Small Business Interview with Jay Gentile of BoosterBots – Small Business Show Episode 103

The Small Business show, episode number 103 for Wednesday, January 25, 2017. Greetings folks and welcome to the Small Business show here at BusinessShow Co the show by, for and about small business owners here in Durham, New Hampshire. I'm Dave Hamilton.

And in Concord, California, I'm Shannon Jean. How are you, Dave?

I am doing well. Busy day. But as I say, that's always better than the alternative.

Yeah, always hustling. That's always good. I like that too.

Always looking for the next thing. That's right.

Yeah, yeah. Hey, speaking of hustling, back in June I decided to do this social media experiment that we've talked about on the show here and start a business really just selling on my phone on apps and everything. And one of the, I'm just going to say it, probably the best piece of software that I've ever used and ever owned is a piece of marketing software and automation. It's a Booster Bot is the name of the company. We are fortunate enough today to have the owner of Booster bots on with us, Jay Gentile. Jay, thanks for joining us today.

Yeah, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

Yeah. And like I said, I don't want to be too much of a fanboy, but as I mentioned before the show, it's such a great piece of specific software that does so much that to help save time and everything. I really just nailed it. I really appreciate that. I use it every day. I really appreciate it.

Yeah, no problem at all.

That's cool. Let's talk about your business a little bit, your business background. Just give us some background. Is this your first business? Did you work for someone else? Just give us your story a little bit.

Okay. Yeah, so I started out right out of high school, basically I started working for Hewlett Packard. I did that for about a year and I was working mainly in server rooms doing migrations and stuff like that. And that led me to, I mean, I've always had love for computers and a desire to have my own business. During that time I went and took my A certification test and I got a certified for computer hardware and repair. So after, I mean, after I got that, I kind of got my feet wet a little bit with doing a little computer repair here and there. And that ended up leading me towards, you know, hey, I'm missing all these calls here. I'm working at Hewlett Packard, I'm getting paid good money. But the problem was I didn't own my own business at that time. I was Just doing things kind of on the side. And I realized I'm getting so many calls and I'm missing these calls because I'm at work. So I can't really service these clients as I would want to. I think this is a good opportunity for me to just bite the bullet, step forward and take the risk and jump in. So what I did is I started my computer repair business and I did that for about a year and a half, two years, and that was really good. I had lots of business, lots of clients. And then that led me into people wanting web design. At that time, I already knew a lot of HTML and different CSS and different things. I just said, hey, let me do your websites. I started getting into web design and I found that I could make just as much money as I, as I was with doing mobile computer repair and doing web design and staying home and not dealing with people every single day. So that's what I ended up doing. I ended up going more towards the web design field. And all this time I really wanted to concentrate on what I love to do and what my passion was. And during those times it was kind of, I thought my passion was one thing and then it led to another kind of thing, you know. So I started, I got into doing web design and then business became, you know, word of mouth went, you know, went pretty viral. So I was, I was doing more web design than computer repair. And then I decided, hey, I'm just going to go full fledged into the web design field, start building websites for clients and businesses. And then I handed my computer repair business over to my friend. So he ended up running that for a few more years.

I see. Yeah.

So doing the web design thing really led me into building my own websites and starting to study more about SEO and search engine optimization and online marketing itself. And that led me into a lot of affiliate marketing, so. And ppc, which I got really big into for a few years and I started and then, you know, after a few years really realizing, hey, I'm making more money not dealing with any, any, any clients. Yeah, and just doing the affiliate marketing, ranking my own websites for affiliate products and whatnot. And that was bringing in, you know, quite a bit of money at that time. So I decided to kind of filter off my web design clients and once they were all taken care of, had them go with other companies if they wanted some type of web management or those type of things.

You've had a history of. This is interesting to me because you've done two jobs, the consulting business, the Troubleshooting business that you had and then web design, which are generally the types of jobs that people have a very difficult time handing off because as we've all found, you can't clone yourself. So you're naturally handing these things off to someone capable, certainly, but not you. And I know I'm derailing us a little bit here, but I'm curious.

