How to Negotiate a Deal on Shark Tank with Billy Blanks Jr.

Welcome to the American Negotiation Institute's podcast, where we will teach you the skills you need to get more out of life. And now your host, Kwame Christian.

Hello and welcome to our next episode of Negotiation for Entrepreneurs. My name is Kwame Christian and I am a business lawyer and I am passionate about teaching entrepreneurs like you and how to negotiate and get better deals for your business. So I want to start off first by giving you all an update. So first I want to say give a shout out to all of the listeners. We have had almost 700 downloads and we've been listened to in every continent except Antarctica. So thank you for the support. That's pretty cool. And because of your support, we were recognized by itunes as one of the new up and coming business podcasts on itunes. So we were listed on the new and noteworthy list this week. So that's pretty cool. Thank you very much for getting us there. Next, I want to say thanks for the feedback. So the audio wasn't that great in the first three episodes or so, and so I took that feedback to heart and bought a new mic and worked on my editing skills. So thank you for that. Also, one of my friends told me, reached out and said that I sounded a little bit scripted. And so I am. I'm going to ease up on heavily editing to try and make myself sound perfect, because I'm not perfect. So that has two benefits. Hopefully this will make the podcast a little bit more fun, and second, it will make editing on my. My end a lot easier when it comes to chopping it up. So, yeah, we're going to see how this goes. Lastly, let's just jump right into this episode, chatting about what's. What's next here. I'm really pumped about this episode because we are interviewing someone who is living out every entrepreneur's dream, and that is to get a deal on Shark Tank. I know that's my deal. That's my dream, so I'm assuming it's everybody else's. But regardless, our interview today is with Billy Blanks Jr. And he was able to get a deal with Daymond John and Mark Cuban, and now his business is flourishing. So in this interview, there are a couple things I want to point out as far as negotiation goes. So Billy wasn't always comfortable negotiating for his business, and he offers you some great insight on how to take that first step as an entrepreneur, getting better deals for your business. The second thing is I want you to pay attention to how he's able to use creativity to get more value out of his deals. And, yeah, that's about it. So I think I've talked long enough, given enough of an intro. So let's go ahead and jump right into this interview. I am here with Billy Blanks Jr. I reached out to him because he was my favorite interview on Shark Tank, My favorite negotiation on Shark Tank, by far. And at Small World, we have a mutual friend, Dorian Cohen. They danced together. Dorian was on one of his CDs, so Dorian made the introduction, and here we are. So, I guess, wow, thanks for that intro. It's crazy. It's such a small world, but I just wanted to give them an opportunity to learn about you and learn about your business. I think that would be great. So if you could start off kind of talking about your entrepreneurial journey, I think that would be a good start.

