Financing the Lifeblood of America with Jermane Cheathem

The one that less about the transaction is the one who always wins. And I don't care if it's a business relationship.

One who cares less about the transaction always wins. Welcome to the Next Level Income show where it's our goal to take your income, your investments and your life to the next level. I'm your host, Chris Larsen. If you haven't yet, get a copy of our book for free at our website, nextlevelincome.com. that's www.nextlevelincome.com. just click on the book link and I'll even send you a copy if you put your address in. On today's podcast, we have Jermaine Cheatham. Jermaine is coming to us from almost the other side of the world. He's a former 9 to 5 sales pro who's brokered over $50 million in finance deals and he's traveled to over 40 countries. I think the number is 49 at this point. Before discovering that success isn't freedom. Today he helps other business to business Sales professionals earn $20,000 or more a month brokering deals already happening in the rolodex through a 95% margin micro business they can run from a laptop a few hours a day. And today I'm excited to to have this conversation with Jermaine because he's going to talk about how you can grow your own business as well in a space that is helping our economy grow, too. Jermaine, welcome to the show from you're in Georgia, but not the state of Georgia. Tell us a little bit about what you're doing over there on almost the other side of the world.

Yeah, Chris, man, thanks for having me. Yeah. So I literally just landed a couple of hours ago. I was in Dubai for a few months and it's getting a little bit too warm in Dubai this time of year. So I figured I was trying to make my way over to Europe, so I wanted to come to Georgia. Never been here before, so here I am.

That's amazing. That's amazing. Now, I got to tell you, as a man with two teenage boys that are knee deep in middle and high school and sports, our travel revolves around them right now. We love to travel. We get as many places as possible. But I got to admit, I'm a little envious that you just, you travel full time. Is that right?

Yeah, typically I just get up and leave every two to three months to a new country. I was in Japan at the beginning of the year, then I made my way to Vietnam. Then I was in India, then I was in Dubai, and now here I am in Georgia. So it's just the wonders of remote businesses is great.

Yeah. Well, we're going to talk about how you've intentionally built your businesses to enable this part of your life. I'm just curious, what's your favorite country, favorite city, favorite place you've been to here over the past year or two?

That's tough, man. I've been to, I don't know, 48, 49 countries. They all unique in their own special way. Yeah, it's. It's almost impossible to pick one because there's different nuances of each country that I like in particular, and then there's obviously parts of it that maybe I don't like as much. So to pick one is not fair to all the other ones. So I can't answer that. Man.

I love it. I love it. Yeah. It's like when somebody asks me, like, oh, what's your favorite type of food? I'm like, well, it just depends on the day, depends on the season, you know, depends what I've had, have that week and that sort of thing. Well, yeah, let's get in. Let's get into how you've gone from a successful sales career to, you know, building this business that you have now, Jermaine, that you have this freedom. Because I think, you know, whether you're able to travel the world and do that or, you know, like me, able to spend more time with your kids and, you know, not miss a lacrosse game, for instance, I think our listeners really want to know the secrets to getting that time freedom. And that's what, you know, financial freedom is great, but financial freedom buys you time freedom. How did you do it?

Well, you know, sales is the ultimate vehicle for freedom. And I knew going into it, even, you know, as a kid in high school, I sold candy, I sold door to door, I sold landscaping services, I sold shoes, I sold it all because ultimately I wanted freedom. And I know the first run of freedom is financial freedom. And so the whole.

Do you mind if I pause you right there for a second? I love that you said that, because I feel the same way. And I kind of fell into sales. I was selling, I was like, I need my money. My parents didn't have a lot of money, so I was like, well, how do I get money to, you know, buy some stuff so I can be like the other kids? I sold wrapping paper door to door. I sold newspapers, you know, newspaper route and Cutco knives in college. But I didn't really have that Sales, light bulb go off until I read rich dad, poor dad, and Robert Kiyosaki said how important it is to be able to sell. You know, you, you seem to catch it at a young age. What, how did, like, when, when did that light bulb go off for you?