No, no, that's good.

Yeah, I'm curious how that went, because that's really interesting to me and I know a lot of our solopreneur listeners here that have what I'll call a pivot moment. And, you know, you kind of have to seize that moment, but you don't want to screw over all the people that you've taken care of. So I'm curious.

Yeah, yeah, it was difficult, you know, migrating from the computer repair to the. Just the web design was difficult for a lot of my clients because they weren't, they weren't getting the same type of service anymore, which was frustrating for me. But, you know, I had to just. I ended up spending a lot of my time kind of like, how do you say, basically just customer type retention, stuff like that, just to make sure that they were taken care of. And meanwhile, I wasn't handling the business. So it did. The migration of that, the computer repair to the web design definitely took some time, probably about a year for it to get stabilized again. And then I guess he only ran it for another two years, but I moved away after that and then.

Sounds like a lot of hand holding during that transition.

There was a lot of hand holding, yes. But I mean, as far as then transferring to the web design and just going full into that and then off to the affiliate marketing, basically, after a lot of the sites were built and handled, there was really no work that needed to be done as far as just training them to understand how to update their own website. So that's what helped me filter out a lot of those clients and. And then just focus on my affiliate marketing, which then, you know, I took off that for, you know, a few years, but I was still doing web design on the side.

Got it. Yeah. So when did you first start getting going with, you know, the, the marketing and thinking about launching like, you know, booster bots and to focus on specific, you know, channels to help people out with automation and that kind of thing?

Yeah, so that's always been. Ever since I got into computers at a very young age, I've always wanted to learn how to program and build applications. After I got into the affiliate marketing for A few years. That's what really led me towards the automation because I had the time now to be able to delegate my time to learning. And that was always a big thing for me is always set yourself up for the future so you have time to learn new things. You become more of an asset to people when you know a lot more. So what my goal was to learn more about automation, learn more about software development and then just dive headfirst into that because I had the time. I mean, I was, most of my online businesses that I had and websites that I had with selling affiliate products, they would take probably like four hours a month, you know, out of my days. So it wasn't much time at all. I just needed to make sure, you know, all the marketing and SEO was on point. And then that led me into the learning the automation side of it and learning some different languages and I started building my own applications to automate a lot of the things that I was doing on an, on a daily basis.

That's cool.

So that's what led me into starting Booster bots.

Yeah, that's great. So when I'm looking at your site, the boosterbots.com or your own site, jgentile.com I see a lot of you spend a lot of time or time or space telling your story and talking about your business and why you do it. How important do you think that a good story narrative like that is in small business marketing?

I mean, I really think in any business it's very important to tell your story. The reason being is because you want to kind of relate with people and you want to show people that you're a normal person that has taken the steps needed to be able to give a service or sell a service or a product. It kind of makes people feel more comfortable if they know a little bit more about you. You're a real person, you're, you know, like me, for example, I'm really down to earth, really open minded. So I want people to understand that and feel that when they, when they come to me. And that's one of the best things that you know, that I take away from business is and kind of about like how I measure the success is by customer satisfaction. If they're coming back to me saying, like you said in the beginning of the show, I made a great piece of software that has helped you tremendously. That really means a lot to me and that's what keeps me motivated to doing the things that I do for people.

Yeah, that's cool. That's fantastic. Focusing on Booster bots, again, you sell a product with a one time fee. I know one of the things that's impressed me in working with you over the last six months or so is when there's an issue or a problem, you know, you get a quick response and you know, I always consider myself really fast and jumping on it, but rarely do I hear back from people as quick as I would like to. And in your case, you know, come back really quick, quick email answers, this kind of thing, you know, can you talk about the challenges of handling those kind of requests when and, or fixing things and allocating time when you're selling a product that you're generating money? One time somebody's paying a fee. But there seems to be lots of, well, maybe not lots, but certainly some follow up over time and you seem to be good at doing it. Talk to that a little bit if you will.