Absolutely. So, you know, right now, I'll start where I'm at now, then I'll kind of rewind so that, you know, kind of the journey. But, you know, I have a dance fitness program that's called Dance it out, and it's all over the world right now and continuing to grow. I have 1,000 teachers in America, about 1,200 teachers in Japan, 100 in Taiwan. Just expanded to Germany and to Mexico, and going to continue expanding this year in all these different countries. It's been something. It's been a lifelong dream to have my own program. And the fact that it's growing, it's just an incredible thing. And on top of that, this last year, I went into a partnership with my mom and Paula Abdul. We own our own lifestyle movement fitness network called MoveTube. So I've been doing that and just really, just continuing to grow and expand my career and journey. But to rewind, it's really funny. I grew up in a fitness family. My dad's a creator of Taebo, one of the biggest fitness programs that ever came around as far as DVD sales and kind of change fitness World went. And I grew up in that family and kind of taught for him, but it wasn't what I really wanted to do. And so we kind of moved apart because my dad was not the most supportive when it came to doing something different. At the time, dance was not considered to be real fitness. It was considered to be a joke and not serious. And so my father and I kind of moved apart. And from there, I just wanted to really separate myself and show that I could do it on my own. And it was hard. It was quite hard. And having a dad with a famous last name and seemingly that I have all this money, but I actually didn't because I was working on my own and doing my own things and taking jobs to pay the bills. I was homeless with my wife at the time and had this idea of this workout. And when we started was just me teaching. And again, when you're doing that, it's like, okay, this is a big dream, but you don't know if it can actually grow. And so it slowly started to gain popularity here in Los Angeles. And people did not know at the time that I had no home. And I didn't want to make that the main story and go, hey, I'm teaching this class and I have no home. I didn't want anybody to feel bad, but I also was kind of ashamed of, of being in this position. And so I literally lived in the hotel that was connected to the gym at where I taught classes. And I would sneak through the garage so nobody would see me coming in and realize, okay, he doesn't have a car. He doesn't, you know. And so. But it was a huge lesson because when I finally revealed to my students what was going on, you know, and let them know what was happening, it was a big eye opening experience, a learning experience for me, because all of a sudden then I started to hear their stories and things people were going through. You know, they're coming to the class and they're smiling and they're giving me this wonderful energy. But I had no clue that I would have a woman in there who just got a divorce and I had a guy that was struggling. All these stories started coming out of people like, oh, my goodness, you don't realize that life is happening. Everybody's trying to get through life and they'll put on their best face and come forward and do what they have to do, but you don't realize that. And all of my students were so in shock because they were like, do you realize this class has changed our lives, not just physically but emotionally and mentally? And you're coming in here, we never would know you're going through this. And so it just was such a learning experience. And I wouldn't change anything for the world because it helped me to learn to know things. But it was a great experience, I guess, to kind of see what people were going through and to learn from them what was happening and to move from there and from there. It's crazy because I went on Shark Tank and I'd been watching the show for a while, and then I called them because I said I wanted to come on the show not knowing how they would react or respond. And I got a call right back saying, we'd love to have you come in and read for the producers. And you go in and you go to the producers, and you go, there's many different levels you have to go on. Just you get the job. And I went in, I read for the producers, and they were like, okay, we like this. And then four months went by where I was like, okay, I'm still waiting, and they're not answering me. Am I on the show? And you wait and you wait and you're like, gosh. And then they call you and go, okay, we want to bring you to the next round. And so then I went into the next round where you go in and you kind of pitch to people pretending to be the sharks, but it's not the real sharks. And so you go in and do that, and you pitch to them. And there's hundreds and hundreds of people in this soundstage that are pitching their different companies. So you're just one of a bunch of people. Again, I'm like, okay, I don't know that I'm going to get this, but I really believe in this. And I think that they could really help. Even if they don't choose to invest in me, I know I can learn from them. And that was the biggest thing that I wanted, was to learn from them. I went in there, and then another two months went by where I heard nothing, and I'm like, oh, goodness. Then finally got a call, and they were like, we think we're going to have you on the show, but we need to wait and see what's going on, and we'll give you a call back. That was the first time I went to Japan to expand the program. I was asked to go to Japan because they had kind of heard about it here. So I went to Japan, did stuff there, came back, was still waiting, and then finally they called and said, we want to have you on the show. So I was like, okay, this is great. But what people don't realize is, even when you go and you pitch on the show, if you get a deal, don't get a deal, your episode still may not air. Yeah. And you still may not make an episode. So the way that they do it is they film a bunch of different companies, and then they make episodes later on once they figure out, okay, this one will work great for this episode. This one will work great for that episode. So you're not guaranteed an episode, and you're not even guaranteed that you'll air. They Keep telling you, okay, you made it on the show, but just know we still may not air your episode. Wow. Yeah. So it's crazy. So I went on, and it was the most incredible thing. I've done TV my whole life. I'm an actor also first. And so I've done tv and I don't really get nervous. And so I wasn't really nervous until I started walking down that hallway. And then all of a sudden I was like, oh, my God, this is really happening. I've been wanting to do this for like a year, and it's happening. And so the doors opened up. They don't let you see the sharks before. Although what was so interesting was right before I walked out, Damon had walked. He was walking in to go to his seat, and he came and shook my hand. And Mark Cuban walked by and gave me a little wave. And you saw them kind of going in, and I was like, oh, my goodness, this is really happening. And so that was when they were sitting in their seats. And then all of a sudden, they put me at the end of the hallway. And they tell you when you get to the end of the hallway, it's called the stare down. They're like, stare at the sharks. But just know, don't start until we tell you to go. And so I'm like, okay, no problem. And I have my pitch all ready and I'm ready to go. And I walk down the hallway. I'm getting a little nervous, but not too much. Door is open. I see everybody. And I decided in my practicing time that I was going to look at each shark in the eye so they could see who I was. I could see who they were, and I wasn't going to get intimidated because it was important to go in there and really just look at them and show them instantly who I was. And so I walked down, I looked at each person in the eyes, really took the time. And about 15 seconds goes by where you're staring at them. And I'm like, okay, I'm ready to start this thing. And they go, keep holding. And so I'm like, okay. And so then I look at each shark kind of again, slowly down the line, and I'm like, okay, let me start, because I'm ready. And they go, keep holding. And so I'm like, oh, my goodness. And so I went from not being nervous to my mouth was shaking. I was like, I mean, it's very clever that they do that because that's intimidating. You have five people staring in your face like, what? And so I did it, and they probably held me there. It felt like three minutes. It wasn't that long. It was probably a minute, but it felt like three minutes of them just staring at me. You know what I mean? And I just went from not being nervous to literally starting my pitch and kind of forgetting what I was saying. So much so that I brought two students that had been with me for a long time. And when I went to introduce them, you can see it back when you watch my video. I went to introduce them. I totally forgot their names. I looked at them and I was like, today I brought with me. And I had this whole thing because one of the guys had never done fitness before. And my class was his first class that he took, and now he runs marathons. And I had all this stuff I was going to say about them. And I literally. Because the nerves forgot their names and turned and I went. And I have with me real people. Here's what I said. And so instantly, then the performer thing kicks into me. It's like, get this together because you're getting ready to lose this, and then you're gonna mess everything up. And I also knew I was fighting for my life at that time, going, this could change my life, and I gotta get this together. So instantly I, like, locked in and zeroed in and focused and then got my pitch together. And then everything ended up going well. Once I started dancing and I got Mark up to dance, and I got them moving in their chairs, and I was like, okay, life's okay. They can say whatever they want to me now. Cause I did my thing and I'm okay now. But that first, like, probably two minutes for me was. I thought I was gonna die.

