Episode 157: Turn an Idea into a Reality with Francine Steadman Krulak

I'm not into that way. I mean, a little.

Please keep it in your mouth this time.

Would that be the most perverted? Oh, my God, where's the alcohol? So last. Do you want a beer? So we got beer.

That's a trick question that VCs give you.

We don't have any wine. Oh, we do have wine.

We have wine. We just have to crack it open.

So we gotta start doing that during episodes.

It's wine 30. Oh, God, I love that.

It's awesome. So last episode, we have Larry wing it on, but we're all starving, so everyone's eating lunch as we're doing the interview, which is totally, like, improper. And I get forced to ask a question because both these two are eating and they're away from their mics. And Larry.

Oh, you're forced to ask a question like.

Oh, I'm. Someone's blowing out there. Mike two. Who is that? Probably me.

I just coughed.

No, Mic two is me.

Oh, no, they're mislabeled.

You're. Guess who.

Oh, shoot. Someone's blowing out. I'll figure it out. So. So they're both looking away. I'm trying to. Everyone's trying to eat. And then Larry stops abruptly answering a question. So there's dead air. So someone's got to ask a question. So I jump to the question, like, hey, Larry. And this fish starts slipping in my mouth. And then it was like this massive fish stain on my face.

And that's what I smell now.

Yeah, that's what you smell now.

And then the two of us are laughing too much to continue to ask questions.

They left me hanging.

I can't.

Yeah, I can see the entire contents of its mouth.

Of its mouth. You just called me an it. Oh, my God. Let's get the show started.

You are listening to the Profit first podcast, episode 157. Here we go, 7 Heaven. Welcome, everyone, to the Profit first podcast. I am Christina Boldeck, your co host.

And I'm Mike McKalowitz, the other guy here. I'm the author of Profit First. You do have a copy of that book, don't you? You better have a copy of that book. You know, it's at Amazon, it's at Barnes and Nobles. It's your favorite bookstore. It's in airports in India. I know who that is. It's in airports in India. And I'm joined in studio by two people. First of all, the co host to the co host, Kelsey.

Hey, everybody.

And Francine is here. Kurt Kurlich, right?

Stedman Krulak. So close. So close. It's all right. I prefer to be Francine, like Madonna or Sherry.

I am so sorry.

Much better. Don't even worry about a nickname.

Like just Francine.

Francine. And that's it. Anything else then? I don't know you.

Well, in today's episode, we're going to be interviewing Francine and starting a really unique business. How do you get started? And how do you go profitable?

Awesome.

And other stuff, too.

What?

And other stuff too.

I know.

I'm having a hard time hearing you over the music. I'm sorry.

I'm turning the music down.

Okay, thank you.

Ever since we moved this equipment, this sounds all.

Crazy rock concert.

I know.

Anyway, you can find us on itunes. Stitcher, Tunein Radio, Google Play, any podcaster you use, and of course, profit first, podcast dot com. Mike. What have you been up to, dude?

Just eating. I was about to dig into another plantain. I am really. I eat a lot. You know, skinny guys like me eat the most food.

I know.

Unbelievable.

Cuz you're on muscle and it metabolizes faster.

Yeah. Frustrating, I guess. I don't know. Every time I go to like a buffet, some of my friends are bigger guys. They'll like, oh, give it the skinny guy. Like, just like, let him get the buffet food. Like, they. They'll serve to me and they'll avoid my friends. But then I just keep on eating, eating. And the managers of the store is like, well, who is this guy?

You're also super active.

I am super.

You were walking to Sporting.

I know.

I know.

You know?

I know. I live an hour. An hour walk from here. I didn't walk in today.

I. I took the train both ways uphill.

Was. That was so inappropriate.

I said you walk both ways.

Yes, I do. I do sometimes work both ways.

Maybe I should speak more clearly into this microphone.

No, no, no, no. That's what I've been up to. What have you been up to, Kelsey?

Well, as I was saying before and got really cut off.

Whoa.

I have book club last night and we were reading this utopian novel. It's called the Handmaid's Tale. And I loved it. But it's also kind of scary because there's some parallels to our current situation and you know how it kind of devolves.

That into a Netflix movie.

Yeah.

Or series.

Yeah, I think Hulu series.

Oh, yeah, one of those. Live streaming. Not live streaming. What am I saying?

It looks good when you've been up there.

I have been hiking. And again, yeah. You know, we Live on a ski mountain, so I might as well take advantage of it. But the ticks. I'm so tired of picking ticks off of myself and my dog, and he's white, so it's easy to find them, but it's just. It scares me.

Yeah.

So I'm trying to be careful.

Be careful. Check.

I don't want to, like, not get out there either.

Yeah. So any kind of, like, essential oils.

Or probably should, but citronella oil?

Yeah, yeah, I've heard, like, peppermint.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm just gonna roll in a candle.

They make essential oils, citronella, lavender, things like that.

They all make a little spray, supposed.

To repel them naturally.

