Two Free Drinks and The Black Keys

Business brain, episode 534 for Casual Friday. Talk like William Shatner day March 22, 2024. Greetings, folks, and welcome to Business Brain, the show where we take an idea or four and we dissect it, we analyze it, we meander through it such that we are apt to discover little nuggets of information that will help us each tune our business brains every single time we get together. Sponsors for this episode include gosquaredaway.com contact where you can go hire an highly and no a highly educated military spouse to to become your trusted remote executive assistant and shopify.com businessbrain. There's the sound. You can sign up for a $1 per month trial period there@shopify.com businessbrain. We'll talk more about all that in a little bit. For now here in Durham, New Hampshire on Casual Friday. I'm Dave Hamilton and I promise I won't talk like William Shatner very much during this episode.

It's a crazy day here in California. I'm Shannon Jean and I'm thrilled to be here for Casual Friday. I know you have a couple stories that you want to share with us from south by Southwest. And you know, we did a show about going to trade shows, conferences and how important it is. And I'm just starting to get my wheels back under me to go out and start, start hitting the road again.

Nice.

And I'm, I'm happy to. I'm looking forward to hearing about your escapades at south by Southwest.

Well, I have a, an in like a little lesson to share and then I have a story full of lessons to share the second half here. So.

Awesome.

Before I left, I asked, how do you get that chip back on your shoulder? How do you get that drive right?

Yep.

I saw a movie about a documentary about Diane Warren. Now, you may or may not know her name, but you definitely know her work. She is a songwriter. She has written probably more top 10 songs than anyone else.

Is that right?

Yeah. Rhythm of the. I'm just going, I'm going to, I'm going to just mention a smattering so we can all kind of be on the same page. Rhythm of the night by DeBarge. Nothing's going to stop us now by Starship. If I could turn back time by Cher. Oh, huge. When I see you smile. Bad English because you love me from Celine Dion Unbreak my heart. Toni Braxton. Aerosmith's I don't want to miss a thing was not written by Aerosmith. It was written by her Right. And this is like, I'm not even scratching the surface.

That's cool.

Okay. The name of the movie is Diane Warren. Relentless. This woman is truly relentless. Like, she has been writing songs since she was like 12. She knew this is what she wanted to do. Her parents, her parents were split on this. Her dad was super, like, loving and supportive, and her mom was like, when are you going to give up on that songwriting job so that you can become a secretary? Not just at a job, but the future is. Yeah, that's where the future is. Exactly. And she has worn that chip on her shoulder throughout her life. Her song catalog is estimated to be worth about half a billion dollars.

I love it.

Somebody own it. She does. That's the thing, right? So she was signed to a contract, a publishing contract. Early on, like, she, you know, like, like most songwriters, she went and beat down the doors of everybody. And she was in Los Angeles, so she beat down the doors. But she knew she wanted to be a songwriter. Like, she would look at albums as a kid and it would say, you know, the name of the artist, the name of the song, and then below that in parentheses was, you know, the very small print, the name of the songwriter. That's how like, you know, like 45 would be or whatever.

Yes.

She knew I want to be that. I can do that. She's a. Not a great singer. She doesn't have a good sense of time or anything, but she knows how to write songs. She knows how to play guitar and piano or whatever. She's like, I can do that. She would go to parties as a kid, like in high school. She would bring her guitar with her. Her friends would be like, hanging out, you know, drinking illicitly or whatever, and like, doing drugs or whatever. She would sit in the, in the bathroom in the bathtub because she liked the acoustics of the room and just work on songs. Driven. Very driven. Got a publishing contract. This publishing contract was not in her favor, of course. 90% went to the other folks. Right. So she only kept 10. About three years into this five year deal, maybe less, she was getting like she was being published and huge, you know, and so all these people are coming to her and being like, we want to publish you instead. And she's like, well, I have this contract. And so she went and told the guy, I, I'm, I'm, I'm leaving the contract. And he's like, well, I'm. Then I'm going to sue you. She's like, but I've made you a ton of money already. Like, you are set for life f you. And the guy's like, that sounds great, but, you know, paper says what it says, I'm going to sue you. And so what that meant, though, was that no one else could sign her, otherwise they would immediately become a party to the lawsuit. Nobody wants to do that. Although it probably would have been a good business decision financially in the long run. She. And so she couldn't get another publisher. And finally somebody said to her, well, if you publish yourself, there's no other party to the lawsuit. It's still just you. She's like, right, way to look at it. People know who I am. Fine, screw it, I'll do that. They did wind up settling the lawsuit. I'm sure she paid this guy a, you know, a fortune for nothing. Although, you know, she signed the deal. It's how it works. I'm not saying that you should.