Yeah. Wow, that is so fascinating.

And.

Because I just looked at that pitch and I remember when. When you said, I have with me real people, just normal people, I was like, that's brilliant. You know, And I meant to say.

Real everyday people, like, they. They weren't like. Because sometimes for fitness videos, they hire, like, fitness models. And so I did mean to say that, but I meant to also include their names and a little bit about their stories. And I just. That all left me.

Right, wow. Well, I mean, that was a phenomenal recovery. I guess that goes to show, like, if you're making a pitch or having a conversation, you might have what you want to say all set. But if you just. If you recover, don't get married to exactly what you want to say, you can recover well and still kill the pitch.

Yeah. You have to be able to just to ebb and flow with what's happening with the situation and what they don't show because. And just a little more about the show. So the pitch, normally on the show, it takes about 15 minutes when you watch it. And for me, they said that typically the pitches, the Q and A goes for about 30 minutes for people. Mine went for almost 50, I think four minutes. And you don't see. You don't see that on the show. And so they kind of cut up a lot of stuff that you don't see. And so kind of in my episode, what it looks like is as if I don't understand the deal. And I actually really did understand the deal. But what they don't show is me saying to them that Zumba did not like us. We were their big competitor. And so at the time, I was trying to say, because Damon kept saying, I'll do this deal with you contingent upon if Zumba says yes. And so I kept saying, okay, but Zumba doesn't like us, so will you still do the deal? Because they're going to say no, is what I kept saying to him. And they kind of cut that out. So it just looks like I don't understand the deal when he was explaining it, which I don't care, because literally, the show has just done nothing but wonders for me. And everybody's really nice other than a couple people who are like, he's a stupid idiot. I did. I got, like, probably 90% really wonderful tweets and messages and support, and I got 10% of those people that are like, you're a dummy, but I don't really care. But that's kind of how they edited. And for me, I was trying to just say to him that I really wanted to work with them, and I didn't care about the amounts they were asking for. I didn't care about any of that. But I just felt like I know Zumba was gonna say no. And I was trying to separate myself from the fact that I was trying to separate myself, separate myself from my father, but also from Zumba. And they don't show. They just don't show that portion of it. And so it just looks like I didn't understand the deal. And so when I finally said no to the deal and kind of walked away, inside, you're like, oh, my gosh, did I make the biggest mistake? But I just know it's not the right move. And I'm just walking down the hallway, and then all of a sudden, to get to the room where I have to Tell my wife at the time what was going on and say, hey, I turned down the deal. It's not happening. And then all of a sudden, Damon comes walking through the door, and they said, I made history, that no shark has ever left the tank to come and get the person. And so to have him come walk through the door, then I just burst into tears. And so did he. And we were all just there crying because it was like a thing of going, this is supposed to happen. And I instantly was like, if anybody believes in me that much, especially with the way my life went and not really having any support, I was like, I accept it. I accept this, and I'll, you know, move forward, do whatever I need to do. And then that's the story, you know? And it's crazy because he did end up calling Zumba, and Zumba said, absolutely not.