Have you seen, Francine, that new book out called Wonder? Have you heard about this? Or the movie? Have any of you heard about this?

No, it's ringing a bell, but I don't recall.

It's the number one book on Amazon right now. It's. It's coming. It's gonna become a movie soon. It was a young boy born with a facial deformity, A severe facial deformity.

Oh, I've seen this commercial. It looks awesome.

It looks incredible.

I'm all about. I'm all over it. Wait, I'm lucky enough to have your book. Like, really.

I mean, this is improv here. Whatever I say. Of course.

Absolutely. No, don't do that, because then you'll ask me questions, and I'll feel like an idiot for not the right answer.

Just say citronella centronel or whatever.

Like the candles. Like the candles.

All right, let's get into business here. You know, we have a hotline now.

Yeah, I don't think Francine's called it.

But I'll tell you, I'm gonna be calling it.

You will be calling it. There you go.

I'm gonna put it on speed dial right now.

It's 844-87-6-7221. I'll repeat that over. 844-876-7221. That's our profit first hotline. Here's the deal, Leo. If you. Now I'm talking to our listeners, okay? If you are looking to. If you've used profit first and your business has become profitable, we want to hear the permanently profitable shout out. That's a lot of peas. Call 844-876-7221, and shout out that you're permanently profitable. Actually, we have a call, right.

Yeah, you have a queued up.

No, I didn't. I didn't queue it up. Just stall for, like, Two seconds.

Repeat that number a little slower.

Hey, Mike And Profit first team, this is Scott Mulvaney of Live the Fuel. Just want to follow up with you guys. Everything is rocking and rolling. Paying my taxes.

It's amazing.

I am profitable permanently. Thanks again for all you guys do Profit first rules. I hope we can amplify that because it's so quiet. But that's. Yeah, that was.

I love him.

That's awesome.

Scott Mulvaney.

Yeah.

Yeah. So we want to hear from you. Are you now permanently profitable? Are you taking your profit first? If so, call 844-876-87221. I tried to roll that up so fast. 844-876-7221. And share it. You know, we got sponsors that make the show possibility. They heard about you, Francine. Like, oh, we're in going to sponsor the show. You know who they are? Do you know any of our sponsors?

I would say Zero might be one of them. They actually.

We just lost them.

Okay.

Okay, Wait.

So your T shirt is outdated. I apologize. I know you have a payroll company that's one of your sponsors.

Yeah. Net payroll.

Yes, payroll. And another funding.

Yes. Fundera or fund box. Would you. Either one. And next Diva and receipt bank. So we want to thank all of them. 0 finally officially ended their sponsorship with us. So as my final homage, I'm some.

People to sponsor me now.

Their shirt today, you know. Yeah, the Buddha.

They could have zero booths.

There you go.

Zero feelings. Zero your senses.

It's not working. It's not working. So we'll tell you more about those folks in a minute. Oh, and by the way, one more thing. Make sure you tune in to American Express's Turning Points. I'm hosting that new show with American Express. So you can go to any podcaster, type in turning points, download the show. Her name is Francine Stedman. Kac.

Kak Kac. Again, just Francine. Francine works well enough.

No, it doesn't.

Okay.

For Francine Stedman Kac.

Yes.

Okay. Francine is an innovation lifestyle guru or guru. Her aha moment to create Buddha booths came to her like a lightning bolt after days of sensory overload and sleep deprivation. Sounds like a mother. Do you have kids?

I do. I have three.

Sensory overload and sleep deprivation.

It wasn't even their fault.

Working a taxing job on the road. A taxing job? What kind of job was it?

So I was working for a friend doing customized monogramming and embroidery on sites for backstage events and sporting events and things like that where we were Customizing the gear for people. And some of those days and nights were really long and really loud.

And then so I recently went to a conference held by Julia Pimsleur.

Pimsleur, yes.

And the Million Women, Million Dollar Women Summit. Okay, thank you. And so, first of all, I'm like one of the few guys there, which instantly puts a creep factor on me.

Wait, but you were invited, so that's okay.

Yeah, but people don't know that, Right? So it's like, who's the perv? And I'm like, oh. So I. Whenever this happens, like, just go to one of the corner areas. So I was kind of going toward the back, and we run into each other. Francine and I run into each other. And now I'm like, oh, my God. She probably thinks I'm some kind of perv. I'm like, hey, what are you doing? And she has like this big booth next to her that's in the shape. What was that shape?

It's a lotus petal.

A lotus petal? And I'm like, what is this thing? And I start hearing the most fascinating story. I think of my life. What is this product you've developed? It's amazing.

So Buddha booth is a quiet, safe space to just be. And by the nature of the. The shape and the materials we use, it is virtually soundproof, and it alleviates your senses. Wow.

Okay. And especially at a conference where it's super intense, everyone's networking. What a great escape. Do people actually use at conferences? I felt intimidated. You're like, I'll go in. And I'm like, really?