Gotta start.

Yep, you gotta start. Right. And so she owns everything. She is her own publishing company. And people have asked her, like, do you. You should. Or it's suggested you should sell your catalog. And there's a good reason. There's a reason why artists sell their catalogs, right? Because as an, as an, as a songwriter, right. You get your, your royalties every year, but those are treated as normal income. Oh, so capital gains. Not capital gains, because it's just income. So if you can get. And, and people know, like, you can look at a song like, you know, like the, the. The Celine Dion song, right. You know, or the, the. The share song Turn Back Time, like that song is going to make money for a long time. So your multiple, if you were to sell it is probably somewhere between 10 and 30x. Right. Because the rights are protected for, you know, I don't know how old I. Off the top of my head, I can't do the math. But they're protected for like 50 years. So it's not going to be a 2 or 3x deal. You're going to get a ton of money and it's all capital gains and get it all up.

That makes sense of. Because I read about these artists, Stevie, Stevie Nick, selling her Springsteen or whatever. That totally makes sense because it's just such a better tax vehicle.

It's a better tax vehicle. But she was like, they're my songs. Why would I want to sell them?

Yeah.

So. But she is to this day, like still just going and writing songs. I mean, she owns this huge catalog. She. Well, sort of like watching this made me. In my head, I thought, you know, be careful what you Wish for Dave. Because the. The, like, her entire life is nothing but writing songs now. It was acknowledged in the movie. I don't know if she's officially diagnosed or not, but she's definitely somewhere in the Asperger's spectrum. She talked about it. Other people talked about it. She lives alone with her cat. She has no interest in a family of any kind or even, like, having a. Like, they talk to a guy who was probably her boyfriend for, like, six years. Like, she would sort of acknowledge this. He would sort of acknowledge it. But, like, it's argued that she has never been in love. Right. Like, you know, so she's a different kind of human, and that's obviously okay, but it's like, all right, if that's what it takes to always have the chip on your shoulder. I want to. I want to. I want more of a balance than that.

That. Yeah. I wouldn't look at it that way. I think that chip is. That gives you the power to just start over.

To start over.

Correct. Not to just drive yourself to the exclusion of all the other awesome things in that. We talk about living a charmed life here all the time.

Yes. It's.

It's the. You're looking for the whole package.

Y.

You know, business success, collaboration, like Dave and I have had for 20 years. Great friends, wonderful spouse, family, kids. That. That's what we're all looking for.

That's the charmed life. Not.

Maybe not her, but she.

She has a. Financially Char. And actually, if you were to ask.

Her, she's probably very happy, right?

She's extremely happy. Yes. That's right.

That's cool.

For her. Right? For her. And it is good for her.

Yes.

Her life would not be good for me. Although I wouldn't mind having control of a song catalog that's worth half a billion dollars.

I would take that, too.