Really?

Yeah, because again, we're their competitor. That's like asking McDonald's and Burger King to become a team. You know what I mean? It's like, they wouldn't do that. And so they said, absolutely not. And Damon and Mark decided to still move forward with me anyway and work with me, which was great.

That's phenomenal.

Yeah, it was great. And then we went on a tour and started building the program around the country.

Wow, that's incredible. This is so cool to me because I'm a big time Shark Tank nerd. And that was one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about. I was like, oh, how does it feel since you didn't understand the deal? And now, see, I was fooled.

Yeah. And it's funny because, like, I don't. It's. When you do the question and answer portion, you know, they're very smart. You know, the way that they edit stuff is really smart because they do know how to kind of really make this show work. And it was. I did not understand the portion of him going, I want to work with you contingent upon Zumba. I kept going, yes, but I was trying to tell him, I know Zumba's going to say no. And I didn't know if I got that across to them. That's where it kept going back and forth. And it looked like there's just confusion here, you know what I mean? But it ended up working out. And once we all spoke, finally, because you get to then talk to them after, and once you start working with them, then from there you start to really have conversations about what's going on, and they really learn. Learn stuff about your business and you learn stuff about Them. And I've learned so much. The biggest lesson I've learned from Mark Cuban actually is or two lessons. One of them is to value myself and to know how to value myself when I'm working. And the second thing was to work smarter, not harder, because I was at a place where I was working so hard, I was running myself into the ground, just working all hours, and then instead of going, wait, no, make smarter choices, do this. That will bring in more money and really have intention with how you're working so you know what you're doing so you're not just doing stuff and then going, well, what was the purpose of that? I just wasted a day. Those are great lessons that I learned from both of Mark and Damon.

Can you go a little bit deeper into valuing yourself?

Yes, absolutely. A big example for that is when I start the program you have, whether it's friends or companies and people that will offer you different jobs and different opportunities, whether it's. For me, it would be to teach an event or to do a speaking engagement or different things. And I would always undercut myself as far as price because I didn't want to lose the opportunity. You're so busy going, okay, I'll just take this small amount of pay and I don't have the right to ask for more. And it was Damon who was like, no, you have value, and it's okay to be able to ask for something of more value, obviously, don't be ridiculous. But start to work your price up and build your price and really believe in what you're doing because you have that value. And if it's worth something, then ask for something. And so for me, then, I remember one of the first times I did a big speaking engagement, and they offered me a pretty fair amount of money. But I remember going, but I've been doing these things for a while now. Technically, when I'd done a couple of things with Damon, they were telling me different amounts that I could get or I should ask for. I remember going, okay, well, let me ask this person for it. And I remember asking for the amount in obviously a professional way, but saying the amount that I believe I should get and talking about the plane and the hotel and just kind of covering everything. And I was literally not going to press send because I was like, oh, gosh, they're going to email me back and go, no, you can't have this job. And so I pressed send. And then I sat there the whole time going, but maybe I could just go, no, I'll do it. For just this amount and dropping it down and literally just didn't even trust it. And I sat there and literally, you don't realize I was typing an email to go worry about it. I'll take the amount you offered me. As I was doing that, then I was like, no, I need to follow this and see if I can now start valuing myself and seeing if I can really do this and bring this in. And I didn't send the email. And I sat there and probably two more hours went by, and all of a sudden email back came in and went, confirmed, we accept. I was like, whoa, what? It was just a big lesson to me. And ever since then, now I know I'll definitely do things for free. I'll definitely do charity things and events and stuff like that. But I know now when things come in, I can ask for a certain amount. And if they're not willing to do it, then I just go, okay, no, thank you. It may not be worth the time. Sometimes that's okay because something will always come in to cover it. Obviously, I'm not saying don't take gigs when you need money, but I'm just saying there is a point when you start to value yourself, that then it will come and you will start getting what you deserve. And that was the thing that, for me, just, that was like an eye opening experience. Because being homeless before, I'm so in fear and thinking I just got to take everything I got to take. And that was a big lesson for me.