Yeah. So in some environments, it's more of a novelty than a necessity. But what I find is that it's. It's worth it to show up every time. Like, meeting you. That was fantastic. To provide it for people who actually do need it, whether they're having an anxious moment, a breastfeeding mother, even someone else to make a private phone call. You know, there's a lot of uses for it, even in the short term environment where, again, it could be perceived as a novelty, not a necessity. But it's a way to engage people and let them know that we're there.

So I've seen. I've been in airports now, and I've seen these breastfeeding like they're mama va. Okay, so there are these massive boxes.

Yes.

Is it. That's. Are 10 women going there breastfeeding at once?

Like, no, they make it big enough that you can bring your other children in. And there's electrical Hookups. So there's a bench and the table and things like that. So I love what they're doing. I think it's really important to provide women that space. But I also feel that it targets a very, very narrow demographic.

Right?

Yeah.

Sort of a, you know, maybe a two year window of a child bearing woman who happens to be breastfeeding.

Right?

Yeah, yeah. Interesting. So your product applies to people that want to kind of get out of the sensory overload of a conference, for example. It applies to situations like breastfeeding women. And is there other scenarios that this product applies?

So actually my target markets are really corporate environments who have wellness initiatives and budgets to pay for.

I like that.

And educational institutions. We are having fantastic feedback. Working with some New York City schools right now. And the students, in their own words, like, just. It's unbelievable. I mean, to really watch and hear what's going on for them to have that quiet, safe space.

Cool.

And that's with no curtains.

What do you mean no curtains?

So we have curtains on the units in most indoor spaces. But I decided that in the school that it would be something that would be something to fidget with or something to pull and, you know, any kind of, you know, something that might interfere with the actual experience. And so caregivers can go in there with a child, the child can go in alone, the staff can use it and just a few minutes can make such a difference.

Do you teach them like meditation techniques or breathwork techniques?

I don't do a lot of the teaching myself, so most of the places where I'm working have people on site who do that. Or I have a number of associates I work with who train different modalities. So it could be a Zen meditation or Vedic or just stress management or breath work. So there's so many different modalities that I kind of like to leave it to the people who specialize in that right now.

So let's get started. How do you come up with an idea like this? It's such a novel idea.

So like I said before, sort of massive pain point, sensory overload drove me to a place where I literally just exclaimed, I needed a frickin Buddha booth.

Like in your house. Your own house?

No, I just. No, because I was coming from these events and heading to another one and in the car for 12 hours and I realized this is what I needed. But then I started looking for them and there was no such thing. So I decided, I cleared my schedule for a week. I meditated. I read some great entrepreneur books and decided that this was my calling and I needed to make this happen.

Oh, how cool.

Now, if I remember your story correctly, you got divorced prior to starting this business.

Correct.

And this is your sole source of income?

Yes, it is.

Okay.

With the exception of a little support, obviously. I have children and.

Okay, so you. Okay, so you have some financial support for your family. Yes, but your income.

I have quit my four other jobs. Put it that way.

That takes, as Larry Wing would say, a big pair. I mean, wow.

So I jumped without the parachute.

Yeah. How long. How long ago did you make the jump?

Probably six months. I've really been focusing on this full time.

Okay, so six months ago. So we're recording this in June. So it's right around the new year.

Yes.

You went all in on this.

Yeah.

Were you hesitant or did you just do it?

Well, I realized that I was putting so much of my time and energy into other people's businesses and treating their business like I would treat my own and putting my heart and soul into it to help other people grow, doing business development and some of these events. And I decided that if I put that same amount of energy into my own business, I would eventually make some money. And so it's been really, really tough. I'm a little upside down and, you know, I know you. You have all of the philosophies about the credit cards and you know, every entrepreneur ends and ends up in that place. And that's essentially how I've been able to do it. And I keep my expenses at minimal, minimal, minimal. I'm very frugal and I am fortunate enough to be part of the center for Social Innovation in Manhattan.

Okay, what's that?

And it is a co working community where you have to be doing something socially impactful to be part of it. You have to apply and, you know, everybody has to have a cause. So there's I think 400 and some odd members, but about 200 companies. And I am part of the Women's Lab, which they founded, and someone of the founding 40 there. And the resources are just unbelievable. Like you could never buy the experiences and the connections that come out of there.

What does it afford you?

So it affords me a community, for starters. And it's a really cool one. And we're in the Sterrett Lehigh building, which is one of the largest in Manhattan. You know, it's larger than the Empire State Building. So our. Our landlord, operations manager Mitch, he's amazing and has let me, you know, kind of put the boot with lobby and in the hallways and you know, so, you know, with 6,000 people in the building, I've had a little bit of exposure. And we have some of the largest creative companies there. Martha Stewart's there, and Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger and Homeland Security. We got all kinds of people there.

So it's a big companies, they don't need to be incubated.

No, no, no. So csi, our little place is inside this building. So we are sort of the heartbeat of the building.

I see.

So all of the. So today when I was there, Doctors Without Borders did their general assembly there.

Wow.