Yeah, over the years with booster bots, I have tried a couple different pricing structures. At first I started out pretty high pricing, one time fees and you know, did some, I did split testing over the years to see what would work best for me and my, and my software. And then I went into a lower priced fee in doing that subscription base where they paid every month. Okay. And then I went into this pricing which is a, it's a lower to mid pricing, it's affordable for people. It's not like they're spending a whole ton of money. So you know, it makes them feel okay, I can, I'll buy this and you know, if I could spend some time to dedicate towards the program, then I will, you know, if not, then they can let it sit there for a month and then get on it when they're ready to take action. I mean it is kind of, it is a little bit difficult to balance the load of customer support and stuff like that. But with having so much that I have that I do automated nowadays, it really gives me the time to be able to focus and give support to my clients. And that's one of the best things that, I mean that's why people, even though my prices are low, they keep coming back to me because I offer such great support. I'm willing to go on Skype with them, I'm willing to screen share with them, I'm willing to call them personally if they need help personally. And I also offer consultations too. So if anytime that someone wants to learn some marketing techniques or some strategies, we can do that as well.

Those are fee based consultations, is that right?

Those are fee based consultations. Yeah, okay. Yeah, at that point, yeah. But I do offer, I mean if you're having issues with, with some of the software, you know, I'll do anything I can to help you get it running. But a lot, a lot of the times, you know, I don't really have to spend that much time with each person. Usually it's just a small, you know, they don't know how to extract the program or you know, it's just small little like user error type things.

So you're still using all of your it, you know, on site experience to apply not only the knowledge but the customer service skill to get through that interchange.

Oh yeah, definitely.

It's like we've talked in the past about an author. Scott Adams is the Dilbert guy and he wrote a really good book that we liked last year. One of the things he talked about was what your talent stack really is and not having to be the most expert in one thing, but the talents that you've built up over time. And you can certainly see that even to the point where I can remember getting some feedback from you before I bought the software about hey, what's the best, what kind of hardware we need and how this kind of thing. And so even using your hardware experience and your software and customer service. So it's certainly that's part of your talent stack at this point.

Yeah, and that's what I found was really best for me is having a small pricing structure. And the thing is people, they'll purchase a bot from me and then a lot of times they want some custom software as well. So they see that I provide great customer service. I'm always willing to reply to support inquiries as fast as I can and they'll come back to me saying, hey, I would like, for example, just talk about Poshmark. Hey, I'd like something with Poshmark where it enables me to do this and that. And then I say, well that sounds like a great idea, but I don't think, you know, this is an idea I should put publicly. You know, maybe, maybe we can, you know, I could build a private software for you to do those type of things. So that's what, you know, the, the private software and you know, and those type of things. And the memberships also do, do help out a lot with the business. So it's not just, you know, selling one bot. Usually they come back and buy other bots or they'll get a custom software, they'll membership which is really beneficial as well.

Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense.

So you're using your existing business to sort of leverage your way and market your way into the next opportunity. But very naturally.

Yes.

Yeah, that's good. That's great.

Yeah, I like it. I like it.

So.

In a nutshell, I mean, most of the software and things that we're talking about here is related to marketing and getting your name out there. What's been the most effective method to market your, you know, your company, you know, what do you use and still use that you found to be the most effective?

I use, I use, honestly a lot of private software that I have built just for myself. I use that and also doing a lot of marketing with SEO and getting my, you know, for example, if you type in like Poshmark bot in Google or something, you know, you're going to see me on the first page, no doubt. So those type of things, like I make sure all my content is optimized and I'm always putting new content out there to get picked up by the search engines. But I also use one of my close buddies, he owns a software called Paganbot, I use that a lot as well, which is a really great marketing software. But I use a lot of private software really to just automate all my marketing.

Sounds like you're still operating in that SEO content creation space to drive people to your sites and, and that kind of thing.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah, yeah. I mean, that's one of the ways. I mean, I also am on a lot of marketing forums as well. So, you know, those are the ways that I get content in there. So whenever someone's looking for me, I'm getting sales. You know, it's a really niche specific type market, you know what I mean? Especially for the software. I mean, you'll have a niche specific software for Poshmark and then Twitter and all these different sites. Society 6, which a lot of people haven't heard of, but a lot of people have too. But it's all about having that content out there on the web so people can find you and optimizing that content for the readers and the search engines as well. That's what really helps the most. For sure.

