_03]: mechanical and weather halt.
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_03]: And all three of those guys are having ridiculous springs.
• 5:42
  [SPEAKER_03]: And so it's really good to see the guys that you love do well, you know, and it feels good to win in that way.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_03]: And again, we were we were buying and believing in these guys a year ago when they weren't on the radar and we knew the market would respond when they got on the radar and here we are.
• 5:58
  [SPEAKER_03]: And it's really, really, it's, it's, I mean, not to, like, to our own horn, but it actually feels good.
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_03]: It's validation for what we do and why this show is successful is because we, you know, we were surround ourselves with very smart, educated people in the space.
• 6:12
  [SPEAKER_03]: And, you know, you watch it and it, and it works.
• 6:14
  [SPEAKER_03]: And we're getting so many messages right now, Bubba, from our listeners.
• 6:18
  [SPEAKER_03]: Like, we got one the other day from a guy.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_03]: He's like, dude, I got to thank you guys.
• 6:21
  [SPEAKER_03]: I made a thousand bucks on this card, you know, to me.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_03]: And he's like, this is a huge win for me.
• 6:26
  [SPEAKER_03]: So those types of victories for our people, man, it makes us feel like we're trying to truly turn back to the community and say, hey, here's what's worked for us.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_03]: Let it work for you, and we're watching it be successful.
• 6:38
  [SPEAKER_03]: That's very rewarding.
• 6:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is, and I'm, you know, I'm gonna say it again.
• 6:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: I really do believe that JJ weatherhole and Kevin McGonagawa, your rookie is of the year.
• 6:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that weatherhole will do it in the NL.
• 6:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think McDonald will do it in the A.L.
• 6:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: I just, I love Connor, I still do.
• 6:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: I just don't think that he may get the time.
• 6:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think they're gonna hold him back as long as they can for financial reasons, the pirates will.
• 6:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: They could prove me wrong here in about two or three weeks and put him on the roster opening day.
• 7:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I just don't know that they're gonna do that.
• 7:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: When you've got a generational talent like him coming through, it's gonna cost him a lot of money and then extra year to do so.
• 7:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think the weight, I would guess, and I think JJ and Megami are going to get a chance right away.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Excited to see it, and the next wave of folks that are here, I mean, they're here.
• 7:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, they're getting at bats and spring training, they're getting an opportunity to show what they have, and really, really cool.
• 7:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: So last thought, how cool was it in the WBC to see a 17-year-old kid who's out of my area down here and go up against some of the best players in Major League Baseball?
• 7:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, can you imagine the nerves that it takes?
• 7:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: The guys that this guy's been watching since he was probably 10, 12 years old, and he's out there throwing against them.
• 7:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: That had to be an incredible feeling, but I was really impressed by that kid.
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: His composure and charisma, that was pretty amazing.
• 7:53
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, 100% did the WBC every time reminds me why it's just such an awesome thing.
• 7:57
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know, the main, it's just a ton of energy and it's super, super exciting.
• 8:01
  [SPEAKER_03]: Well guys, we don't want to wait any longer to bring on our special guest this week.
• 8:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: And that is none other than Brandon Steiner.
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_03]: Brandon is the founder and CEO of Collectible Exchange.
• 8:13
  [SPEAKER_03]: And Brandon, we are honored to have you on the SportsCard CEO, my friend.
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_04]: Well, thanks for having that could see you guys are all amped up about trading cards, no questions.
• 8:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: First, let's attack the elephant in the room about this gal thing.
• 8:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: Chinese stones got, I just want to tell you, like, I did a blog about this and interviewed some of my person.
• 8:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: I got and got 18 years ago.
• 8:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: OK, I haven't had it since, you know, take my all up here in all every morning.
• 8:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: So two things you got to be careful of is stress.
• 8:39
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yes.
• 8:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: stress, you know, you don't get out.
• 8:42
  [SPEAKER_04]: You order it.
• 8:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: So, you know, a lot of these things you get, they're not God designed.
• 8:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: They're actually like ordering your Amazon, you know, you, it's, you ordered it out.
• 8:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: And the other thing is a drink and tremendous amount of water.
• 8:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: And you've got to look at your body a little bit like almost like an employee.
• 8:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: So like what's easy to digest, you know, eating heavy food, even though you may not eat a lot of it.
• 9:03
  [SPEAKER_04]: puts a lot of weight on your body to digest, you know, stuff like red meat, drinking a lot of wine, you know, alcohol always does it, but you know, all those things.
• 9:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: So if you think about eating light, you know, kind of like a lightweight or even like a caveman, to think about that.
• 9:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm not saying you can't eat something but really a lot of moderation and you got to really stop thinking about easy things to digest as often as possible.
• 9:26
  [SPEAKER_04]: Because all that's happened is
• 9:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: That's one more thing.
• 9:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: The way I got rid of the guy is I do.
• 9:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not the thinnest guy either, but I'm 67.
• 9:37
  [SPEAKER_04]: But I do rigorous cardio every morning.
• 9:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like if I go to a hotel, it's got to have a good gym.
• 9:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: I got to get my least 45 minutes of rigorous cardio.
• 9:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: Now I do work out the training twice a week, play basketball, I have an indoor court in my house.
• 9:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm going to play basketball twice a week or once a week.
• 9:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: But you have to get your joints, it's a joint that are killing you.
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: And the way you avoid that is by, well, check it out the out here and all it's drinking a lot of water.
• 10:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: and then really making sure you get where you're just cardio in because that also will get the joints moving.
• 10:07
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, sir, well, I appreciate it.
• 10:09
  [SPEAKER_03]: It's funny that doctors asked me, are you stressed?
• 10:11
  [SPEAKER_03]: I'm like, I have five kids, yes, I'm stressed.
• 10:14
  [SPEAKER_03]: I run two businesses, yes, I'm stressed.
• 10:16
  [SPEAKER_03]: So we're learning how to deal with.
• 10:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: That's bullshit though, that's bullshit.
• 10:19
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like, you know, difficulty, you know, you earned that difficulty.
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: You should enjoy that difficulty, like, amen.
• 10:26
  [SPEAKER_04]: All this stuff is, you know, you got to thank the good Lord for the difficulty, because that means, you know, that, you know, he's giving you that opportunity, really to grow and that that's where the difficulty comes in growth.
• 10:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: And it should lead a happiness, not doubt.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: A man.
• 10:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, a question on the doubt, guys.
• 10:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've never had a doubt, but I've had some friends that have had it.
• 10:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I've heard that it's one of the most painful things you can have.
• 10:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Would you all describe it as that?
• 10:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
• 10:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Terrible.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's off.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 10:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 10:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: To the first.
• 10:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: Sometimes you need to have that pain.
• 10:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: Uh-huh.
• 10:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 10:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: They will get in order to go get you to stop doing all the stuff that you've been doing with you.
• 11:00
  [SPEAKER_04]: In his case, it sounds like the stress, but what a joy, what a gift, what a blessing to have five beautiful kids.
• 11:07
  [SPEAKER_04]: What a gift to have companies that seem like they're on the rise in a growing industry.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yes.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: How do you want to put your hand about it?
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like, I mean, everybody's dealing with difficulty.
• 11:16
  [SPEAKER_04]: There's a difference needs to have some people learn how to enjoy the difficulty and get good at difficult.
• 11:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: With this week, meditation helps, too, by the way, if you're really are overstressing, you're controlling that emotional outbursts about, you know, how you're feeling about certain things that go in your way and certain things you can't control.
• 11:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: I move to meditation about...
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: three years ago, never meditate people know where you're back.
• 11:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then I do 10 15 minutes of the morning and you know another little help towards not getting overly stressed.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_03]: Hey, man, bro, I appreciate that.
• 11:46
  [SPEAKER_03]: Like I said, in turn to episode into, you know, Matt's therapy session, but I'll absolutely know you get.
• 11:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: Doubt is serious shit though man when you have you want to cut your leg off, you know, it's very painful right?
• 11:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: Hey man, so you know, it's starting to bring a lot more water to stop drinking alcohol, stop doing rigorous exercise, stop you know that rich creamy food spinach and all that crap.
• 12:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know, you know, stakes in bourbon.
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, what's wrong with that right?
• 12:14
  [SPEAKER_03]: I know, Brandon, we appreciate you joining us today.