I wanted to buy basketball cards and I had no money, so my mom was like, well, you better get a job. And so I was like, well, do. So I just knocked on my neighbor's doors and said, hey, can I cut your yard, your lawn? You know, that's sales. That's not landscaping. That is sales. Every conversation is or, or. And you're trying to influence whatever you want to help them with in exchange for monetary compensation. And so I learned, oh, if, if my neighbor's gonna give me five bucks to cut her lawn, then the whole world is my oyster for opportunities. Because if you look at a capitalistic market in the world, in the United States, it's like sales is the, is the lifeblood of it. And so that planted the seed that, like, literally I can create whatever I want through conversations with people, the right people, especially if I'm selling a high leverage product or service. And so I always believe that if you're in sales, you're not an entrepreneur. You're shooting yourself in the foot because you're already doing 80% of the heavy lifting of any business. Because without sales, nothing happens. It's the only way businesses make money. So if you're not an entrepreneur and you're in sales, it's like, what are you doing? Like, you're doing all the hard work, you're only getting a slim cut of the margin, and you're paying up the wazoo. What are you doing? So it's like sales is like that first boot camp of freedom, and the transition from there is always entrepreneurship next.

Yeah, yeah. So if you're young and you're listening, I just got my, my, my son's 15, my older son, and we've got a car wash here in Asheville, and he's selling membership. So he's, he's an attendant. You know, he makes sure everything's working right, make sure if anybody has any questions. But he's selling memberships and we pay him on commission. So, you know, it's. I think it's amazing because it makes you, it makes you a better partner, makes you a better parent, makes you better at any job you do, you know, because if you can sell, ultimately what you're doing is learning how to communicate effectively, you know, listening, problem solving, all those things. So I know I cut you off, but I think that's such an important. That's such an important lesson. And we've had a couple sales gurus on this year, like my friend Joe. So if. If you don't know how to sell or you think, you know, there's some stigma around it, I, I highly encourage you to listen closely to Jermaine and how he, how he transitioned professional sales career to, you know, really what he's doing now.

And the thing about sales is all the gurus and all the books over complicate sales. Sales is nothing more than a conversation. That's all it is. It's literally. Yes, you make a statement, I listen to your statement, I make a statement back. There's no script. There's no. Let me try to angle it this way or that way. No, I'm trying to understand Chris's vantage point. Where is he coming from? He. Is there anything I can offer to solve any of his problems? If so, great. If not, great too. It doesn't matter. Like, the one that cares less about the transaction is the one who always wins. And I don't care if it's a.

Business relationship, one who cares less about the transaction always wins. I love. That's a.

And this is. And this is. In any relationship, like, the one that's over invested is the one without the leverage. And so sales is no more than like, hey, I have a thing. You might want it. Let's talk about it.

That's it. Yeah. No, that's beautiful. That's. I love it. I love it. So there's your sales course right there. There's your sales course. Right? Yeah, listen. And that's what, you know, I would with my reps, I train them. You know, we go in. I work with surgeons, Jermaine. So we go in to meet with a surgeon and the rep's like, well, what. What product are we talking about today? I'm like, there's no product. They're like, how. What do you mean, there's no product? I'm like, you're just there to listen to the surgeon, what his main concerns are, what his goals are. And then once you understand that, then you can say, hey, maybe there's a solution that we can provide. And it took. Takes the. Takes the customer off guard, too, because you're saying, hey, just teach me about what. What are your goals? And versus, you know, saying, hey, sell me this widget. You know, people don't want a widget. I found. Just like we were talking about people. Yeah. They say they want financial freedom, but they actually want what it's going to. To give them. And if you figure out what their why is, and if, if what you have, your service or product can give them that path there, then that's really how you provide value.

Yeah. And a lot of it just comes down to trying to get them to talk about things outside of the. The business realm or the sale.

Yeah.

Like, just get them talking because guess what? They're going to end up telling you exactly what they want from you without you even talking about your product or service. Because they're going to have an inkling about what they're gonna. Yeah, they're not gonna come out of left field with it. So let them bring it up because then they're the one chasing.

Yeah, that's a great. Yeah, you kind of. Yeah, you flip the script, as they say, right? You, you say, hey, have them ask you. And that's. Yeah, and that's, that's exactly what. What I found was when you take that approach, then they typically say, like, basically, hey, why are you here? How can you actually help me? Now, now, now they're inviting you in versus turning you down and doing that. So that's fan. That's fantastic. So talk. Let's talk about, you know, what was your, what was your sales career in germane. So you started out, obviously, selling landscaping and doing that. And I love, I love these stories, right. Of us that start out so young and then build up into a professional sales career. What did you sell professionally?