Yeah. So I have a question. So you mentioned participating in marketing forums and that kind of thing like commenting and I mean, how do you participate in that kind of thing?

Just, yeah, commenting, reaching out. So for example, if someone's talking about on a marketing form like, hey, I'm a new seller on Poshmark and I'd love to get some tips or tricks or if anybody has some software related, then If I see those things, I jump right in and say, oh, I have something available for you, come check it out. And a lot of times because those forms are such high ranked and have a lot of relevancy in Google and authority for those search terms, they'll get picked up really quick and index really quick in the search engine. So therefore it's easy for people to find me. They'll say, oh, this guy has one. So they'll come and message me. So I try to leave footprints here and there all over the place with those types of things.

Yeah, that's smart. That makes a lot of sense. So I think I know the answer to this, but maybe not. We talk about what measurements and measuring success for our businesses and obviously cash is king and how you're doing that kind of stuff. But usually most folks that are running their own business have much different yardsticks. How do you measure your success beyond the monetary rewards that keep you going?

Yeah, so for me, I mean it's not, I mean this is how I've been for many years. It's not really. I'm not trying to be a millionaire, you know, I'm trying to make a living, be comfortable with, with, with the money I make and just be able to do the things that I want to do when I want to do them. You know what I mean?

Yeah, I do know, absolutely.

So, you know, I've set myself up over the, you know, the past 13 years to just be able to do and to be able to travel and have experiences and those are the things that really that I outline success in is having experiences, meeting new people and networking and stuff like that. But really my goal with providing booster bots and automation and stuff is just to help people get to that level as well, you know, and help free up their time. And because there's nowadays, you know, we're so consumed with technology and TV and you know, media and all this other stuff, there's a lot of people are not having, you know, getting time to spend with their families and whatnot. So having automation and having software that allows people to free up their time so they can spend on, you know, activities with their family or experiences or traveling, you know, those are the things. And then they come back to me saying, you know, this has saved me so much time. I've, you know, it's taken my business to the next level. Those are the things that really, you know, point out success in my mind.

You know, that's great. You know, the more folks that we get to meet, you know, we're, this is our 103rd episode and you just hear that message over and over and over, you know, getting our time being flexibility and all that kind of stuff. It's definitely a common theme for sure. So one of the things, you know, we love mistakes on this show because, you know, we all learn so much from them and we enjoy talking about them. If you could think back, you know, getting started or even during the, you know, running your business, you know, what's one of the best mistakes? And I'm making quote marks in the air, but of course nobody can see that, you know, and when I say that is, you know, what mistake did you make that really taught you a good lesson that you learned the most from?

I would say delegating, you know, delegating tasks to other people. At first it was pretty difficult. And I know a lot of business owners have this type of mindset when they first get into business is they want to try to, they want to try to handle everything themselves. You know, I'm the owner, I know what's best for the company. And then it ends up being kind of like a double edged sword when you do that, you know, And I think, you know, it was, you know, it was really hard for me to let go of, you know, me handling all the responsibilities when I first started. And I kind of drove myself really thin and it did impact my customer service quite a bit. And I realized that though, and, you know, I turned it around and said, you know, I need to delegate work to other people and just, you know, and have the trust that it takes, you know, to move my business forward. Otherwise I'm just going to be stagnant and I'm just going to drive my business into a circle and down a hole, you know, so you, you know.

You identified almost unintentionally a lesson that I've heard other business owners do the same thing with. And that is good customer service rarely comes from stressed out people. And it's true of whether or not you're the business owner or, you know, the highest person on the totem pole or the lowest person on the totem, right? It doesn't matter who you are. If you're not happy and you're not comfortable. And also while we're piling things on and you don't feel empowered to help the person which is a business owner, hopefully you do. If not, you got much bigger problems. But really, any, anyone that is in a position of being able to help customers should feel empowered to do so. And sometimes that means you know, making a decision and all of that. But. But that whole package, if you're not happy, there's no way that your customers are going to believe that you are happy with them.