Yeah. Take that deal. Yeah. Yeah. But. But at what cost, right? That's true. So that's the. That's what I. I learned from seeing that movie. It is a great movie. I have truly only scratched the surface of it. So when it comes out, make sure you. You go see it, because it's really a fascinating story. All right, folks, look. You know, on this show, we take entrepreneurial puzzles and make them into pieces of cake. Right. And speaking of easy choices, when you're on a plane, Window seat or middle seat? Well, obviously, I'm going to take the aisle because I'm a control freak. And when it comes to selling online, there's an equally obvious pick. Our sponsor Shopify Imagine if your business journey was a game. Shopify is that power up which helps you skip ahead to the good parts. From launching your online shop to unlocking the oh my gosh, we need a bigger warehouse level. Shopify is your sidekick every step of the way. Selling shipping supplies or spreading the word about your productivity hacks, Shopify helps you sell everywhere. It's like having a Swiss army knife for your business, but instead of a tiny, barely useful saw, you get an all in one e commerce platform and an in person POS that actually does the job. And here's where it gets really cool. Shopify turns window shoppers into buyers with a checkout that's smoother than your morning latte. Plus, with Shopify Magic, you've got an AI powered assistant. That's like having a marketing wizard in your pocket or who needs a rabbit out of a hat when you have Shopify. With Shopify powering 10% of all E commerce in the US and backing global success stories like Allbirds and Rothy's, it's not just a platform, it's a launchpad for success. And with their award winning support, you're never flying solo. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com businessbrain all lowercase go to shopify.com businessbrain now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in. Shopify.com businessbrain and our thanks to Shopify for sponsoring this episode. All right, you know those days when your to do list is longer than a coffee shop's drink menu and you're sitting there wondering if you need to clone yourself to tackle it all? Well, before you look into mad science, let me introduce you to a more practical solution. Our sponsor, Squared Away Squared Away is like having a team of business ninjas at your disposal. Except instead of throwing stars, they wield calendars, spreadsheets and email inboxes. They're remote executive assistants who can leap tall to do lists in a single bound thanks to being highly educated military spouses. Talk about trustworthiness and readiness for any challenge. Whether it's turning the chaos of event planning into a well oiled machine, transforming bookkeeping from a nightmare into a dream, or even the herculean task of booking a plane flight for your adventurous pooch, Squared Away has your back. And yes, the they can even make a virtual baby shower feel like the social event of the season. So if you're ready to ditch the overwhelm and embrace the calm of well managed tasks, contact Squared Away Today to see how they can support your business, just go to go squared away.com contact. That's go squared away.com contact. Unleash the power of productivity today. And our thanks to Squared Away for sponsoring this episode.

All right, I want to hear this free drink and. But first, I got to do something kind of meta. I got to screenshot myself. Screenshotting myself on.

Okay.

X. So I can post about this because it's fascinating.

Yeah.

So that's great. That's great. Okay, tell your story.

So. So Thursday night at south by Southwest, I went to see the band the Black Keys. They were playing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have a whole story on. On next week's gigab about how I didn't understand this band until I saw him live. But that's not what this story is about.

Okay.

So, in fact, this story, all of it, most of it takes place before I ever got into the venue. So it was a relatively small venue. It was this venue called Mohawk in Austin. They say it holds a thousand people. I don't necessarily believe that. I think it's. But if they've got this huge balcony that you can't see the stage from, so maybe it really does. I knew that a band like the Black Keys, even if it does hold a thousand people, like, that's more people. There's more people that want to see it than we'll fit in. And so I went out of my way to get what south by Southwest calls an Express Pass, which basically puts me at the front of, like, Disney.

Disneyland.

Exactly right. And there's a whole system for this, but it doesn't matter. I had it. So they were going to go on at 12:15am I had other events to go to that evening, and I had the Express Pass. So I'm like, all right, I'm going to get there an hour early at 11:15, because I know that it's going to be full of people.

Have the Express Pass.

Yes. Well, yeah, the 15% of the venue has the Express Pass. That's how they do it. But the. The place is already going to be packed with people. When I arrive at 11:15, I know that it's going to be like one out, one in, one out, one in. And that's fine. I'm willing to take my chances with the Express Pass for an hour. So, fine. I get there and there's a whole. You know, there's a bunch of people in line and there's multiple lines because there's a line for the people with this type of badge and this type of badge and the people without badges. And there's all, you know, all these people hoping to get in. And I show up and the kind of the head of south by Southwest coordination, there'll be two sets of staff at the venue. There's the venue staff, and it's up to them to check your ID and, you know, manage you once you're inside. The south by Southwest staff essentially manage you when you're outside and tell the venue who's next. You know, let this line has prior. Right, Fine. So the south by Southwest person sees me and sees my badge and says, ah, you're in that line over there. And I said, I have an Express pass. And he says, okay. He says, well, you could use your Express Pass or you could get in that line, which was maybe 30 people long. And he's like, that line's moving. It's going to be okay. And I'm like, yeah, but I have an Express pass. I'm like, I don't. Like, if there were three people in the line, then I would just do that and not mess with it. But of course, yeah, no one. I don't see the line moving. And I have an Express pass. He's like, okay, well, just stand at the front of this line. So the, the people that are in the line understand the deal. They're accepting. They grumble. As I'm walking over, another guy shows up with an Express pass. And he. So I went from being alone to being in a line, right? And they're like, okay, if you both have Express passes, we'll put you over here. So now they've created the sec, the separate line for express passes. I'm standing there and I'm expecting things to flow because they said the line was moving. Things aren't moving. 10 minutes goes by, maybe 15 minutes goes by.