So we have opportunities to meet people who are coming in out of the space to rent the space. That's how I got hooked up with Johnson and Johnson and Gensler and some really amazing companies who are now, you know, supporting me and using my products.

So, okay, so six months ago, you start. How many Buddha boxes do you make, Booth?

You know what?

I don't care what you call it, because frankly, we've actually changed the name for our schools and corporate environments. We call them Clarity Capsules.

Oh, nice.

So smart. The rest. And recharge Booth. The RR Booth.

So smart. I presume if I hear Buddha Booth at my school.

And it's not even that it's a religious per se, but the people that I've encountered, decision makers and such are. Everyone loves it. They think it's really great, except for they're afraid somebody else might have a problem with it. And the shape being a lotus petal and the name, you know, it's like there's the associations and it can provoke prejudices. So we've actually redesigned the units and we have a more, you know, an oval unit, we have an obelisk unit. Things a little more conservative that wouldn't, you know, put any kind of judgment anywhere on somebody. And, you know, I, again, very neutral on the name. Buddha Booth is my company. The product can be whatever you want it to be. It could be the profit booth.

That's smart. It has to alliterate. We got to think about that.

It's the Profit Pod.

Profit pod.

There you go. We had a Profit Pod podcast.

So, okay, so you start out six months ago. How many booths do you have?

So I started a little over a year ago, and we've got a couple of dozen out there right now.

So you've 25 or so.

Right.

Really? How much does it cost to make one of these?

Am I allowed to say?

Are you?

I don't want to divulge all my secrets.

You don't have to. If you don't feel comfortable, but everyone wants to know.

So right now our costs are about fifteen hundred dollars.

Fifteen hundo to make one, right? You got to store these things.

Yes.

How much does that cost or how do you do it? Is it your house?

Your house connection of all these? I have some storage space. You know, they move around the building where I am. They're rented out. I've got some out on long term rentals.

Okay.

Both in homes, offices, schools and. And then I have some in storage.

Okay.

And mostly because I have to do events, you know, when I show up somewhere, you know, pull them out of storage, go do some events.

And you pay for that, right?

This I do. And minimal. It's minimal. It's a few hundred dollars a month.

Okay. What do you rent them out for?

It varies. So corporate rentals, you know, six months, 200 bucks a week.

Oh, that's pretty reasonable for them. So six months, that's 24 weeks. So for 5,000 bucks. Okay, 5,000 bucks. What do you else you bill? I'm just trying to.

So for events we charge $500 a day.

Okay.

Plus delivery. And you know, I'm at a point where I've done so many marketing events, we're doing the air quote here. Marketing events. That.

And does a marketing event mean you get paid? Squatola, basically.

Oftentimes they'll cover the cost. But the advantage is that I don't generally ever. Well, in fact, I've never had to pay to be somewhere. Oh, nice, you know, that's good. Most exhibitors have to pay to be places. I've not had to do that.

Do these marketing events, air quotes, does it really market you? Does it help?

I think it helps a lot, actually. Well, clearly I met you. I was there for the summit. But you know, I brought that Buddha booth into Microsoft. That was pretty cool.

Yeah, that was.

I could say I was in Microsoft.

That's true.

And the same with Google. You know, I did a couple of events at Google.

Oh, so it really builds your resume too.

Totally. I mean I can all my partners in calm now. I've been in NYU and I've been. And I did the Green Festival recently, the week before last at the Javits center. And that was amazing. There were probably, I don't know, 10,000 people in attendance. And we actually won the Green Dream Award.

Oh, wow.

Congratulations.

Totally unexpected.

That's awesome.

Yeah, the Green Dream Award. I didn't know what it was either.

Did you get a trophy or something?

Actually I get to work with an accelerator Program.

Oh, nice.

Accelerator with who?

So expert dojo.

Okay. I know Accelerate programs.

Right. So they're, they're based in Santa Monica and I haven't actually managed to get all my paperwork filled out, but in the next week or so, you know, they pretty much help you what you, you know, with your branding and your, your sales strategies and your, you know, pretty much everything you need to be a successful entrepreneur.

Okay.

And it's a four month program.

So what's your revenue look like now?

It's getting there. Let's just say I have some receivables, which is nice. Okay. And I'm working on, you know, I was thrilled to listen to your book and you know, start looking at things from a whole fresh perspective of making sure that profit is there.

Okay. Are you making money? Are you taking home money for you now?

No, I'm still funding it.

Okay, you're still funding it?

Oh yeah, I'm still funding it. And it looks like things are finally starting to shift. I'm starting to generate some revenue and you know, I kind of always feel like I'm a non profit because I spent 25 years giving all my time away and I want to keep doing it, but, but I can't.

But you got to live off this.

Do you? And so I'm committed now to doing that.

Do you have a number picked out saying I need to, for my family, I need to make this kind of income. Do you know that number?

I believe by next year I need to be making six figures on my own with this. Yeah.

Okay, so what has to happen for you to get there? And by the way, I'm joining with these questions because everyone listening has their own business that there's at some stage in and they need to know these answers too. So I'm curious how you're thinking about them.