• 12:17
  [SPEAKER_03]: I want you to give a little bit of background to our listeners here about your journey, as kind of a serial entrepreneur, you know, the me well established in the business industry, where in New Yankees gear there, talk to us a little bit about your background.
• 12:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: Well, you know, look, I mean, I've been in this business for 40 years.
• 12:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: Now, I'm more known as a collectible guy than a card guy, but over the last six years, you know, I'm not a designer anymore.
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: No, no, no.
• 12:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: not it's a crazy over here.
• 12:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, it is crazy over here.
• 12:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: We've grown like 4,500% over the last two years and the cards have been a big part of it.
• 12:48
  [SPEAKER_04]: Now, Stina sports is mostly collectible, it's not cards.
• 12:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not a stinder, I'm with collectible exchange.
• 12:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's my new company.
• 12:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: I started six years ago.
• 12:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: and we have several million trading cards here means crazy so it's kind of one of the best kept secrets and every day we're trying to get them up as quick as cab because what our company now does is we take people's collections on so a little more on the vintage trading cards but we do get a lot of current trading cards as well but
• 13:13
  [SPEAKER_04]: and then people bring us their collections because older people are downsizing, they're dying, things are happening, and they bring us their collections to be vaulted them, and then we actually put them up on our site and sell.
• 13:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: So if you follow its diner over the years, we have a pretty good assortment, and we probably have 10 or 15 times the amount of items now on our site, and we did its diner.
• 13:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: So it's really interesting, you know, the turnaround, I was always an autograph trading card guy, which people like you're crazy, you're rooting these cards.
• 13:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm like, I'm an autograph guy.
• 13:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: But now I look like a genius and I had about 5,000 autographed trading cards about five years ago when I stepped away from Stiner.
• 13:48
  [SPEAKER_04]: And so that's been, that's been a nice little boost having on my autograph cards and some of the collections I've had because I was always a card collector.
• 13:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: Not, Stiner wasn't big on really doing a lot of card deals.
• 14:00
  [SPEAKER_04]: I think I'm doing it for trading card companies, but we'd have a player's sign-up.
• 14:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Makes sense.
• 14:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: How do you go about marketing your cards?
• 14:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that's one thing people would want to know, people that are watching the pod here and listening.
• 14:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: How do you go about marketing this stuff?
• 14:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, first thing is card deals.
• 14:15
  [SPEAKER_04]: Sorry, I mean, the first thing is, you know, I'm a part of with hobby scan, so we can get the cards up quicker to new app, guide those a great job, so we're now you and the main thing about hobby scan for somebody other card apps is you can get them on in bulk and quickly quick.
• 14:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: And we have a proprietary partnership with eBay.
• 14:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: So it was selling on eBay, I do a whatnot show, TikTok show, and also, which is, you know, 67.
• 14:39
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm getting old for this, but I'm loving it.
• 14:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: I love the interaction with fans, whether it's only what they like, don't like what they're looking for.
• 14:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: So, you know, I'm able to go on an eBay live or TikTok or whatnot show, it's great, or even a FaceTime, which once a while will do.
• 14:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: So, I'm enjoying that aspect of it, but you know, I've always been a great marketer.
• 14:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: think so, you know, having done deals with the Yankees, no extreme, the Cubs, and I think people know my background where I've acquired over 45 million autographs.
• 15:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, I've been in this game, but now like it's different.
• 15:10
  [SPEAKER_04]: Now you've got to be able to talk to customers through streaming, you've got to be able to get into chats, you've got to be able to respond to all my social media comments.
• 15:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: Um, and you got to be a, it's not a big, it's not a, it's not a reach for me.
• 15:22
  [SPEAKER_04]: I've been doing it for the last 15, 20 years, always been active on social.
• 15:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I didn't have to all of a sudden do it.
• 15:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: I post every day on my Instagram Twitter and link the usually twice a day.
• 15:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm, I'm loving it.
• 15:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: I love the ability to find out what customers are feeling and thinking.
• 15:37
  [SPEAKER_04]: I've never been, I see over the highs in the corner big office and hope that that social media works this way out.
• 15:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: I've been active and I love contests, by the way, it's another thing with cards.
• 15:48
  [SPEAKER_04]: I love giving away shit.
• 15:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: I love people being able to win stuff that they never thought they could win or getting the meat players and getting their stuff signed, stuff like that.
• 15:57
  [SPEAKER_03]: That's also so I have a question very direct to you about the whole idea of being an entrepreneur 67 and it sounds like you've reestablished this new company six years ago, you know, I'm 44 right and and Bubba's a little bit younger than I am.
• 16:10
  [SPEAKER_03]: I'm the old man on the block for our podcast here.
• 16:13
  [SPEAKER_03]: But my question is, what keeps you motivated?
• 16:15
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know what keeps you going at 67?
• 16:18
  [SPEAKER_03]: You've obviously been successful.
• 16:19
  [SPEAKER_03]: So what's that underlying fuel for you?
• 16:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: Well, I asked, you know, I went and said, I'll flip back to you and I'll say, listen, what would you do if you had all the money in the world you needed and you independently wealthy?
• 16:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: What would you do with that?
• 16:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: And, you know, what's what's crazy is only one and four young generations he kids say that they were retired.
• 16:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: Three out of four generation kids say they're never retiring.
• 16:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like, why would I be as good as I am in this particular hobby and industry?
• 16:45
  [SPEAKER_04]: do what I've done.
• 16:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: My goal was never to retire.
• 16:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: Now my goal now is maybe to use the influence to help others, which is one of the reasons why we're on this planet.
• 16:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: So, you know, most of the money I'm making now is more charity driven, boss related.
• 16:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, I'm not going home and tell my wife I made a lot of money this month.
• 17:01
  [SPEAKER_04]: She's like, take out the garbage, what are we doing for dinner?
• 17:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: And about the way to check with somebody in the drawer, you get the positive the check, whatever.
• 17:07
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like, there's no, and I think it's worth a blessing to be on a highway with no red lights.
• 17:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: And, you know, the blessing is that I get to do it.
• 17:14
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm really good at, but also with who I want to do it with, the way I want to do it.
• 17:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: And the amount of time that I want to do, I'm traveling all over the world.
• 17:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm doing some of the things I always wanted to do.
• 17:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: But I've been doing that for 15, 20 years now.
• 17:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: I've had enough money since I was 40.
• 17:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think the real challenge that people struggle with from entrepreneurs standpoint is,
• 17:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: Why are you doing what you're doing unless you assume you're going to be the best at it?
• 17:37
  [SPEAKER_04]: But you have a plan for when you become the best at it, you've already made the money.
• 17:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: Just right now, Matt, you go home and you've got to put food on the table for these five kids.
• 17:45
  [SPEAKER_04]: You've got this pressure to make sure you have money for their colleges.
• 17:48
  [SPEAKER_04]: But one day, you're going to have all that covered.
• 17:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: And what's the plan for what you do then?
• 17:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, most people don't have.
• 17:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, Matt, just saying.
• 17:55
  [SPEAKER_03]: Appreciate that.
• 17:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, great question.
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I have a question for you as well.
• 17:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, 40 years ago, so you said you started 40 years ago, you're about my age at that point.
• 18:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of a joke because you aren't I'm a little over in 27, but
• 18:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: what were what was your story were you a baseball player coming up just a huge fan how did you how did you get into this and tell us about the early days because I love that I mean I'm an entrepreneur myself started my business over 20 years ago 18 years old sold the business since then So I love to hear your story and how that kind of started and I think people found that interesting.
• 18:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: I was a hotel restaurant guy and My wife
• 18:45
  [SPEAKER_04]: We were really trying to figure out how to open up a restaurant.
• 18:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: Now, I had opened up one of the first sports bars in this country.
• 18:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: There were only two at the time in 1980, three and four.
• 18:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: There was the ultimate sports bar in Chicago and Bobby Valentine's.
• 18:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: But it's part of the people who imagined that only two sports in all the country and nobody was thinking about going to a restaurant watching a game.
• 19:03
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was very few games on TV.
• 19:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I was up the hard rock at the time.
• 19:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: I opened up the first hard rock.
• 19:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: And as a system general manager, I had a very good restaurant career going.
• 19:11
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I thought about doing a restaurant like a hard rock, but in sports, big screens, screens all over, and there were billions all over.
• 19:17
  [SPEAKER_04]: And we did that.
• 19:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was extremely successful.
• 19:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: That was my first entrepreneur venue because I left the freaking hard rock cafe, which is about to blow up and open up and come change and hotels.