How's the other line?

Nothing. No one is going in. Nothing. Right? All the lines are growing. That's it. Some people coming out, very few, but some, you know, And I was like, okay. So finally I. I do what I do. I start making conversation. And this is where the lessons are, right? I make conversation with the guy from south by Southwest, but also the, the person managing the door who is an employee of the club, right? And so I'm just chit chatting with him. Chit chatting with him. And finally it is told to me by these people. They're like, oh, yeah, the fire marshal's in there right now. Oh, I am. Changes everything, right? Okay, so this is good information to have because now I Understand, no matter what any of these people decide, until the fire marshal comes out, they're not calling the shots. They're. They're not calling the shots right now. Yeah. And so I'm like, ah, okay, I get it. And I said, they're still in there. He's like, yeah, he's been in here since before you got here. Okay, fine. So I'm still. I don't give up on the chit chat, though. Like the social engineering. And I don't. You know, that term gets a bad rap. We're always doing social engineering.

It's persuasion.

It's persuasion, but it's also. It's also. I'll call it reverse customer service. If I'm going to have to stand next to this person for a while, kind of staring at them, wondering if. When they're going to let me in, I want to make it a pleasant experience. Selfishly, for me, it doesn't hurt if it winds up also being a pleasant experience for everybody else. Right. And I'm aware of these things, but I'm not like, this wasn't me being Machiavellian or anything.

Trying to achieve something. You're just sitting there talking, you're by yourself or whatever. You start talking to people, just chit chatting.

Correct. And so I'm making conversation. I'm doing all the things. And you know, I have this skill. It is not what I would choose to do. I would. I would be very happy being just alone and standing there. But I know that it's better if I. So fine. So this is starting to become an exercise for me. We're transitioning from I'm here to see the band to. But first, I'm here to kind of see what this dynamic becomes. Because what keeps happening is people keep coming up to either the person from south by Southwest who is organizing it, or the door person. And these people, as they come up are convinced that whatever they have to say or whatever credential they have will definitely get them in immediately. They don't know that there's a fire marshal in there. Right. And so. And it's fascinating watching some of these people because they come up, they're certain they're going to get in, and then when they are told, I'm sorry, no, they start pleading their case and none of them are polite about it.

Wow.

And it's.

That's the opposite end of the spectrum there.

It's like, well, yeah, but I didn't intend for it to be the opposite. And like, they chose this.

Yes.

But what happens Is as each one of these people comes and is turned away and comes and is turned away in a huff. A lot of them are like, no, I deserve to be here, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, dude, like, what was it? Now all they are doing is making me look even better. And I haven't changed. I'm just being Dave. Right, Right. So a bartender comes out at one point and he's just chit chatting. He's on his break, he's chit chatting with the, the door guy. And since we're all standing right there, he winds up chit chatting with me. And he asked me, he's like, hey, do you need water or anything? I'm like, no, I'm good.

That's cool.

Yeah, yeah. And then he goes back in to get like water or whatever for the door guy and he comes back out and then he asked me, do you need water? Does anybody on your staff need water? And at this point, I have to immediately shut down any notion that I am in a position of authority here.

Yeah, I got it.

Because I don't want it to like them to be mistaken. And.

Yes.