I think that is a great point because for entrepreneurs in general, the stuff that we produce, it's a little bit intangible. It's hard to say what our overhead is exactly for a speaking engagement or if you're a consultant. I remember for me as an attorney, when I would have business clients, I'm like, how much do I charge for this? It's really difficult. And really, that ask, that's the first step in any negotiation. You need to ask for what you want. So for you now, what do you think would be some principles that you rely on whenever you're in a situation where you have to make an ask.

So for me, I would say when I make an ask, I try to be realistic. I try to look and see what, what the budget for the event may be, what they have, what they're trying to do. Then from there I try to go, okay, so what is fair for basically what I'm doing? And then try to come up with a price. From there, if I'm traveling, I add all that stuff in and try to see what it is. I also try to calculate it because me leaving to go do something makes me have to shut down different businesses. I have here, I have the MoveTube network. I have classes here that if I'm going to leave, then I have to make a certain amount because I've got to cancel certain classes, pay other instructors to do things. So I always start there. I start with that thing of going, okay, I can do this. And, you know, there's been times where if somebody is like, I really want to have you for this event, and we don't have a huge budget, and I really know that they don't, then I'll do the event and they'll cover my travel or they'll take care of something. And I try to make care of that, you know, make sure that's taken care of. But that's kind of where I start with my ask is seeing what things, you know, what the event is, what the situation is, and what their budget may be, and kind of look at that, and then from there, look at what I have to do to make it happen, and then start building my ask from there.

Very interesting. Are there times when you would kind of go back and forth and trade things of unequal value? And what I mean by that is, so maybe it's one of those situations where they don't have a large budget, but they could offer you something that doesn't cost them very much but could be of value to you.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. There's been events where they've wanted me to be there, and they can't really pay the amount. And so they'll cover travel, but then they'll go, we'll also give you a booth where you can come and promote your business and do stuff like that. That's definitely times when you can do the trade and it works.

That's phenomenal. Yeah. A lot of times entrepreneurs miss that because we just get focused on how do I make money. But there are other things in your business that could be of value. I guess one of the keys to negotiation is creativity and thinking outside the box sometimes.

Absolutely. It's thinking outside the box and figuring out what would be. I always start with intention and go, okay, so if I'm going to do this, what does my business need to get out of it? So I'm going there for a reason, and things are being done for a reason. And so then that would be something of going, okay, well, having a booth. What's the point of having a booth? You could Have a booth and sit there all day and not sell anything. But if that's the case and you go, okay, well, I'm not going to really make a lot of sales, and I need to make connections, and I need to bring cards I need to bring. So I always try to figure out why and what I'm going to get from that and what's going to happen and then plan from there. So it's not just a thing of going, I'm going to bring all this product to a booth and sit there and not sell anything anyway. You know, it's about really planning what you're going to do to utilize that booth. And sometimes the connection is just as strong as long as you know how to take that opportunity and seize it, you know?

Right. So I guess one thing that everybody's going to want to know about is how is it working with Daymond and Mark?

So, actually, it's really, really interesting. They're both very, very great. They're both very different. Damon is more of a heart person, and Mark is more of a head person. Mark is a business person. He's down to the dollar business. But I can also say that Mark is the one that, when the show was getting ready to air, Mark actually called my dad. Mark and Damon and were like, we want to work with your son. And they wanted to kind of have him come on and just give a thumbs up. And my dad was not willing at the time. Now my dad and I have reconciled, but at the time, my dad was not willing to come on and just help me or promote in any kind of a way. And actually was kind of on the phone with Mark Cuban. Just a little disrespectful. And it was such an odd phone conversation. But it was funny because I thought, okay, well, after this, because at the time, my dad was not allowing me to use my name for trademark, and I was like, okay, now Mark's definitely not going to work with me. And it was so great, because at the time that that phone call got off, Mark got right back to me and said, I'm definitely going to invest in you. He said, because I believe in you. That was something that he may not. You know, Damon gets a lot of the credit because he was the one who came out to get me. But Mark also was the one who was like, no, I'm definitely gonna put in some. Some financial, you know, investment into you, because I believe in this, you know, and was really supportive.