• 19:28
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I was writing on the top of the ladder that were only two hard rocks at the time.
• 19:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: So the first thing I tell you is if you want it really want to be a serial entrepreneur coming up with the idea is easy having the tolerance and having the balls and stomach for the risk hard so I'm leaving a place that's got 200 people online every day from two in the morning to tonight to a place where we did nothing zero covers the first night, but it worked out I just when I found my gift I realized I was a promoted a marketer.
• 19:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: I was trying to open up was like an ESPN zone after I'd done this sports bar and ended up opening up sports for LTE, open up Mickey Manittals, open up restaurant with Ryan Darling, and then a whole bunch of around the country was just starting to take it off like wildfire, but it was only like 23, 24 years old didn't have the experience to raise the money and know what to do with that concept, even Trump was in our restaurant trying to open up one of these casinos, I mean the sports bar thing was hot, I just wasn't ready to take that and run with it.
• 20:22
  [SPEAKER_04]: And, you know, I went home on that to tell my wife, I think I'm making a adjustment on that try to open up this board's marketing company.
• 20:28
  [SPEAKER_04]: Cause...
• 20:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: At the time, there was nobody doing player appearances.
• 20:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was very small.
• 20:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: So when I started signing, it was just player appearances.
• 20:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: And it took $4,000 out of the bank.
• 20:39
  [SPEAKER_04]: And my wife was an earner, she was a CPA, a boarding grad when the year is Chicago, or she was kind of supporting us.
• 20:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: So one thing is, is like, you don't want to be in a cash crutch when you get into a real entrepreneur's bird.
• 20:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's nice if you have somebody kind of behind you to pick you up, but she was kind of helping us
• 20:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: For the first couple of years, it's sign or, you know, back then nobody was doing these appearances and getting phone numbers, you know, and have to be a parking lots, I came around outside the locker room just trying to get a guy's own phone number and it started taking off only until like ninety five ninety six when I was representing for zero.
• 21:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: which I ended up hooking up with and I ended up signing Mark Messier is my first guy that I signed.
• 21:17
  [SPEAKER_04]: And mainly when he was that signed, I just wanted to get off the train.
• 21:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I thought that maybe it was an opportunity to make some money with Mark to see just won the cup in New York with the Rangers.
• 21:26
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that's really how I got started.
• 21:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: It took 10,000 out of the bank.
• 21:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: First company, 4,000.
• 21:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm living on nothing.
• 21:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, I'm asking my wife to give me post-its.
• 21:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: from her company.
• 21:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: After the Apple computer and the printer, I think I had $800 in my cash flow.
• 21:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: I only bring that up and how it relates is I think it's really important to stay nimble on humble and isn't about raising a lot of money.
• 21:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: Because you raise a lot of money, you can end up like Matt, you can end up with doubt, you can end up with kidney stones.
• 21:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: Because you gotta pay these people back.
• 21:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I really avoided borrowing money and really living
• 22:00
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I took 10,000 out of the bank, my wife was like, I think you should go get a job.
• 22:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: I was really working.
• 22:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: I wasn't making that much money.
• 22:07
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I just had a feeling like maybe I could take the stain and start this collectible thing.
• 22:11
  [SPEAKER_04]: Maybe it would work.
• 22:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: I took the 10,000 because people were asking me for ways for players and they were also for our graph stuff.
• 22:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: And at the time there was a problem in the business.
• 22:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was tremendous amount of fraudulent stuff going on.
• 22:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: I think it's really important when you start a business, you need to find out what your competitors are doing.
• 22:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: I try to fight on my competitors doing what they suck at, what they're not willing to do.
• 22:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: If you start a business, find out what your competitors are not willing to do and do it.
• 22:39
  [SPEAKER_04]: And what I was willing to do is come up with an authentication process at the time, and I was willing to really make sure that there was no gray areas in any of the autographs and stuff that we were doing.
• 22:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: it sounds trivial and now but it was a huge deal back then.
• 22:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: The only other company that was doing anything like this and they did a great job at it was up or down.
• 22:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: That's it, Richard McWilliams.
• 22:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: So it was a very big deal to go opposite.
• 23:00
  [SPEAKER_04]: I had a pretty good name out there.
• 23:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: I haven't worked with a lot of athletes for the last eight and nine years.
• 23:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: So people trusted me.
• 23:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: They knew how it was out there.
• 23:07
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, top and out of relationship with players.
• 23:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: Everything I did was solid.
• 23:10
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was never any gray area.
• 23:11
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that's why I started Snime of Sports.
• 23:13
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that's how I started the collectible thing.
• 23:15
  [SPEAKER_04]: And the most important thing is sometimes when you do good, it leads you to doing well.
• 23:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: Not the other way around.
• 23:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: Most of you are like, oh, when I really do well, then I'll do some good.
• 23:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's really starting to really got started when reading my kid a story to bed.
• 23:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: I was explaining why the range is winning the Stanley Cup is that my favorite sports moment of all time.
• 23:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: I looked over and I mean, sleep and dead asleep, I'm like, I love this story.
• 23:37
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I kept telling myself that story and I was like, wow, and I had all these magazines I collected.
• 23:42
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think that most people have a moment in sports, a player that is their favorite thing.
• 23:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I was like, remember the moment, and that's how we really came up with a real collectible line which is remembering highlights and moments and then going after that.
• 23:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I started looking at all these photographs through the magazines and there are high moments, Bob, you are flying through the air, caught in festivities home run.
• 24:03
  [SPEAKER_04]: Jubilay routine is home run in 96 every big moment and then I would chase after the afternoon put a product line around great moments.
• 24:10
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think memorabilia is moments that matter.
• 24:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: Training cards are so critical.
• 24:15
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think I wish that players really understood how important training cards are because it gives the kids a real understanding of who the hell you are and where you came from as opposed to seeing you in the big leads.
• 24:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, swaggering around when you get to watch and look up at, you know, when you're basically to watch and look at a play at players drink or you see where it's born raised, you see all those years of minor league play, which is a freaking grind that nobody has any idea.
• 24:42
  [SPEAKER_04]: And it gives you a feeling for what you're dealing with, other than just this great, beautiful, major league player.
• 24:48
  [SPEAKER_04]: So that's why I'm such a big fan of trading cards as a kid and even now this day.
• 24:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, it's a value proposition.
• 24:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, this money would be made, but it's also an opportunity to really understand who these guys and who these women and players are.
• 25:00
  [SPEAKER_04]: And what they're about and you see their stats and see how it's all kind of coming together for them.
• 25:04
  [SPEAKER_03]: So Brandon, I have a, I want to, I got to share something really quick.
• 25:07
  [SPEAKER_03]: Brandon, this is super, super small world.
• 25:09
  [SPEAKER_03]: So I've got this hanging on my wall.
• 25:11
  [SPEAKER_03]: Can you see that?
• 25:12
  [SPEAKER_03]: Making medals menu from the restaurant.
• 25:14
  [SPEAKER_03]: It's the menu from the restaurant.
• 25:15
  [SPEAKER_03]: And it's funny because my aunt gave that to me.
• 25:18
  [SPEAKER_03]: Here's the other side of it.
• 25:19
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yes.
• 25:20
  [SPEAKER_03]: The menu inside.
• 25:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: Did you say you ran the restaurant or you started it?
• 25:22
  [SPEAKER_04]: What happened was when I was, when I was up before I opened up Steiner, I was going to open up making medals with Beliteman, who was the owner.
• 25:29
  [SPEAKER_05]: Okay.
• 25:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I said, you know, Billy's restaurants too small, but my first office was two blocks away from Anthos.
• 25:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I did everything at Anthos.
• 25:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: So one morning, I didn't want my promotions marketing at Mantles.
• 25:39
  [SPEAKER_04]: And so I was very involved with that opening and helping Bill run it.
• 25:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: And became really close with Mickey Mantle.
• 25:45
  [SPEAKER_04]: And one morning I come in to see Bill.
• 25:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: We're talking about a party.
• 25:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: We're going to do this pretty.
• 25:48
  [SPEAKER_04]: You got to do me a favor.
• 25:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: You got to sit with Mickey.
• 25:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm like, I can't.
• 25:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: I got more shit going on a day.
• 25:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: I just can't go just for an hour.
• 25:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm like, I can't.
• 25:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: So of course I go see next to Mickey for an hour and that being six hours.