And let me perpetuate this. It's going to backfire. Right? Yeah, there's. I don't have authority. So I say, whoa, whoa. No, I'm, I'm just, I'm just a guy. I'm nobody here, you know. And he's like, oh, seriously. He's like, you're like so nice. And you're like chit chatting and helping out and like, I'm like, well, I'm just standing here and, and the bar, the door guy turns to the, the bartender and says, yeah, but he is definitely getting in for this show. And I'm like, ah. And, and the, the bartender says, yeah, you are. And he's like, when you come in, you visit me at this specific bar, he's like, come say hi. He's like, you know, you deserve this. Like, okay, that's killer. I don't deserve anything, but I'm glad you believe that I do. This is great. And I don't usually even drink alcohol when I go see shows anyway. I think we talked about that on a recent episode. Just because I, I like to remember the shows and you know, I like to have my, my wits about me and it's, I don't, it's not a judgment thing. It's. This is just me and so I feel judged. Okay, good. It's fine. Like it's totally fine. I, Yeah, I love playing for people that drink it's how I make money sometimes.

Yeah, absolutely.

It's. It really is no judgment. It's just a personal preference. And so, um. Plus, it keeps me from having to pee all the time, which is helpful. And so there's this one guy that comes up, and he starts saying how he is. He has, like, a press badge and.

Very important.

Very important. And he's like, you know, I'm working. And he starts. And the guy's like, I still can't let you in. The fire marshal's still in there. And he says, well, yeah, but I'm work. I know you're doing your job. I'm doing my job. And the guy's like, no. And. And he said, but I'm press, and I'm standing right there, and I also have a badge that says press on it for. From south by southwest. Like, the same one he does. Right? And so I said, same. You know, I just kind of waved, and it was like, yeah, same. And just to show him, like, yeah, I'm stuck out here too. Yep. Like, we're just doing the thing, trying to kind of de. Escalate a little, because this guy's getting to be a little pushy. And he looks at me exasperated, like, what? And I'm like, yeah, I also have a press badge and an express pass, and I've been waiting here for now, 45 minutes, you know, whatever. And the guy doesn't even say anything to me. He turns away from me and just, like, dismisses me with a wave of his hand.

Oh.

And I was. I don't care.

Yeah.

But, you know, who cared about that? The door guy. Yep. And so he turns to me, and he's like, you are definitely getting in before that guy. He's like, if it's up to me, that guy's never getting in. And it's just fascinating watching this, because we all find ourselves in the position of. Of that guy, right? The guy with his press badge showing up thinking, I'm definitely. Like, I deserve to be in there. I'm working. Whether he was or not, I know he wasn't, because I was in. And he did wind up getting in. And I saw him, and he was. He was spending more time, like, talking to his friends and showing people he was there than. Than even watching the show and covering the concert. And so finally, the fire marshal leaves, and then the. But the door guy still needs to get approval from his boss that he can now let people in.

Okay.

Not. The fire marshal even told the door guy, like, you're good for One in, one out. And he's like, oh, that's cool. Okay. But you somebody, you don't sign my check. So yes, I gotta, you know, fine. So that took another 25 minutes because there was a problem up in the balcony that the club wanted to get sorted out before they started letting people in. So finally I get in about two songs into this, this probably 12 song show or whatever. And getting, what getting in meant was, you know, they checked my ID, they let me into the club and walking about 15ft from where I was originally standing in the door line to where the, the mass of people was that were watching the band. Like it was not very far, but I could now see the band. I could hear the band from outside. I could see him. And so I stood there for like a minute or two and then I thought, you know, they don't want us. I don't want them seeing me standing here kind of overflowing out of the club. Yeah, that's like, you know, that bartender said to go visit him. I'm going to, I'm going to let the universe help me here. So I went, visited the bartender. The bartender worked this bar that faced the stage and had like maybe three people deep at it. And it was all packed with people watching the band. But I'm like, well, I have, I'm going to the bar to get a drink, so they have to let me through. Yeah, so they did. They were a little grumbly about it, but they were like, you know, whatever. It's what you got to do.

Trying to get a drink.

Yeah. So I go up to the bar, bartender sees me, hands me a free drink. Great. You know, I said thank, I offered to pay him for it. He, he was like, there's no way you're paying for this drink. I'm like, okay, okay, nice. So I turn around and I can see over the people three deep in front of me. You know, that, that like where the band is and stuff. And it's great, I'm watching the band. But of course there's always movement because the bars there. So it didn't take but one song for me to now be kind of at the front of this section of people. And I get a great view of the band and it's great, it's going along really well. So that's the Black Keys and one free drink. The guy next to me is this drunk English guy, but he was friendly. He would talk only in between songs. He wasn't trying to talk to me in the middle of songs. So it's like, totally fine. He was calm. He wasn't. He was happy drunk. No problem. He leaves halfway through the show to go get a drink for him and his friend. I'm like, you know, he's the devil. I know I want him back as my neighbor here. So I widen my stance in hopes of keeping his space for me, you know?