So I was selling financial services, specifically loans for commercial equipment for businesses to acquire whatever they might need, bulldozers or X ray units or what have you. And so the problem with the methodology at the industry in general is it was more of a boiler room mentality. You know, we're making 3, 300 cold calls to businesses to see if they need financing to buy commercial equipment. Right. And it's not a leveraged model because the product is leveraged, it's money. And it's lucrative because you're making a big commission on money you're loaning out. But the method of getting the people that need the loans, loans is very inefficient because you're cold calling, trying to find a needle in a haystack. And the twist came when I decided, just by happenstance, when I was talking to a client on one of the deals I was working on, he's like, yeah, man, I got more deals for you. And my light bulb went off and I realized, oh, this is the Secret is strategic partnerships. Instead of me chasing the people that needed the funding, I just started partnering with the equipment sellers and they started bringing me deal after deal after deal. And, and the, the niches are really in the riches. It's a real thing. Like, not only do you have to niche down as far as like, what you're offering to who, like, I'm not doing all different types of financial services. It's only commercial equipment, finance. Right. But then also whom. There's commercial equipment everywhere. You know, there's printing equipment, there's video production equipment, there's. There's landscaping equipment, there's whatever. There's everything. And look, just look around. There's equipment and software everywhere.

Yeah. So just, just to, just to, just to pause real quick. So, you know, small businesses, larger businesses, like you mentioned, X ray equipment. So it could be a doctor's office or, you know, diagnostic center, commercial equipment. So it could be a builder. Right, that, that's, that's leasing a piece of equipment. What other. Give us a couple other examples of equipment and types of businesses.

Oh, it could be a, it could be, it could be printing equipment, bulldozers, cranes, lifts, hoists, racks for like a tire shop. It could be office furniture shop.

Wow. Yeah.

Office furniture and computers and network service for a lawyer. It could be dental equipment at a dentist's office. I mean, if you just look around the world, a restaurant, like, anywhere you walk into, there's commercial equipment, there's lighting, there's signage. I just, I did a deal for $70,000 another day. It was for a huge sign just for the outside of their building. So, like, there's equipment and businesses need funding to get this, and it's tax deductible. So. But, but going back to the leverage point is you can't finance all types of equipment.

Yeah.

You have to pick a lane because you want that snowball effect of you, your name being associated with this particular niche of equipment as the finance guy. And so I picked medical deals only. So, so, so, so the key is, like, I was only doing medical deals and I was only getting the deals from the medical device salespeople. So I had this beautiful flywheel going. But I was still, as an employee, I was still stuck in this nine to five, going to these dumb meetings, still only getting a portion of the commissions. And so that's when I realized, okay, it's time for me to exit and start my own equipment firm as just a solopreneur. And that was really where the freedom started to fly. That was in 2016.

Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah. So you've been at, you've been at it for almost a decade now. That's phenomenal. Yeah. And I, you know, I did, I did more on the, the implant side, so we weren't really financing much stuff. But yeah, we had, we had partners in our. I worked for Medtronic, which you're probably familiar with, and, yeah, you know, CT machines, you know, you know, we're talking about hundreds, hundreds of thousands of dollars. That's a, that's a phenomenal business model. So you, you start your own business. Did you still stick to the same, the same types of, of financing products that you were selling and selling into that medical world?