• 26:01
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm not a drinker, but today on that day, I was a drinker.
• 26:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: And we're seeing you with those postcards.
• 26:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: You have the postcards that will like the menu.
• 26:09
  [SPEAKER_04]: And he's like, Brandon, you better come up with some more names because I'm sitting here, I'm supposed to sign these.
• 26:13
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I need to work, and every story that he's ever told I've heard on that day, besides that he's come to my fight nights that I did at the restaurant.
• 26:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: So Mickey's every one of my relatives has a postcard side by Mickey from the restaurant.
• 26:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then Mickey was a really big deal to me because
• 26:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: I did a bunch of stuff with amazing incredibly kind to me because if you liked you, you were in great shape.
• 26:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: But what happened is people started calling Mickey for stuff and Bill would say, Brandon, Mickey can't do this.
• 26:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then that's why I ended up signing for Rosudo, Yogi Barra and did a ton with whitey Ford.
• 26:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that's what got my Yankee thing really rolling.
• 26:48
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I tell people like do the right thing and lead you to something better.
• 26:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's always, it's never the wrong time to do the right thing.
• 26:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: And sitting there even with Mickey Man, or even on a pressure some day, like it was, end up being an amazing lift to my business.
• 27:01
  [SPEAKER_03]: That's great.
• 27:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: Well, it's funny.
• 27:03
  [SPEAKER_04]: Well, you said that I had to hang on my wall.
• 27:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: I had to show you to tile that together.
• 27:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: Bubble go ahead.
• 27:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: I love that restaurant, man.
• 27:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: I was phenomenal.
• 27:09
  [SPEAKER_04]: And boy, that was such a great place.
• 27:11
  [SPEAKER_04]: The stuff that went on in that restaurant was incredible.
• 27:14
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, the press conferences, the events, just amazing.
• 27:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to ask you the same question that I get asked all the time, but I'm going to ask a little different.
• 27:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: I said, the question I always get anywhere I go is someone says, why do you believe you were successful in business?
• 27:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, I get that question all the time.
• 27:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I love to ask this question.
• 27:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: My dad told me a long time ago.
• 27:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: 20 something years ago, I was 17, 18 years old and my dad told me he said, I have to have known a lot of successful people.
• 27:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm known a ton and they always have one thing in common when they respond.
• 27:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm just curious.
• 27:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to ask you the same question.
• 27:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to give you what made you successful in business, what are three things when you look back on that, that made you successful.
• 27:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just curious to see if this one thing is going to be in that answer.
• 28:00
  [SPEAKER_04]: Well, Harvard did a study and it said, you know, they're trying to figure out what the great ingredient for successful people was.
• 28:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then one ingredient, the one ingredient was, oh, yeah, most successful people worked when they were younger when they were kid and I started working when I was 10.
• 28:13
  [SPEAKER_04]: So that certainly was a, you know, we're in the value of a dollar was incredibly valuable to me.
• 28:19
  [SPEAKER_04]: I think having a lot of faith, I was a big pictorialization kid, and I'm still a big pictorialization dream, big person, and I think for me, I'm just an incredible daydreamer, so I've always seen when you best waited to begin, it's the start at the end, and being able to picture incredible success even when I was young and broke has been a tremendous help to me.
• 28:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then, you know, I've got faith, you know, I believe I have a tremendous amount of faith that, you know, I'm very grateful and thankful for what God has given me, and I trust God in what
• 28:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: God's about to give me.
• 28:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think that I've always had faith that it's not me than who.
• 28:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I've been very fearless about going after opportunities, meeting people that I know business in my mind, think I should meet.
• 29:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: Why wouldn't I go up to the egg?
• 29:03
  [SPEAKER_04]: Is this if I can cut a deal?
• 29:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: Why wouldn't I go up to Derek Geter?
• 29:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: and try to cut a deal, which ends up being 20 years or Mariana for 30.
• 29:09
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, I just have a fearless quality that I got from my mom, who's her favorite line, what you got to have balls.
• 29:16
  [SPEAKER_04]: Indeed, having balls, that was my second book, by the way, you got to have balls of written for.
• 29:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: And in the second book, it's a tribute to all the things that I think have helped me build sign up, but also help any person build a business.
• 29:28
  [SPEAKER_04]: So, and that was, that's the second book was you got balls.
• 29:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: What was the name of the guy who had balls?
• 29:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: You got it.
• 29:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: Let's say we're going to do four your listeners.
• 29:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: If you email me, we'll put my email in the show notes.
• 29:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: Brandon, Steinner, 1981 is my promotional email.
• 29:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: Brandon, Steinner, 1981, a Gmail.
• 29:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: I will send you a copy of my book for free.
• 29:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: Go to collect bookshakes.
• 29:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: Pick out one of the four books that you want.
• 29:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, I love the business playbooks, my first book.
• 29:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then you got to, I was living on purpose.
• 29:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm sending tomato ready.
• 29:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's already in the mail.
• 29:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: There's a chapter in there about parenting that is just right on the money.
• 30:03
  [SPEAKER_04]: What I happen was I turned 50's got to take this quick story.
• 30:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm on a little rant today, but I turned 50, and I'm like Rich is all hell.
• 30:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not that happy, and I decided to do a podcast.
• 30:15
  [SPEAKER_04]: So remember this 17 years ago, I started my podcast.
• 30:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: I don't do one anymore.
• 30:19
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm loving to invest, but I did 300 pots.
• 30:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: And what I decided to do is I said, I got to improve besides learning how to make money.
• 30:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: I got to become a better friend, better husband, better father, I want to have more faith, I want to get healthier, and the best way to do that is, let me go get the gurus and all those pillars.
• 30:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I ask all of you, like if you, I'm a skill and want to attend that, like, what would your kids say you are as far as being a parent?
• 30:44
  [SPEAKER_04]: What would your wife say as far as being an husband?
• 30:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: My kids gave me a six or a seven.
• 30:48
  [SPEAKER_04]: I was ready to jump off the roof, you know what I mean?
• 30:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm thinking, like, how do I have better sex?
• 30:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: I kind of like, I wanted to prove everything.
• 30:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: of how to become a better business person and be great at what I did, but I don't think I've worked as hard about being a better parent, friend, of my health.
• 31:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I go to a bookstore and I say, give me the number one book on health.
• 31:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: Give me the number one, I've never got a book stored by the way, but I did with my wife to find the answer to this question.
• 31:14
  [SPEAKER_04]: Give me the number one faith book about God, whatever, and I recall all these authors up.
• 31:19
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I get the need to come stay at my house or I get them to come and buy podcasts.
• 31:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was amazing.
• 31:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that's really kind of got reset and that's where I wrote the book Living Our Purpose.
• 31:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: The reason I wrote the business playbook, which is in 2004, was because I couldn't get a job coming out of college.
• 31:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: No one would hire me.
• 31:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm like, I'm not a flip, I'm not right.
• 31:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: When I figure this shit out, I got to write a book so that every college can't read this book a young entrepreneur and they know what they have to do.
• 31:45
  [SPEAKER_04]: So a lot of kids don't misunderstand the opportunity that they have in middle school, high school, yeah, I have fun, be a kid, but you could stop building your brand at 15.
• 31:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: You could build your brand at 12 years old.
• 31:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: And most kids say, well, when I get in a college, I'll worry about it.
• 31:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: No, stop posting those stupid pictures of you drinking a beer in college and having a, having a,
• 32:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: Do it.
• 32:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: You don't need to be posted.
• 32:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: If that's not your brand.
• 32:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: So that's what the business playbook was about.
• 32:09
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then you got to have balls with the most famous book, a book to my mother really dedicated my mom.
• 32:14
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's really just about how I built everything square one.
• 32:17
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then I spent the year with the NYPD.
• 32:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: Now, I did a TV show called The Hook Up, and I'd go and I'd surprise people with money.
• 32:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: If they were struggling, kids' hospitals, more kinds of different situations, but I've been five police stations over it.
• 32:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: So the commission would call me up when our officer would get killed in the line of duty.
• 32:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I would go and have a celebration on that officer's life, fix up the station.
• 32:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: We do the muster room, the conference room, bring some Yankees, and then I take the whole prison to a Yankee game.
• 32:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I gave a keynote speech to all the top,
• 32:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: people in the NYPD.
• 32:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm 100 of them at the, uh, pre-sacademy one morning, and a cuban was the deputy to brand.
• 32:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: I love your speech.