Sure.

And sure enough, he came back pretty quickly. And I made a motion like, you know, here's your space. Like, you're good to go. And he's like, oh, my God, thank you. And he hands a drink to his friend. He says, what are you drinking?

Nice.

And so he leaves again. He goes back, he gets me a tequila and soda, which took him three times as long as it did to get the other two drinks. For whatever reason, you know, just the flow of the bar came back. That was my second free drink. And, you know, it was all just being nice to people and thinking about what would be nice for them in that moment.

But, yeah, it's underrated. But it's also. You're also making it nice for yourself, Right?

Exactly.

You're doing it from your own self interest.

It was. But yes.

It benefits the people around you as well. Yeah. I love it.

I think that's exactly right. And that's the lesson. It's like, you never know. And I thought about the people that came up, like, assuming they would get in. You don't know what someone's been through. You can assume what they've been through, but you don't know. And why act entitled if you feel like your credentials are enough to get you in. If I feel like my credentials are enough to get me in, I act unentitled. Yeah. I'm like, hey, and we need.

We need more of that.

I'm here. Yeah. You know, I don't know if this pass is enough to get in right now. Oh, my gosh. Yes, of course. Come in, Mr. Hamilton. You know, like. But it doesn't hurt to just play it down.

Yeah. Just be cool and be friendly and understand that work. And like I said, especially, seems like now the world is kind of full of uptight and entitled people. Yes. And this is your opportunity just to chill out a bit and put yourself in their position and be like, hey, how do we. How do we do this? But, you know, how do you want.

Me to do this?

Figure it out together. And you. Do you get that extra nod? You know, sometimes $100 bill makes it nicer. But, you know, just being cool and not a jerk gets you far I.

Wrote down notes about this after this event happened because I thought it would be a good thing to talk about on the show because as a business owner, these things like this is how you propel your business forward, especially when you're starting out right. Especially. And one of the things I wrote was all of this because I treated them like they were the most important people in every interaction.

I love it.

That's.

I always tell people. Yeah. Treat your suppliers like they're your customers.

Yep.

And you will have an amazing experience because most everyone else treats them like garbage and they yell at them, they blame them for their problems. So if you flip the script, like Charlie Munger always says, invert.

Yeah.

If you treat them great, they will reciprocate to you, give you the benefit of the doubt, make your life better. And yeah, it's, it's a big secret that people don't tend to do. So I, I, I'm glad you shared that story because there's a lot of powerful lessons in it.

A lot.

Very simple.

It's not.

Hardly anybody does it.

Hardly anybody does it. I know. It's crazy to me. And that's what really hit me as I was watching the band with my second free drink. I was like, you know, all of this is just because I was nice to everybody. I mean, I, I also had the credentials to get in. I didn't talk myself in from zero. Right.

Yeah, of course. Leg up on it.

Yeah, I, I did come in with a leg up, but okay. That lots of other people showed up with legs up and didn't make it in. Like, there were definitely people that showed up and like, I heard them plead their case and it was like, crap. And I turned to the guy behind me, I'm like, we are no longer numbers one and two.

Yeah. Yeah.

And it turns out we were numbers. We were actually numbers three and four, but I thought we were numbers, like 12 and 13. You know what I mean?

Yeah, that's great.

But everybody else, you make friends with the right people.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

Yeah. And the same goes, like you said, in your business, I mean, I would love to hear. How do you use this power? How do we brand this? What term do we come up with that? We can talk about this over and over. I don't know it yet, but I'm.

Going to think about it same.

Or if you want to come up with it, feedback. Tell us your story, share your story. If you want to talk about your business, you know, send us an email and we'll talk about maybe having you on the show and share your story and help us all grow our collective business brain.

Yeah, that'd be amazing feedback. Businessbrain show is where you're going to send that. Make sure you check out gosquaredaway.com contact and shopify.com businessbrain. You have a nice weekend. I'm going to rest my voice and keep having a charmed life, folks. We'll see you next week.