Wow, that's incredible. I mean, the. That really goes to show that it's beyond business.

Yeah.

A lot of times we get into this idea that it's just like I said before, it's all about the numbers. You know, if the numbers are right, then the relationships don't matter. But they always matter.

Yeah, absolutely. The relationship always matter. And who you are does always come through because I think that's where Damon and I connected. Damon, for life, has let me know you have me for whatever. He's been so kind and so good to me too. And it is. I think the relationships are important, and that's with any business, even in the performing world. If you're easy to work with, if you're a good person, if you're reliable, consistent, they will always bring you back, you know, and that's what's important. You always want to make sure that you are true to your word. You know, I always try to be a person with integrity. And if I say I'm going to do it, I try to do it right.

Is it hard for you to work with them? Because I know Mark's in Texas and Damon's in New York.

They have huge teams, so when you start working with either one of them, you instantly get connected to their team of people. And so I actually was shocked at how much contact I did have with Mark. It's not so much phone contact, but it's more direct email contact where I would send a reporting in or something thinking that only his team is going to look at it and he would email me back right away. That was always shocking to me. Mark was somebody who, if I emailed him and he's getting thousands of emails because he has so many businesses, I was always shocked that he would get back within 10 minutes. I would get an email right back, you know, and same with Damon. Damon is a person who, if I call, he's going to pick up the phone. And so it's different. You know, they have teams of people that make sure if they are busy, they are working or doing something, you'll talk to them and they'll get stuff to them or they get stuff handled.

Have there been any instances where either Damon and Mark disagreed or you disagreed with the direction they wanted it to go? And if so, how are you able to manage that?

No, not really. There's not really been any differences with my business. It's a lot different than most other businesses they probably have because they have a lot of tangible stuff where this is more me selling myself and trying to do. And so they're more supportive and kind of let me take the Reins with it. I know certain times there's only differences I ever had with Mark Cuban was just trying to understand what portions to move forward with when he first invested. It's like, you don't know. You're like, do I go to this fitness event? Do I try to do press? Where do you stick this money into? And so those were the only things of just trying to learn what was the most important thing. And this is a new industry or not now for him, because now he has a couple of fitness companies, but it was at the time, a new area that he was looking into. So, yeah, it was nothing really difficult. They pretty much give me the reins, which is great.

That's great. Has your business plan. Have you had to pivot at all? Because I remember when you were on the show, you had a very clear plan forward. Did you have to make any changes?

Yeah, I made a few changes. So first of all, the name. So we were going through trademarking. So when I was on the show, it was called Dance With Me. And at the time, I had already filed for a trademark for the word dance it out. That's the one I wanted Dio and then trademark for that, but then also for Dance it out, which is the name of my program. And that finally came through. And so that was time after the show. And so literally, once that came through, I had to make that adjustment. So that was a changeover. And then just also, when you plan your business, you start to learn the things that work and don't work. And so building a fitness company, I started to see, okay, so part of what makes a fitness company where people want to actually do it is the hype is the excitement is people going, oh, my goodness, I have to do this. It's the most popular thing. And so starting to figure out how to promote and get those things, that was a learning process, a learning curve. Originally, when we were touring, it was like, it was me, it was my wife at the time, my son, all of us trying to get to a location to train teachers, but that cost so much money. And so at that time, that was a couple of things that we had to find the adjustments and make those adjustments to go, okay, well, if we're only making X amount of dollars or we're spending this to go do the events, this doesn't make sense. So we got to figure this out. You know what I mean? And that was a little bit of strife in my relationship at the time, but it also. It kind of came to a head. And that was something that once I figured out that that was a big change just to kind of go, okay, these are how these things should be led so we actually make some money from it. And figuring out how to bring in the dollars from that and what areas are important. And before in the fitness world, everybody always fought to make DVDs, and in this time where it's all the digital age, it's not so important to make DVDs anymore. All those things were kind of changing just as this stuff was starting to happen.

Interesting. So what do you think is next.