Very true. Yeah, very true.

Yeah, yeah, that's for sure. I just wanted to stop and identify because it was like, man, that's it. Yep, yep, yeah, yeah.

All the way down, like, say, from the owner all the way down to the customer service.

And some. And that means in. In some, perhaps many businesses, the owner gets to a point where he or she should not be doing customer service if they're exactly, you know, if they're focused on other things and stressed out and life moves too fast because so many of us are, you know, these add sort of crazy people, and we don't necessarily make the best customer service reps we can be because we know the importance of it, but it. It takes an effort, you know, to be patient and, and listen.

So. Yeah, yeah, that's exactly. That's cool. It's a great story. I can. Putting the journey together here in my head of you getting started as a tech, and I'm going to fix this and I'm going to do A plus. I love it. I love the transition of you. That's a really being willing to change. Yeah, that's a really tough thing, making those transition. Like Dave spoke to earlier, moving from one business concept, especially when you have customers that are relying on you. And I can remember doing a similar things where customers get really upset when they know what, you're not going to be the guy that's taking care of me anymore. And it can be challenging. So I really commend you for powering through holding hands like you needed to and moving on to achieve what you wanted to achieve.

Yeah. And I mean, it's all about evolving, I think. And just like I was saying earlier, it's just having. Setting yourself up for, you know, to have the time to have experiences and whatnot, and setting yourself up to be willing to be able to learn more and evolve yourself even more. You know, that's what it really takes. And I drove myself into all these, you know, to these different directions, but it was all. It was all kind of planned out, even though it wasn't like on paper planned out. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

I kind of had the idea and the mindset of where I wanted to be. And I, you know, now in the last, you know, I would say like four years now, you know, my business is at a point to where it's, you know, Like I was saying, I'm comfortable, I can take time off, I can, you know, I travel around with my laptop a lot so I'm always ready and willing to give support. I can do updates from there as well. So it makes, it makes life easier and a lot more fun.

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So for someone who's listening and maybe they're just getting started or haven't made those transitions or even still working for somebody else, if you could go back and give yourself a piece of advice that you know now, when you were just getting started, what critical piece of advice would you give yourself?

I would say jump in, don't be afraid. I know, you know, the unknown is always a little scary, but jump in, don't be afraid and do a lot of, a lot of split testing, split test your ass off kind of thing, you know, because that's what it's all about. And when you think you fail, use that quote unquote failure to kind of revamp your structure or split test even more and say, okay, this is what I did wrong and this is what I need to do. You only fail when you stop trying, you know, so, and stop trying to move forward. So use those things as tools and aids to just help you progress in the right direction. And there will be a lot of those times, but the more you use them as a progressive type thinking and mindset, the more you're going to feel comfortable with yourself and what you're doing.

Yeah, that's great. I love the concept of moving split testing out of just software related or web related out into your everyday life. Yeah, you know, split test, that didn't work. Well, we'll do the A, we'll go to B now, you know, and, and yeah, exactly. That's very cool. Well, it's, it's a great story and like I said, some awesome software. You know, if people want to learn more about you and about your business, what's the best way for them to find you?

Yeah, they can just go to boosterbots.com that's b o o s t e r bots b o t s dot com or you can go to my website, jgentile.com and I. You guys can use a promo code as well for any Software. It's called New20 and you can save 20% off your order.

That's awesome. That's great man. Well, thanks for hanging out with us today. Like I said, I'm, I love what you're doing and it's just a great story and I'm glad that you've you know, made it to where you want to be right now. That's great.

Yeah. Thanks a lot, Shannon and Dave, for having me.

Absolutely.

No.

This is a total blast, folks. Make sure to check out booster bots@boosterbots.com and of course, make sure to check out everything in our small business support group@businessshow.co Facebook, and keep doing whatever you can do to live that charmed life. Thanks again, Jay.

Yeah, you're welcome. Thank you, guys.

Yep. Take care, everybody.

Bye. Bye.