So I'm thinking about in a broad range and I don't have a background with the numbers and have spent numerous hours with my financial advisor who's amazing. And you know, we've got spreadsheets and projections and all of these things and what's been going on for me is trying to figure out our actual business model and best revenue stream. So going from the idea of sales where I was telling people they were $10,000, which they kind of thought it was great, but they didn't buy any because I had advisors telling me I needed to sell them for 10,000 dol. $10,000 because they were this luxury product. And I felt so uncomfortable. So I went, you know, pretty much the first year with no sales.

Yeah.

But you're trying to sell the unit.

To sell them.

Right.

And then I decided that, you know, rentals were probably the way to go. And event rentals are fine. I do plenty of those.

Right.

And then the longer term rentals and it takes people a while to commit as, you know, and a new product, a new business, and having some of those issues of closing a deal, you know, feeling like I'm just happy. People love it, you know, like, oh, great, I can change your life. I'm so happ.

Yeah, but at a certain point, you're not going to have enough money.

Right. And I hit that place.

Yeah.

So I'm now in that. That committed place of generating revenue, taking a profit and having this be my livelihood.

Yeah, yeah. Okay.

That's my goal.

You got to make that happen.

Yeah.

And you want it, you need to make six figures within a year.

Right.

And to do that, how many more of these do you be renting out? Or is it simply cutting costs? I mean, if you can get.

Well, I can't cut costs anymore because they're pretty much. I mean, I built this business. Are you building yourself by the. No, no, no. I have carpenters, but I do a lot of the finishing myself. I've done the upholstery and painting and crazy stuff like that. And oftentimes I'll work with the Bowery Mission to do the curtains or work with other people to kind of help with some of the finishing stuff or hire someone to redo, refurbish them, repaint them or whatever. But I've really been so fortunate to build this business on virtually nothing. Most of the people who have worked with me have nothing. Not ever. Invoice me not expected payment. There are a few people who I definitely plan to take care of as soon as the money really starts flowing. But I've really built this off the kindness of others. They're believing in the product and believing in me.

I gotcha. Which is powerful. That's the way to start a business, to keep the costs low. But you can only cut costs so.

The costs can't be cut, although they can for production. Okay, so that's where we're working right now. We're actually. I have a meeting next week with a company who should be able to produce them for us so I don't have to piecemeal them and figure out how to do them myself. And it's a company, actually that trains previously incarcerated to make furniture. And they're working with some of the Top furniture companies right now building great stuff out of some reclaimed furniture and wood. They repurpose things.

See, that's out of the box thinking.

But again, that goes into my being at the center for Social Innovation. My, you know, sort of my mission would be to take my for profit company and fund my nonprofit soul work, which is, you know, but partnering with other nonprofits to. Which is how I often get, you know, invited to some of the events. We did the HR conference in Vegas. There's an organization called GW4W, which is global Women for well Being. They're an unbelievable organization and we've partnered with them. I've partnered with Project Liberation and Autism Speaks because these are ways that I can help people and give back and they feel supported and I feel like I'm doing good stuff.

How do you convince someone to rent your product? I mean, you need more sales. How have you done it in the past?

Essentially there's like a leg time, right. So you meet somebody, they think it's great, but then they get busy and then they reach back out and a month or two and a couple months go by and they're like, oh my gosh. In fact, I got an email today from a hedge fund company. I met the founder at the next web conference last November and they would like to buy three of them.

Buy three?

Yes. And I'm like, yeah, okay, I'll call them back after this.

Can we call them live on the air? That'd be fun.

You're like, no, wait a minute.

I'm supposed to up my sales skills.

So, so that's cool.

So, so, so it takes a while. So I've, I've just recently, you know, implemented some of these in some other companies and like I said, with some private homes and stuff.

So it's, I've seen businesses, this isn't necessarily a suggestion, but it's an opportunity. They sell the product and then they sell a service maintenance contract.

Yes. And that's. So let's go back a minute because I know I'm having trouble answering some of your questions with these tangents, but the business model, what I was doing is sort of shifting around sales versus rentals. Short term, long term, those kinds of things. And what I realized is there was a log nightmare of doing long term rentals outside of New York or la, because I have to ship them back.

Yes.

So I've really just focused on New York and la. And you know, we've modified the design and we should be able to produce a more portable, you know, version soon. But it's, it kind of plays into really. The revenue is so much better with long term rentals. You know, my return on investment is pretty quick and I can just keep generating revenue off a product that's already there. So the maintenance is minimal. And part of my goal and agreement with people who have them, if they're renting them, is that they're responsible for making sure they're vacuumed and clean and stuff. And of the thousands and thousands and thousands of people literally that have experienced the voodoo booth in some way in an event or in their home, I've never had an instance of vandalism or the worst. That would be like maybe somebody pulled the curtains down. But I've never had any issues. And it's so amazing.

Yeah, it always stays that way.