For me or for fitness or both? I would say definitely the digital space. That's why my mom, Paula Abdul, and myself started this network, and my business partner, Eric Shoji, we started this network called the MoveTube Network. And it's literally been. It's been life changing to me, just because it's an online channel that basically covers everything from dance, fitness, bodybuilders, Olympians, everything that makes you move physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally. There's feel good videos. There's basically everything on there. And it was something that I started going, I get. People want to be able to have the power of this in their hand. They want to be able to do it on their computer. They want to be able to stream it to Hulu or whatever it may be. That's why we started the network. It's rapidly growing. It's something that I'm very excited about. It's something that within the next year or two years, you're definitely going to hear some stuff about it because there's just such big plans with it. That's where I feel the world is going, obviously, because the DVD space is not really making anybody any money right now.

Right, that makes sense. It's funny, before we started this interview, I was on your Facebook page and I was looking at some of the inspirational videos I was getting all hyped up before.

Oh, that's awesome.

Yeah. No, the MoveTube ones, I'm assuming it was through MoveTube. It was a bunch of awesome athletes doing awesome things.

Oh, that's probably. So there's one. If you go to MoveTube, I'll send you the link so you can see it. Because on MoveTube, we have stuff where Paula, myself, and my mom, we did one for Thanksgiving where we went to a grocery market and we surprised all these different families and did a supermarket sweep where we were like, you have four minutes to run through the store and grab everything you want out of the store. So we have videos like that. We have workout Videos, instructional videos. There's one where we have these two YouTube viral pranksters who go around and they basically pull $100 out of people's hair. So people are, like, walking, and they're like, oh, something's in your hair. And they pull the money out, and the people are like, what is this? And then they actually give the people the money and the people. It's so funny to watch the reaction of people, because people aren't used to being given something, first of all. So they're like, what is this? And so, yeah, those are ones that we do just to inspire people and let people know. And then they did one where they did, like, take a homeless man to a Denver Broncos game. And that, you know, there's ones that are funny, ones that are inspirational, just different stuff to make people feel good. Because I know that fitness is not just physical. If you don't feel good and you don't want to get out of bed, then you're not gonna work out, you know? And so the whole purpose is to have this channel where people can go on and laugh and. And. And. And see something that makes them feel good and go, okay, I want to get up today. I'm gonna go do something.

That is so cool. That is so cool. Yeah, I'm definitely. When you send me that link, I'm gonna put it in the. In the description so people can check that out, because I think that would be a great resource for people.

Oh, thank you. Yeah. And I think the other thing you're talking about isn't I got hired as a resident celebrity judge for this new bodybuilding competition called nsl. It's inspire, and it's really cool. Yeah, that's actually really cool. I've been going to that, and that's been so inspiring to see these bodybuilders and how they change their bodies in a way that it's just like. It's incredible. And so I've been doing that for probably every other month, and that's the thing that came through. Daymond John and Joe Lear, his partner.

Oh, nice. So does that mean you're coming to Columbus for the Arnold next year?

I might be. Depending on what happens with this, I actually might be. Which would be awesome.

Yeah, we'll link up. That'll be awesome.

That'd be great. I would love to.

Well, thank you so much for doing this. This has been just a great experience for me, and I know the audience got a lot out of this, too.

Of course. Thank you for having me. And anytime. You know, any other questions or things, just let me know because I love to talk about it and help in any way that I can.

Alright everyone, I hope you enjoyed that interview. I know I had a blast doing it. I want you to check out Billy's MoveTube channel on YouTube. So if you go to YouTube and type in MoveTube into the search, you can see some free workouts and watch some inspirational videos. I've checked it out. It is a phenomenal resource and it's free too. So check it out if you have if you have a second. And before you go, I want to remind you that I have this free list of things that are negotiable for your business. So different expenses that you can save on by negotiating with different companies. So if you are interested in getting that free list just go to the website americannegotiationinstitute.comlist and so that is L I S T and so I'll put info for MoveTube and info for that list in the show description. So thanks again for listening. Really appreciate it. And if you have time, please rate, review and subscribe. I'd really appreciate that. So go out and get better deals for your business. And if you do, let me know. I'd love to hear the success story. And my email is in the show description. I'm looking forward to seeing you in the next podcast. I will catch you later.