• 32:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was great.
• 32:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: I said, look, I speak around all over the world whenever you need me.
• 33:00
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'll be able to speak.
• 33:01
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I was doing a little leadership thing for the NYPD.
• 33:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: Once every three months, when they have, people got promoted, I would go to a leadership thing.
• 33:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: I call him up about three months later.
• 33:10
  [SPEAKER_04]: He gets name permission.
• 33:11
  [SPEAKER_04]: I go, I need something.
• 33:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: I don't understand why there's such a rub with the NYPD and why police are on the country, again, it's so much shit.
• 33:19
  [SPEAKER_04]: Something's wrong.
• 33:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: I want complete car blanche.
• 33:22
  [SPEAKER_04]: He gave me complete car blanche.
• 33:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: Go anywhere in the NYPD.
• 33:26
  [SPEAKER_04]: Climb lab.
• 33:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: I took a gang down at six in the morning.
• 33:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: The UN with all the presents when I did the security detail for a full day I did 15 ride along went to one pp spent a few hours with the commissioner, and I wrote a book about it called the ride alongs And I think the big thing is is like I think a lot of people should be concerned.
• 33:45
  [SPEAKER_04]: Are we safe?
• 33:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: And it seems like every year we're getting a little less safe.
• 33:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: Please, departments are down about 25% it's very often in recruit and it's very often in retain.
• 33:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: I wrote a book about that, which has nothing to do with this show.
• 33:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: I've nothing to do with nothing, but you know, trying as I'm getting older and I recommend to anyone listening out there is like, work in a little time to do something for the first time.
• 34:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: That's a little different, it's uncomfortable.
• 34:09
  [SPEAKER_04]: driving around at some really bad neighborhoods.
• 34:11
  [SPEAKER_04]: And one in the morning is not something I recommend.
• 34:13
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's very dangerous.
• 34:15
  [SPEAKER_04]: But the book is outrageous and real proud of it.
• 34:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think I think I've captured a good spirit about what's going on in these urban areas.
• 34:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's very sad actually.
• 34:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: And probably needs more attention that we have time for in this show.
• 34:28
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, you know, it's funny.
• 34:30
  [SPEAKER_03]: I have a good friend of mine runs a homeless ministry here in our town of Wilmington with Carolina and I tell people all the time you've never experienced church until you go to homeless church and they have a church service every Thursday and I'm not been a number of times, but to go and just be available.
• 34:45
  [SPEAKER_03]: to the folks that are coming in there and, you know, I've never been in a church service where somebody's literally tweaking on hair whenever here and then somebody's getting baptized up front.
• 34:53
  [SPEAKER_03]: But that was kind of the environment.
• 34:54
  [SPEAKER_03]: But it does, it does a lot for you when you kind of like get out of your own way and let go of like, what's in this for me?
• 35:01
  [SPEAKER_03]: And then just be available.
• 35:03
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know, I did a little talk.
• 35:04
  [SPEAKER_03]: That's sheer joy.
• 35:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
• 35:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: I did a talk recently about Jeremiah, a book of Jeremiah, the letter to Jeremiah, is to seek the welfare of the city where I've sent you.
• 35:13
  [SPEAKER_03]: And I think there's a great charge to seek the welfare of those around you.
• 35:17
  [SPEAKER_03]: And that, that's that whole purpose thing that you're talking about.
• 35:20
  [SPEAKER_03]: But Bubba, you had made a comment about what makes you successful.
• 35:23
  [SPEAKER_03]: We went down this point.
• 35:24
  [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 35:26
  [SPEAKER_03]: Sorry about that.
• 35:27
  [SPEAKER_03]: I wanted to tie it back in Bubba.
• 35:28
  [SPEAKER_03]: What was that thing for you that you remember when you were getting started?
• 35:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, yeah, no, I mean, I think it what started to where it ended or two different stories for me, where it started is very similar.
• 35:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, Brandon's story and my story timelines are very different as far as when they started to be very similar.
• 35:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: My wife was the breadwinner.
• 35:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: She was a school teacher.
• 35:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that is the breadwinner.
• 35:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: My house.
• 35:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: see was a school teacher, but we lived on nothing and we were very nimble to start.
• 35:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: We had to be I gave everything into it.
• 35:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was willing to live on nothing.
• 35:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: It didn't matter, but there was no denying in my mind.
• 36:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: I had a I had a sports mindset.
• 36:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't make it in sports, so I said, I'm going to make it in this and I was motivated by it and that never stopped and I wanted to get better and I think that is my biggest tip to somebody listening about business.
• 36:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: I never stopped learning, always said, good was never good enough.
• 36:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I always wanted to get better, and I still in that way today.
• 36:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm that way of my kids today, and that was something I picked up, Brandon from you, no doubt about it.
• 36:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't know you for one second before today, and I think you can attest to that.
• 36:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: We don't know each other, right?
• 36:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: But listening to you talk, you are definitely the epitome of like a lifelong learner.
• 36:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: somebody I can just hear what you talk and wanting to learn and listen and continue to grow 67 years old you're talking about what not right my dad has no clue what not as you do though because yeah you're like what happened six in the morning so we shit I'm like having fun my wife's like you're crazy but you know I think you're hitting on the head I think if you want to be happy
• 37:01
  [SPEAKER_04]: Then you have to have two things in mind.
• 37:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: So it's always true, it's what we hear.
• 37:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: And one is to grow and the other's to help people.
• 37:07
  [SPEAKER_04]: And the only way to really truly grow, and I think it's getting missed sometimes an entrepreneurship and a business, is that if you're not growing, your curiosity level is just too low.
• 37:17
  [SPEAKER_04]: So turn your curiosity level up.
• 37:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: and also add enthusiasm.
• 37:22
  [SPEAKER_04]: The root word of enthusiasm is enthusiasm.
• 37:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: It means to be with God.
• 37:26
  [SPEAKER_04]: So you must grow enthusiastically with high love of curiosity and faith that God will guide you and help you.
• 37:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: Not when you expect it.
• 37:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: But
• 37:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: When it's time it'll happen and remember the the word opportunity went that word got created hundreds of years ago Man opened port opportunity meant the port was open So there is opportunity you have to just be patient along with your high love of enthusiasm curiosity and wait for the port to be open The port wasn't always open, but when it was that's when people got highly aggressive and went after a lot of their genes Be able to get stuff in and out of the port
• 38:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think it's really important that if you're want to fill yourself to get yourself number one, think about whether it's walking somebody across the street, bringing some groceries to somebody who's struggling in the neighborhood, whatever it is, that will fill you.
• 38:16
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that will bring you joy.
• 38:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that will also remind you of why you're here, the whole others.
• 38:22
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then the other part is, you know, if you're not in growth mode, then you're probably not only not doing well as
• 38:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: When I meet people that are miserable, like I didn't play coming one day.
• 38:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: So you know, Brad, I'm unhappy, I'm gonna be leaving.
• 38:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm like, I didn't fucking promise you happiness.
• 38:37
  [SPEAKER_04]: I promise you growth and opportunity to do something really incredible and you're fly, you're bored.
• 38:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: Don't blame it on me, but that's what happens a lot of people is they stop getting, they stop the level of dreaming, they stop the level of curiosity and dozeism boom.
• 38:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I'll tell you a quick story.
• 38:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: There's a monk sitting around a pond really nice, beautiful day.
• 38:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: He's sitting around Park Bank, he sees this beautiful ruby right in the middle of the pond.
• 39:01
  [SPEAKER_04]: Next day comes back up.
• 39:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: That ruby still there sitting around the pond.
• 39:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: He's praying.
• 39:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: And finally, he rose up his pants and he walks into the pond, grabs the ruby.
• 39:10
  [SPEAKER_04]: A man who comes down just next to us says, wow, that is the most beautiful ruby I've ever seen in my life.
• 39:15
  [SPEAKER_04]: That is gorgeous.
• 39:16
  [SPEAKER_04]: The monk says, here you can have it.
• 39:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: Wow, it's so nice of you.
• 39:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: The man walks away, comes back two days later, goes to the monk and says, I wanna give you the ruby back.
• 39:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: Here you go.
• 39:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: Why?
• 39:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: What's wrong?
• 39:26
  [SPEAKER_04]: He says, I don't want the ruby.
• 39:28
  [SPEAKER_04]: I want the thing that enables you to give me the ruby.