Yeah, People are really respectful. They really are. I mean, I think it, it just, it feels like a sacred space to them and they really take care of it.

Interesting.

It's a good demographic because the people that you're reaching towards are the people that need that moment of relief. They're not going in there to, to mess with you.

Exactly.

They want to get it in their own head.

Exactly.

Or out of their own head, I should say.

Yeah.

So, okay, so what, what are your plans to increase revenue? You're going to spread more units? Are you going to introduce new services?

I'd like to rent out more units that, you know, the ones I have that are in storage for starters. And as I am actually working on a crowdfunding campaign right now to launch that. And then I'll shift my focus back to monetizing the units that I have crowdfunding for.

What you said the ones in storage. I don't understand.

Yeah. So we need to figure out a way there's more to the business model is that's finding a way to offset the cost to provide these to the schools and the special needs communities. And by doing so, we need to form partnerships with larger companies and you know, that have wellness missions. Anything from Thrive Global to Johnson Johnson to, I don't know, even Microsoft. Right. Like quiet space brought to you by Microsoft or one of your sponsors or something like that. Because it allows for the venue, the location to provide this as an amenity to their people, whether it's coworking, whether it's schools, whether it's hospitals, even.

Yeah.

And by we're really assessing the demand as it moves on. And really because it's my company and I feel like my heartstrings and I really want to focus on Being able to provide these at a reduced rate to the places that need them.

What are the things you've tried to do to monetize it that have not worked?

I think this. I mean, the sales have been really minimal. I'll just leave it at that.

Okay. The sale mean the selling, the unit.

Selling of the units. Because I think it's a new product, people are not sure how long they might need or want it. So the rentals are working right now and in six months I hope to have another conversation to say, you know what, every unit that was out on rental was sold or re rented or released or something. But it really, like I said, it's being such a new product and company. The, the feedback's amazing. So let's hope that lasts. You know, let's hope that there's. There's a longevity and you know, like anything else, like you just don't know.

We were saying here that people speak the truth through their wallets and not their words.

Yes.

And so I'm sure you're lavished with praise.

Yep.

But if they don't open their wallets, it's not real praise.

Exactly. And that's, and that's really where I'm, you know, shifting and growing as an entrepreneur, is understanding that concept. Ye again in the beginning, just thrilled to be showing up at these VIP parties at Coachella with these booths and getting recognition and praise. And it just. There's so many things I don't know and things I don't know. I don't know. And I'm really doing so much of this from scratch without certain types of experience.

So let's look back over the last year, six months of all in on this for the folks listening too. If you were starting brand new all over again, what are the things that you would do and not do? What have you learned so far?

So I think if I was starting from scratch, I would probably look for some money first. And I know that that's probably backwards for some people. Wait on me. I mean, I have a dear friend who's an angel investor and vc and he gave me some really great advice and he's like, screw your business plan, screw your projections. Build your product and see if people like it. If people like it and they want it, then you worry about the business plan, then you worry about the money, then you worry about all that other stuff. And that's exactly what I did. I got that product out there in six months. Concept, prototype to market. Six months. And you know, it was really, it was like oh, great, this is cool. And then sort of the concept of sales didn't really hit me. And I had some advisors, like I said, that were advising me to sell them for such ridiculous amounts of money. And I didn't have the base and the foundation of a company, really. Right. I had a product, no company. And so we've had some morphing teams that have been on board and not. And so I've had times of frustration and not being able to hire people to help offset my, you know, like my lack of bandwidth. Right. And people who have the experience that I don't have.

Okay, so looking back, you would have looked for money first. And what that means is try to sell the service before you truly have it in place or.

Or really focused on, you know, sales. Like, it just didn't really occur to me. I mean, isn't that terrible? Like, I just, again, just having the. Some, you know, providing it for people, having it in great places and like, figuring out. Figuring it out later. Right. Instead of now. Like, it didn't. I didn't have the experience in that department to say, you know what, like, people pre sell products all the time. Right. So why didn't I have a video or, you know, some way to communicate what I have to the world, you know, whether they buy them, whether they fund, you know, like a GoFundMe kind of thing, you know, something like that. And so as a result, I was hesitant to make changes or to hire people. I was afraid to do anything because I was really strapped for cash.

I gotcha. So looking back, figure out the sales first. Anything else that you've learned?

Looking back, I've learned that people are really amazing and generous and kind. On my end, I think I've learned that systems are important, but to focus on them before you have a full business is kind of irrelevant.

Nice. Nice.

That's a good one.

That was a mic drop. I would tell you to drop that mic, but.

Drop the mic.

Yeah.