Mostly still medical. My business has always been 80 medical, but I would occasionally get random deals because I had such a big network of people that I've been talking to over the years, and so they would still send me different types of deals. So medical was always kind of like that secret sauce. In 2016, I took my mom to Europe for her 60th birthday. And I'm over in Europe and I'm trying to enjoy Europe. I'm trying not to like be working. I want to enjoy Italy. And I realized I have to tighten up the business to really like make this business hum without me always being on call, always answering emails or phone calls. And so I extended the trip by another three, four weeks and just traveled throughout Europe and really tightened up the business model and the SOP so it can really run almost automatically without me doing much besides like an hour or so a day of just maintenance. Right. And that was kind of the epiphany moment where I realized there's nothing special about me. I can literally help other people start their own equipment finance in this exact model. And that's when I started to really start thinking about this, this coaching side of the business. Plus, one of my former medical device guys came. He's like, Jermaine, I'm pivoting and I want to start doing equipment financing like you. So I literally showed him exactly how to set up the business, how to get the partnerships, how to get the underwriters on, because he had in his Rolodex a couple of friends that sold other medical equipment. So he was like, I already have the, I already have the network, I already have the deal flow. I just know how to broker these deals. So he got all set up and he was, he was literally doing 100 grand overnight because he already had the network through his Rolodex. And his skill set was just, he Had a bunch of people he knew. So I was like, you know something, this is a perfect business model that people that already have the skill set in sales or have a network of people that could send them business. And now I'm just like showing them how to actually just broker these deals, which is a matter of a couple of emails. And you're making, you know, 10, 20% commissions on the financed amount. So it was kind of like a light bulb moment.

Oh, you're gonna have, you're gonna have some people that listen because we got a huge, huge continent in the medical. Medical space. So yeah, so medical, I mean, makes sense to me. I understand that. That world. So you're a matchmaker, right? You're matching like, you know, like any, any good salesperson. But what if you're not in the medical space? What other. So if people are listening, like, well, what, what else could I do if I'm, if I'm not in that. What are some big areas out there? You mentioned commercial equipment, like machinery and those sorts of things. I know there's also some real tax benefits. I know, like our tax strategy group that we work with, they help people for tax purposes, set up equipment financing. What other types of stuff are out there.

So I have a, one of my students, he loves construction. That's like one of his kind of niches. And so he does a bunch of boom trucks. The trucks that hold the, the little guys in the basket, they're like, you know, 60, $70,000. So that's like his niche because he has a couple of friends that he known, his previous job experience that could send him deals. There's so many other examples of this. I have another guy that loves surveying equipment, you know, like land surveyors. Yeah, so that's, that's his niche. Like land surveyors, restaurant equipment. I have another guy that he's actually an accountant and his niche is apparently he has like a boatload of clients that are food trucks.

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah.

You know, the food trucks are, you know, 40, 50 grand each. And so he finances the food trucks. So like if you just, if you just drive around, I always implore people, like if you're going on a sales car or whatever, drive around and just look at all the equipment that's in the economy, all that stuff. 79 of its financed, it's been.

Somebody sold it and somebody's probably financing it. You got, you're hitting both of them.

Yeah, for sure. So it's like CT scanners are great. I did software for a time, which was Great. Ultrasound machines are great. There's all different types of niches. I personally love medical for a couple simple facts. Yeah, doctors have great credit. They pay their bills because they're one track minded, they medicine. And that's kind of it. Which is beneficial because they know the roi. They just say, get it done. They're straightforward, they're direct. It makes life easier. And the sales reps are kind of the same wavelength the way I am. Like, I'm direct, I just want to get it done. And we kind of see eye to eye. So it just depends on your personality. Like, I have another guy that he does automotive shops. I'm not an automobile. I can't change my tire. I don't change my oil. It's not my cup of tea. You know, you don't have to.

You're flying around the world, man. You got, I think it sounds to me like you'd have a jet before you had a car again.

But like from a personality standpoint, it's just not my, my style. So I didn't even mesh having conversations with the tire shop guys. So you kind of have to know thyself.

Yeah, no, I love it, man. I love it. So you're, now you're teaching people. So if somebody's listening, they're like. Because I get this question all the time, Jermaine. You know, people like us, you know, they're in their 30s, 40s, and they're saying, man, I've had a conversation with one of my friends just last night. You know, he's crushing it, but it's like I'm working 80 hours a week and I don't really know how to, how to get out of this space. This sounds like something that you can, you can pick up and grow on the side that actually could be synergistic for a lot of people that are doing this with their business contacts and then ultimately, you know, create that freedom, which I'm a big fan of. Like, my wife's an architect. The first year she started working, Jermaine, we had her second son. And I did the numbers and I said, just look at this. And my wife said, what's that? It says $11,000. And she's like. I was like, that's how much we made last year with you working full, you know, and paying taxes and daycare. And she's like, 11,000. I go, yeah, but there's a negative in front of it. It cost us $11,000 for you to work, you know, versus just staying home with the kids. So she Started on the side, you know, her own business. I think it's a great way for people to kind of transition into this space. Is that what you find? I mean, do people go cold turkey like you did and just jump into this space or they kind of build up their business on the side?