• 39:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think the give, like, even in my business, like, if you're not spending up to the center of your time, whichever religion calls for, to give, to promote something that doesn't help you, but helps to come in good, you're missing sheer joy.
• 39:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: Amen.
• 39:47
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, absolutely.
• 39:48
  [SPEAKER_03]: this is a this is a great crash course here like I said we didn't know you're branding but like we think so much alike is funny I had it on me on my shelf all these books and things you familiar with a book called how I raised myself from failure to success by Frank Betger wow I've heard of that
• 40:03
  [SPEAKER_03]: book.
• 40:04
  [SPEAKER_03]: I heard that's a really good book.
• 40:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: It is.
• 40:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: He was a minor league baseball player actually, and he was literally getting ready to get kicked from the team.
• 40:11
  [SPEAKER_03]: He was failing and a buddy of his came up to him and said, you know, Betger, you don't even look like you want to be here.
• 40:16
  [SPEAKER_03]: And he said, he, the one thing he changed in his attitude was his enthusiasm.
• 40:22
  [SPEAKER_03]: and he said, I'm going to run all over this field like I'm a maniac and he said next thing you know, he started getting on base, he started hitting the balls and he ended up getting promoted.
• 40:31
  [SPEAKER_03]: And he ended up going to work for New York life or met life one of those and he was at one time the the most successful life insurance salesman.
• 40:40
  [SPEAKER_03]: But one of the key points was his enthusiasm.
• 40:43
  [SPEAKER_03]: And, you know, it's funny.
• 40:44
  [SPEAKER_03]: I'm around a lot of people like yourself.
• 40:46
  [SPEAKER_03]: I've spoken corporately.
• 40:47
  [SPEAKER_03]: I'm actually like a preacher pastor myself.
• 40:50
  [SPEAKER_03]: And it's funny because you get at least for me.
• 40:52
  [SPEAKER_03]: And this is I'm relating this to the hobby, Baba.
• 40:55
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know, a lot of times we get kind of burn out of the things that we do.
• 40:58
  [SPEAKER_03]: The things that we do become mundane, we buy cards, we sell cards, we make money, we give talks, we know all the right crap to say, but like this has been a good refresher for me, because if you say something without passion, or you say something without enthusiasm, you really don't, it doesn't matter, you don't believe it.
• 41:15
  [SPEAKER_03]: So when you infuse what you say and what you do with passion and enthusiasm, it brings everything back to life.
• 41:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: Amen.
• 41:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, I was sitting in my office.
• 41:22
  [SPEAKER_04]: I was trying to talk Marianne over there and doing something and he stopped me dead in the middle of my piss.
• 41:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: He goes, Brandon.
• 41:28
  [SPEAKER_04]: He just say, we're conviction and enthusiasm.
• 41:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: I don't say it at all.
• 41:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: Don't bring me this crap.
• 41:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: I was like, what?
• 41:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: There's a lot of money.
• 41:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: You don't believe it.
• 41:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: Then why would I believe it?
• 41:37
  [SPEAKER_04]: If you're not believing it.
• 41:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: And why would I believe it?
• 41:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: And he used to be a sign, he used to be a big sign or office, say we're in conviction or don't say it at all.
• 41:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: And it's true.
• 41:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: And sometimes, listen, if you're not feeling it, then reset and find it, you know?
• 41:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like, I mean, why not?
• 41:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: So this is a share, this is a share from last night.
• 41:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's amazing that this conversation came up.
• 42:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: So my 12 year old son, I mean, he has been my buddy since birth.
• 42:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we've been best friends.
• 42:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, oldest son, and throughout his entire baseball career, it didn't matter if he was the biggest, the strongest, the whatever, but he was the king of enthusiasm, the kid loved baseball.
• 42:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: And people would come out to me after games, and they would go, I love watching your kid play baseball.
• 42:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: you can just tell the sheer joy of him being out there.
• 42:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, we, he had this little trial this weekend and somewhere he's, you know, he's kind of pre-puberty now in a weird stage for kids.
• 42:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: 12 years old, about to be 13.
• 42:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's a weird stage for a boy, right?
• 42:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're trying to figure out who you are, what you are, all the above.
• 42:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And last night we went to hit and he's been struggling a little bit, getting on his front side and I'm like, okay, I build an indoor-hitting facility Brandon at my property.
• 42:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so we went to hell with it, which we do most nights and I literally had this conversation.
• 42:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I said, you're a fraud.
• 42:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he looked at me and he said, what a said you're a fraud.
• 43:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because you tell me this is your dream.
• 43:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: You tell me this is what you want, but I don't see it.
• 43:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I said, I'm not going to work for you or dream.
• 43:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: I will help you.
• 43:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: I will push you.
• 43:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: I will hold you accountable.
• 43:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll give you every tool and it was the most amazing.
• 43:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: We have 30 minute conversation last night and at the end of it, what you what I realized is.
• 43:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: he had somewhere along the way.
• 43:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some of these kids have hit puberty, they're huge.
• 43:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he's on a phenomenal organization.
• 43:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he got some of the best players in the country at his age.
• 43:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: The huge, huge kids.
• 43:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's 110 pounds, which kids are 180 pounds.
• 43:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he had lost his confidence.
• 43:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: He said, dad, some of these kids are just better than me.
• 43:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I said, that does nothing to do with how you operate.
• 43:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Nothing, how you operate, you have to outwork them, you have to outwil them, you out have to end enthusiasm.
• 43:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so the word today, and I'm going to take for the rest of my day.
• 43:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm going to admit this is a great message for any kid to listen to as well as your enthusiasm.
• 43:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Doesn't matter.
• 44:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I brought that up the business world to me.
• 44:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I walked into
• 44:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: every single business meeting I ever walked into and I had conviction and it wasn't selling somebody because I believed in myself and what I was doing.
• 44:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you put me up on a stage and this has happened to me when I got in the private equity world, I had to go talk in front of 800 people in front of our corporate deal and I didn't believe anymore.
• 44:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't believe what we were doing.
• 44:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't believe in the corporate vision and it was the worst speech I've ever given because I had no conviction.
• 44:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: I literally stood there and I couldn't.
• 44:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I come on this podcast and we talk about it every week.
• 44:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm coming in here real at the bottom line.
• 44:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I've told Matt and Matt, you can tell anybody that's watching it.
• 44:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: If I'm lying, I'm dying.
• 44:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: I have told you if this show is ever not real, I'm done.
• 44:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Do I said that?
• 44:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
• 44:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is my way I live my life in my friendships with my kids and that 12 year old son of mine last night was the best camera I mean, I was in tears and he was in tears not the end of it.
• 44:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was the best conversation we've ever had in our entire life And so just sharing that you're all became a little bit of your his or his reflection, you know your kids are reflection of your enthusiasm
• 45:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: But they're not there to be omitting me, you know, my kids do not, well, I know them when in my business could have easily hooked on to my success, no, no, them did, because my big problem was think for yourself and find your gift, your gift is what comes easy to you and hard to most.
• 45:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: And when you take your gift and throw in enthusiasm and curiosity on it, well, maybe you're onto something.
• 45:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think what happens with a lot of people is they find their gift and it comes so easy to them, they don't think they can monetize it.
• 45:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: But you can, and most almost all the time you can.
• 45:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that's the reason, like, you got a college.
• 45:37
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, go back to your question, Baba.
• 45:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: I think one of the key ingredients to my success is that I've been always been able to hold on to a 10 or 11 year old mindset.
• 45:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: I've talked a lot about it in the book.
• 45:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: That mindset where anything's possible.
• 45:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: Your son could be the next president.
• 45:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: He could be the short stop.
• 45:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: He could be a banker.
• 45:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, who knows everything's possible.
• 45:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: And you can rationalize a reason with them.
• 45:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I try to keep that 11-year-old mindset and at the same time, I try to keep young kids around me to make sure that they keep me balanced.
• 46:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: With that optimism and enthusiasm, and not get to be an older person, think about all the stuff that's now now possible.
• 46:13
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think it's been a tremendous help to me to add that 11-year-old mindset.
• 46:16
  [SPEAKER_04]: So when I'm at a ballpark, I always try to find a 10 or 11 12 year old and I'll say no, hey, how's your grades?
• 46:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: How's things of school?
• 46:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: Do me a favor.
• 46:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: I get your dad from it.
• 46:26
  [SPEAKER_04]: If you're doing well in school, if he's improving, would you send me a note and I'm going to send you a box of free stuff?