Stuck in your face, right? Can't really drop it, you know, and I. But I'm addressed distracted entrepreneur. Like, I get sucked up in that concept of setting up the systems and doing the foundation and like, in the meantime, no, I should. My ass should be out there selling, you know, collecting money. That's the deal. So I can find this business. It's been tough. Like, I'm fantastic bringing people in the door. I'm like, again, thrilled. Like people wanted. And oftentimes for me, it's like that. Ask for the money. Like that. Ask for the commitment that okay. That will cost you $1,200 for the weekend if you want it for two days. So it's hard because, again, I come from a place of volunteering and wanting to give it all away. So it's been a real challenge for me to shift to that mindset, but I'm definitely there. I now say no every week to people who are like, oh, we have this nonprofit and we're doing this event, and can you come? Bring the booth. It'd be so amazing. It'd be such a great marketing opportunity. There'll be celebrities. And I'm like, I'm sorry, I just can't do that anymore. I have so much in the pipeline right now and so many warm leads that I just can't follow up on them all. Very smart, which is why I'm focusing on closing those deals.

Do you ever get pushback from your family? Your kids ever go, mom?

They know. They love it. They're so proud of me. They're so proud of me. And this is really the first time, the last time. Year and a half. Two is really the last year that I've ever worked full time since they were born.

And how old are your children?

14, 16 and 23.

Okay.

Yeah.

So. And they're proud of you.

Yeah.

Do you think they're learning from this?

They are learning so much. They're learning that, you know, it takes grit. Stick to it. Iveness. They're learning that, you know, the things that I'm experiencing with this business and trying to figure things out on my own, and when they see me, you know, with the power tools, fixing something, you know, and I'm like, come on, guys, you gotta learn how to do this. They really have been very supportive. I'm really fortunate. And they've, as a result, had to become a little bit more self sufficient, which they didn't have to be before.

Boys or girls mix?

I have boy, girl, boy, boy, girl, boy. Yep.

Boy, girl, boy. That's exactly what I got. Same age as, too, ironically.

Really? Oh, that's funny.

Pretty much. So that's awesome. I think the ultimate lesson that we can teach our children is through our own behaviors and actions. Do you think they're gonna be entrepreneurs too?

You took them? I was just gonna say that. Absolutely. All three of them.

Really?

Yes, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, my younger son maybe, you know, but definitely my older son, he's already there. He's been an entrepreneur since he was like, four. And my daughter, too, she just has, you know, more reserved personality.

Yeah. But she's got the entrepreneurial spirit.

She does. I mean, they all do. It's just like being able to create something. They all have creative minds and want to do it for a living. They want to create things.

And is this your. Is Buddha booth your first entrepreneurial endeavor?

It is not.

It's not. What'd you do before?

I have been an entrepreneur for the last. Okay. I don't want to count the years, but basically Since I was 14, I've been doing something on my own.

So about 10 years, right?

Yes. Thank you. I did everything from, you know, like when I was a teenager, I was like cleaning houses and offices and you know, in high school and you know, by the time, let's say a few years later, I had a coin operated game business. Made my living in quarters. I've had.

You were a drinker, like that kind of quarter.

I wish no people would plow those quarters into those silly games. And I would take the bags to the bank and I had a drive through coffee shop when I lived in Cleveland.

Okay.

And when I did time in Cleveland. When I did time in Cleveland, I have a little fabric envelope company and you know, I've always had like something there. I do healing art programs.

Wow.

And you know, I'm always doing something. But.

But this is the first one you've gone into where it's a hundred percent.

This is the first one that has to be my livelihood.

Yeah.

And that really matters to me. I mean, the other ones matter, but this one really matters. This one matters because it makes such a difference for people in their lives.

Yeah.

And I. It's my job to make sure that that happens.

I totally imagine it can. Talking to the folks listening in right now, the ones who are looking to start their business and get profitable quickly. What's the experience? You can depart or advice.

I'm going to say that being such a young company and having been exposed to. I'm going to plug Mike here, his profit first concept and way of accounting. No, seriously, it makes so much sense because I've watched so many of my friends who are entrepreneurs in different organizations and things making tons of money, millions of dollars a year, and they can't pay their taxes and they don't pay themselves and it's awful. And we work so damn hard all the time. And the concept of making sure that you have a profit and you pay yourself I think is really important. And that would be my biggest takeaway from this, is that as such a young company, I can do that now without a lot of pain. Yeah.

Okay, so here's the deal. Yo. We want to Buddha booth for our event. What? Because this is being recorded. What's it cost? 500 is what I wrote down.

500 a day. Depends where you are.

Okay.

If you're in Manhattan, it's a lot less than New Jersey. Thousand dollars.

We would like a Buddha booth for two days.

Excellent.

I commit to it on the air here. So, yeah. Two days plus delivery.

Excellent.

And just don't kill us on the delivery. Don't, don't.

I won't. You know, I'm. The problem is I'm. Again, I'm too nice. I don't even make a profit on that.

Good. That's integral. Our last guest last week was talking about the integrity of our word, so.

Yeah.

So you got our word. We're renting a Buddha booth for two days. And if you, my friends, or if you're coming to ProfitCon, you can experience Francine's Buddha booth. September 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th.

Excellent.

Yeah.

Will you be there if we get a.

As long as I'm invited, I'm there.

Totally. We'll have a fish waiting for you.