They all do it on the side. Because I, I personally don't believe in working more than four hours a day on anything. Because if you're working for more than four hours a day, you're either selling the wrong product to the wrong people and you're. Or you're focusing on the wrong activities. And so, like, I'm all about leverage. And so, like, one of my students is kind of funny. He, he was a hospital. He was, he was a hospital administrator and he was like a patient experience coordinator, but he had a Rolodex of doctors that he knew.

Oh, yeah.

Oh. And so he started doing this to the doctors on the side. He was doing this for two to three hours a day after, after work. And in a matter of four or five months, he was doing $10,000 in commissions every month, Just deal after deal after deal. And he stayed at the hospital for a good two years. And even though he was making, you know, 20,000, $25,000 a month, doing this on the side actually was five times as much as what he was making at the hospital. But, you know, sometimes it's hard to, to change a tiger stripe when you're used to having a 9 to 5 job. But at least he had this ability, this plan B, in case he gets laid off, in case something happens. Like, that's like one of the worst things is like, not having any options if hits the fan and kind of his security blanket. And he just actually eventually left about eight months ago, and now he's just doing this full time. And so, yeah, so this is, this is definitely a, this is definitely a side business that can grow into a full time business, because that's ultimately the goal is like, get your feet wet, start making your first $10,000 a month, and then you can. Now you have choices, now you have options. And like, the whole point of freedom is having options.

Yeah, no, absolutely. And you know, it's. You've kind of talked through the stages, you know, you've gone through it. You talk about how you teach others to go through it. You know, I always, I would say, hey, you know, I just talked to my younger son's class about, like, how to invest. But the big thing we talked about was like, kind of what, what's the first step, what's the next step? And I said, you guys got to make some money before you can invest. So we talked about, like, what jobs they can do. So a lot, you know, most of us go out, they become a professional, they get a, they have a job, then they start their own business. And you talked about it, Jermaine. You know, and I've gone through this process. Once you have your business, it's like, well, how do you fire yourself? You know, and you teach your clients how to build that side business, how to grow that business, and ultimately, you know, turn into a real business, not just like a side gig. How can listeners find out more about your coaching program and what you do?

Yeah, so they can go to my website, creatorslearn.com because entrepreneurs or creators, we create deals out of thin air. That's where you can find everything. I have an awesome case study there. They can check out for free. It's a video case study. And hop on a call with me and kind of see if it's a good fit. The, the beautiful thing about, like we were saying Chris earlier is like, when you find the right product and it's leverageable because, for example, like one of my first jobs is I was selling shoes. There's, I was getting a salary and I was a very small commission and, you know, you sell socks or whatever. And then I started selling house paying services. Those commissions were, you know, 10 times bigger. Right. And so it's like, where is the product that has the most leverage? And so finance services as a solopreneur is like a highly leverageable business model. So if that's something that's interesting to your listeners, check out the case study for sure.

Yeah. Creatorslearn.com It'll be down here in the show notes. If you're listening on YouTube, you can click right here down below. And Jermaine, you're just came from Jordan. I'm sorry, you just came from, from Dubai. You are in Georgia now. Where are you heading to next?

I don't know. So my whole plan was when I got, when I got to Tokyo, I was like, okay, this mid January, I was like, okay, I just want to make it to Europe for the summer. So I'm making my way slowly over to Europe. I have a go to my brother's birthday party in New York in September. So I don't know. I'm thinking Spain or Greece. I don't know. I'll be here for at least a month. So I'm just playing it by ear, man.

Amazing. Amazing. Well, if you're in Europe this summer, be on the lookout for Jermaine. Jermaine, thank you so much for joining us today and check him out@creatorslearn.com hey Chris, here again. I hope you found this episode valuable. Now I have one more thing to give to you. We have a page for my coaching clients where you can get a free copy of my book as well as much more from previous guests on the show. Just check out nextlevelincome.com coaching to get a free copy of my book, audiobook, and much more. I'll send you a copy of my book and cover all the shipping costs as a thank you for listening to the podcast. Also, please like share and take just 90 seconds to give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.