• 46:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: Been doing that for 20 years.
• 46:32
  [SPEAKER_05]: That's great.
• 46:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: But meanwhile, I get to have a conversation with a young 11 12 year old and understand a little bit what's it like to be an 11 year old because it's been a lot while since I've been an 11 year old and I constantly need to be reminded of that
• 46:45
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it's that principle of child likeness being childlike, you know, we we talk a lot about being childish versus being childlike, but we often act childish and we need to be childlike.
• 46:56
  [SPEAKER_03]: So Brandon, you know, the we this is great.
• 46:59
  [SPEAKER_03]: I could literally have this conversation for two hours, you know, the mean and and we could just sit here and talk and talk and talk.
• 47:04
  [SPEAKER_03]: I want to bring a little bit in as we kind of move toward a close here, which thank you so much for being authentic transparent the fantastic.
• 47:11
  [SPEAKER_03]: But talk a little bit about the card hobby right now.
• 47:14
  [SPEAKER_03]: You've obviously been around this space.
• 47:15
  [SPEAKER_03]: You're an innovator in the space.
• 47:17
  [SPEAKER_03]: But with where the card market is, the card hobby is right now.
• 47:21
  [SPEAKER_03]: What's kind of your take on it?
• 47:23
  [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, when you look at the modern sense, modern cards, the parallels, the high dollar stuff, the auction houses, the corporate involvement, the grading companies, give us a little, you know, from your perspective.
• 47:32
  [SPEAKER_03]: What do you see in here?
• 47:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: Well, there's the good, the bad, the ugly, the good, first of all, what an expansion of the customer base, which is everything, was always a struggle in my first 10, 15 years in the business to grow the business, whether it's a while you know, I did some of the things I did.
• 47:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that's as leader in the business, that's your ultimate goal.
• 47:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's to grow the business, get more people involved, and the trading card right now, explosion is certainly up to that.
• 47:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: And there are some really creative cards out there.
• 47:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: I give the card card, but he's a lot of credit.
• 48:01
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not a big fan of the auction houses.
• 48:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: There's a lot of manipulation.
• 48:04
  [SPEAKER_04]: There's a lot of things that happen in these auctions that I don't like.
• 48:07
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm not a lover of that.
• 48:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's, you know, this grading is a problem to me.
• 48:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: This grading issue that we have not, you know, we need to figure out how to get some more regulation and better leadership in the business.
• 48:19
  [SPEAKER_04]: not leadership that all the word about is making as much money as they can.
• 48:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like if you're taking a leadership role and I try to have that when I have the leadership role it's finer.
• 48:28
  [SPEAKER_04]: You need to do more for the common good.
• 48:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: You need to do stuff that just helps the overall business doesn't only help yourself.
• 48:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: We need more leadership right now and not that everybody needs to get along and can't fire on those marshmallows and sink them by on or that.
• 48:42
  [SPEAKER_04]: But right now we have very little regulation and we have very little transparency about what is going on as far as how many cards are getting printed and things like that.
• 48:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: and it's concerning to me.
• 48:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: The grading thing is really concerning to me.
• 48:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like the cost that that now these trading card grading companies are charging, not making it easy to get your cards graded.
• 49:03
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's really it's it's stifling the business.
• 49:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's like stopping the growth because you don't know what to get graded and so costly and it seems a little bit unjust and unfair.
• 49:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: Somewhere we need to put some regulation there.
• 49:14
  [SPEAKER_04]: The leaders of this business need to get together and get a handle on that.
• 49:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then you know the amount of cards that are being produced
• 49:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, there's a little bit of a bubble, there's a little bit of some stuff that's been inflated, way beyond, and I'm afraid that when the music stops, people can be really disappointed, and we're going to, all these big customers that we've gotten into the game, we're going to lose them.
• 49:34
  [SPEAKER_04]: When I see Kevin O'Leary, he's saying he's got a 20 million dollar card, that's concerning, like, I'm not sure why that card's 20 bucks, and who on the planet, we'd want to buy that card.
• 49:44
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I get the hype and I get he's got a lot of influence, but also like, like, come on down to earth Kevin, like, you know, come on down to earth with some of that kind of crap.
• 49:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think it, it gets kids of false sense that they can maybe, I think the trading cards companies too give these kids a false sense of the fact that they can win that million dollar card when the chances are not transparent.
• 50:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like you better, better off getting a lot of
• 50:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: Buy some of the lower-end stuff too, like that's fun.
• 50:15
  [SPEAKER_04]: Don't lose the fun part of the hobby.
• 50:18
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I just feel like there's been some overhype.
• 50:20
  [SPEAKER_04]: Some really good master manipulators because we have gambling now going on in these card sets, the markets have been set up that way.
• 50:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm concerned because I don't care if I lose a bunch of money by a car for 20 grand.
• 50:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: I just don't want Lil Joey to.
• 50:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: I don't want Lil Joey's 15 years old, at least 10 grand on a car with his dad because he won't come back.
• 50:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think I want to keep Joey in the business for 40 years.
• 50:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: And that's kind of how I feel about the business.
• 50:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: More regulation, more transparency, be careful, a lot more questions and hold in these car companies accountable to explain what they're producing, what they're printing, what the real chance of winning some of these things are.
• 50:56
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know, this is big Matt officially on the sports card CEO, I'm saying Steiner for president right now.
• 51:03
  [SPEAKER_03]: But Brandon has my vote.
• 51:05
  [SPEAKER_03]: Thank you.
• 51:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: We've never met and I love you, dude.
• 51:07
  [SPEAKER_03]: I'm like this guy.
• 51:09
  [SPEAKER_03]: He's talking my language and, you know, lot of integrity topped the bottom.
• 51:13
  [SPEAKER_03]: And again, that's why we started this podcast.
• 51:16
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know, Brandon, like, you know, I'm a father to five, Bubba's a father to four.
• 51:20
  [SPEAKER_03]: Our buddy, Eric is a father to three.
• 51:22
  [SPEAKER_03]: We all love cards.
• 51:23
  [SPEAKER_03]: We all are business owners.
• 51:24
  [SPEAKER_03]: We all got in this hobby.
• 51:26
  [SPEAKER_03]: And we just said, we're having these incredible phone calls for the three of us.
• 51:29
  [SPEAKER_03]: Why don't we just include everybody else in it?
• 51:31
  [SPEAKER_03]: And so that's where this podcast started.
• 51:33
  [SPEAKER_03]: And now we've got thousands of listeners.
• 51:35
  [SPEAKER_03]: We've got all these people tuning in.
• 51:37
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know what I mean?
• 51:37
  [SPEAKER_03]: People are like in its community and so that's a big big driver of the integrity piece and what we're trying to bring to the hobby So thank you for for echoing that.
• 51:45
  [SPEAKER_03]: But do you have any we could talk for hours, but do you have some?
• 51:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I do.
• 51:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I want to hit on what you just mentioned and You have 40 years of experience in collectibles right and that's been your background Autographs and collectibles and so to what you just mentioned the good the bad the ugly one of my questions on the potential ugly is
• 52:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: if we see a pullback in this country, economically.
• 52:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: How do you feel that affects collectibles?
• 52:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because you've seen how it's done over the 40 years and you've seen downturns.
• 52:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've seen, oh, you've seen times before, oh, eight.
• 52:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: How has that played out of collectibles in your history over 40 years?
• 52:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because now I think a lot of these cards
• 52:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's they're being viewed like a painting right they're being viewed like a nice painting because they're a high end collectible so i'd now think they squarely fit in that category Where cards in the past maybe won't look that that way now they are especially higher in cards so what's your opinion on that what have you seen over 40 years how that plays out
• 52:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's a great question, and first of all, it's going to play out great for me, because the marketplace people need the money.
• 52:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: They're going to come on.
• 52:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: They'll be even a bigger sort.
• 52:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, here I've stopped to sell.
• 52:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm prepared.
• 52:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: One of the things when I set this business up is that I'm great when the business is great, and I'm great when the business is in a downturn.
• 53:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: But I think that we're going to see a bunch of people.
• 53:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: Like, where are the NFTs right now?
• 53:10
  [SPEAKER_04]: Anybody, anybody know, there's some some garbage dumpster, and I think that a lot of these cards are going to be in the garbage dumpster, not be able to retaliate or to be able to rally and come back.
• 53:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: That's my biggest fear when I look at cards in the late 90s, there are the early 90s, late 80s, I'm sorry that the junk, the junk wax that I get, you know, Carl Lewis from all the time, those cards have never bounced back.
• 53:35
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm worried that we're going to have another period of time of that, and it's extremely depressing for a lot of older people that have cases and cartons and rooms full of this stuff.
• 53:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think that's what's going to happen, Boba.
• 53:45
  [SPEAKER_04]: We're going to see people realize that they've got boat loads of junk that are not able to return to value ever.
• 53:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: Some of the vintage stuff, I'm bullish on vintage.
• 53:56
  [SPEAKER_04]: Only because we know there's a limited amount of them.
• 53:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: We know a lot of people weren't smart enough to keep them.
• 54:00
  [SPEAKER_04]: So that's probably going to hold its weight.
• 54:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: I think there's some one of them, some really, really cool cards out there that are going to hold its weight.
• 54:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, when you get to the Jordans and you get to stuff like that, you know, when you get to this Aaron Judge character, who knows how far this guy's going, that could end up being a really good play.
• 54:15
  [SPEAKER_04]: And all those kinds of players, that stuff holds up, but there's only a few of those players.
• 54:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know what I mean?
• 54:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: There's only a couple of gratskies.
• 54:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, there's only a few attorneys.
• 54:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think I'm worried that when the bubble bursts, not only there won't be a chair to sit down on, but I don't even know if there can be a force stand on.
• 54:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I mean, when you see somebody come with a mini van or a small box truck of cards, and I tell them that maybe worth a cup on your box, all truck.
• 54:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I have nightmares that I'm going to see that again at some point.
• 54:46
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I just wish that their car companies would slow down.
• 54:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: Let people have more wins.
• 54:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: We do the production till the leaks to stop making the guarantees so high and money grabbing.
• 54:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: because it'll avoid this problem and it'll minimize it.
• 55:02
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
• 55:02
  [SPEAKER_03]: That's fantastic, fantastic advice.
• 55:04
  [SPEAKER_03]: Brandon, I have one final question.
• 55:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: We're going to wrap up the episode today.
• 55:07
  [SPEAKER_03]: We're kind of reaching our threshold here.
• 55:09
  [SPEAKER_03]: And we can open this bag up and do this again.
• 55:11
  [SPEAKER_03]: This was fun.
• 55:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, so it's fun.
• 55:13
  [SPEAKER_04]: Talk when you guys thank you.
• 55:14
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, absolutely.
• 55:15
  [SPEAKER_03]: So for you right now, if you're looking at cards and you're understanding of the card market, if you're going after just pick three cards and you're going, man, these three cards are cards that I would go.
• 55:26
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's a card that I want to own.
• 55:28
  [SPEAKER_03]: What three cards jump off the page to you as a guy who's been in this industry for 50 years?
• 55:32
  [SPEAKER_03]: Well, I figured you took a current or just overall.
• 55:35
  [SPEAKER_03]: No overall.
• 55:35
  [SPEAKER_03]: Like if you go, that is something that is worth owning to me.
• 55:39
  [SPEAKER_03]: That's something that has cloud.
• 55:41
  [SPEAKER_03]: I think this is a babe roots.
• 55:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: If you can find a babe roots card, it's always going to have value.
• 55:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: Michael Jordan card it's always gonna have value, but you know something on a current level, I like this judge guy, and I never really thought it would come to this, because you know, he really struggled at the beginning, struck out a lot, but he's not only level up on the field play, which is obvious, but what I like is his off-the-field game, his leadership, his his just ability to have a presence in all the right ways,
• 56:11
  [SPEAKER_04]: makes him one of those guys that can end up, you know, and that really small elite group.
• 56:17
  [SPEAKER_04]: Love that, love that about him.
• 56:19
  [SPEAKER_04]: So those are a few of the cars I like.
• 56:21
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, I like the judge cars.
• 56:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: I've always liked and always admired, I think, Babe Ruth is still the
• 56:28
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, he's the guy that we all should be paying a royalty to make.
• 56:31
  [SPEAKER_04]: I've said this on many interviews in the 90s.
• 56:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: Bear going YouTube when I just do a bunch of interviews about marketing and stuff.
• 56:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: I said, we should all be paying Michael Jordan a royalty.
• 56:38
  [SPEAKER_04]: He's the one that opened their all up for us.
• 56:40
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, from licensing everything else.
• 56:42
  [SPEAKER_04]: He's the one who made this all possible.
• 56:44
  [SPEAKER_04]: Because back in the 90s, like nobody would carry anything other than your local sport.
• 56:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: And now everything that becomes so much more national.
• 56:51
  [SPEAKER_04]: And a lot of that's, I think, because of Michael.
• 56:53
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm a big Michael Jordan fan.
• 56:55
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, looking at his sneakers, looking at his air Jordan line.
• 56:57
  [SPEAKER_04]: Guys, I picked up a basketball in 20 years.
• 56:59
  [SPEAKER_04]: And he's still the biggest deal on the planet.
• 57:02
  [SPEAKER_04]: So I think anything I have of Michael is really valuable.
• 57:05
  [SPEAKER_04]: And they're worth as well.
• 57:07
  [SPEAKER_04]: And where?
• 57:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: Not comparable state yet because judge's got to win a couple of rings to really solidify a situation, but it's not bad that I love it.
• 57:17
  [SPEAKER_03]: Well, well, well, do you have any final thoughts today for our brother Brandon here?
• 57:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, I think there needs to be a 2.0 episode for sure.
• 57:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now I'm happy back on.
• 57:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've got a page.
• 57:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, this is my page of notes here, so I mean, I've got a lot more.
• 57:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: We can't fit it in.
• 57:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: And by the way, I mean, I consider myself a lifelong learner.
• 57:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: And these are notes that I want to take for my own life.
• 57:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, when I look at someone like yourself.
• 57:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, 28 years older than I am, and you've gone, you've done what I've already got to do next, right?
• 57:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm, I'm, I'm, I mean, it's weird about this conversation and God works and he doesn't make mistakes.
• 57:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, I'm looking at myself here in a way, you know, 40 years old, I turned 40 in May.
• 57:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: And my life is not about money anymore.
• 58:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not about it.
• 58:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's about where do I make that difference?
• 58:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you've really motivated me today and really impressive God, so I'm glad to have you on the show.
• 58:09
  [SPEAKER_04]: Thank you, you know, for all the entrepreneurs out there, please, you know, email me, get a copy of the book.
• 58:13
  [SPEAKER_04]: I'm sending you guys a copy of the books and hopefully they're helpful or follow me on social.
• 58:17
  [SPEAKER_04]: I post all this content, but I want to say, you know, dream big, dreamings not for young people.
• 58:22
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's for everybody.
• 58:23
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I say, you know, don't be SOS, don't be stuck on stupid, just because you got a big idea and you drank it doesn't mean it's a good idea.
• 58:30
  [SPEAKER_04]: You just still got to execute it.
• 58:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: So don't be stuck on stupid.
• 58:33
  [SPEAKER_04]: SOS is, don't be SOS, don't be stuck on stupid.
• 58:36
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's okay to quit.
• 58:37
  [SPEAKER_04]: It's okay to walk with one idea and move on to something else.
• 58:41
  [SPEAKER_04]: And it's really, really important to find your gift.
• 58:43
  [SPEAKER_04]: Because when you have your gift, confidence will come with it.
• 58:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: And then you pour curiosity and enthusiasm.
• 58:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: So thank you for this.
• 58:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: I love this morning, we're getting everything wrong.
• 58:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: I got a big day ahead of me, so this is going to be great.
• 58:54
  [SPEAKER_04]: Now I got a stuff thing about buying where Aaron Judge cards, Jesus.
• 58:58
  [SPEAKER_04]: But, uh, love you guys, love what you're doing, love what you're doing.
• 59:01
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I hope I hope that people out there enjoyed this conversation and, and, uh, I added some value.
• 59:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: That's the most important thing.
• 59:07
  [SPEAKER_04]: And, uh, I'll catch you guys on the 2.0.
• 59:10
  [SPEAKER_03]: Guys, thank you so much for watching and listening to the SportsCart CEO.
• 59:13
  [SPEAKER_03]: And many thanks to Brandon Steiner of Collectibles Exchange.
• 59:17
  [SPEAKER_03]: And Baba, as always, brother, appreciate you.
• 59:20
  [SPEAKER_03]: We'll see you guys next week.