Do you eat f. I do eat fish, yes.

But you don't like plantains that much.

No, those were good. They're sweet. They're nice and syrupy. I'll have another one.

I literally ate them all.

Did you really?

The box is still sitting here all nice and pretty.

Because skinny guys eat.

Little snake.

I'm a little bit of a snake. All right, we got to. We got to do a few more things here. Oh, let me get my soundboard up here. We're going to talk about what we learned from Francine. Right. Maybe Francine can chime in because she's here in the studio. And then we're going to do a few other things. But first, we have to thank our sponsors.

Of course.

Now hit me first.

Receipts. I wanted to punch you with a thing.

Go.

There we go. Okay, who do we want to thank?

Receipt bank.

Okay. Receipt Bank. You know what they are, Francine? You ever hear of them?

Sounds like a place that collects your receipts.

Yes.

Is this something you can scan and keep track of all of your expenses? That's awesome. I love those things.

Those are great. So receipt Bank. Like any receipt you incur. You maybe got tolls here, coming here. You would just scan it into your phone. It connects with your QuickBooks or what accounting platform I have QuickBooks.

QuickBooks.

Perfect. It syncs up with your QuickBooks, reconciles it's all done for you.

Excellent. And download that today, too. I'm going to keep your. Your, your. Your 844 number on speed dial and. And. And do that the day you hit.

The numbers you want. Call that number. Scream it.

Absolutely. I will. I will. But I do have a question.

Yeah.

You just mentioned scanning the receipt from the easy pass. You know, everybody's cashless. Totally. They don't give you receipts anymore. It's like, touche.

If you use an easy pass.

Just cena.

I was driving. I had this monster drive. I've been. Last week, I was bitching. I had Monster drive in the Pennsylvania.

For the 16th time. I heard.

It just.

Not everyone takes easy pass.

I know.

So you have to go to the cash lanes.

Do they still have them? They just changed. Like the rfk, the Triborough Bridge.

They just went cashless.

Toll. Like you can't do anything. It's in the mail or nothing. You know, Easy pass.

All right. Punch one more time. All right. Who else do we have?

Nextiva.

Oh, my God. Nextiva. You know, nextiva is our voiceover IP phone system. Francine.

Really?

Y.

That's so awesome. So you don't need a landline.

That's right.

Right, right.

This is all over the Internet, and it's very affordable. And they are giving away a free phone system at Profcon, our event, to one. One business there.

Nice.

Five phones, unlimited use for life. That probably. I don't know what they charge for that normally. Thousands. A thousand a year. So it's worth thousands. Yeah. So maybe you can win it.

I'll enter. I'll enter.

Well, wait till you see how you enter. You may, you know, like. Oh, okay. I don't know. Do you know how we're doing that? Right?

Yeah.

Yeah. We're actually raising money for a good charity. So.

Yeah.

Who else do we got?

Fundbox.

Oh, why wasn't the button there? It goes.

Anticlimactus.

That was horrible. Fundbox, that's a cash flow accelerator. You know you have clients that don't pay you quickly, right?

Yes.

Do you know you can call Fundbox. They'll just give you the money up immediately.

Oh, I heard that. You. Actually, I heard it on your podcast. I keep hearing about that thing over and over again. Fun box business.

Yeah. Fundbox will give you all the money, 100% of it up front. Now, you do have to return the money, of course, when the client pays you, plus a small interest fee. But if you really need cash, it's a good choice.

Is it better than using a Credit.

Card by far cheaper, better.

Oh, I like that idea. Yeah. All right.

Yeah, yeah. We have many clients making a note. Okay, who else we got?

Fundera.

Yes. I don't know. I keep punching horrible. Fundera is a one stop shop for loans. You know, if you want to make more Buddha booths, you can go to Fundera, go online, you type in what you're looking to do, how much money you think you need. They will then shop it for you and usually within 24 hours, come back with multiple options. Then they call you and say, even though the options may be the lowest interest rate, here's the things you may want to avoid. Here's one that you may want to consider, and they walk you through it.

Very cool.

Yeah. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Is that everybody?

Yeah.

I hurt my back, you know, today.

What did you do?

I was plantains.

Because you were driving fish so many hours.

Thank you very much.

No, I was. I was doing what's called good mornings. You. You take your weights, you put it down, and you just keep standing up straight.

And I feel like deadlifts.

Like a deadlift, but just for your back. I did too much and I can feel it right now.

Oh, yeah.

That's what everyone didn't know that he.

Wants us to know he was working out.

I know.

Really?

I was trying to impress you.

But the outfit today, you know, the outfit didn't. Got it.

I know. This is a horrible outfit. I totally wanted to dress up for you. I totally wanted to impress you.

You know, people do what they really want. Clearly you didn't want to.

I just. I'm ill prepared. I'm ill prepared.

Talkers and there's doers. Talkers and doers.

Bullshitters. All right, what else we got? Anything else there, chiefy?

No.

Okay, then let's start wrapping things up here.

Oh, yeah, I meant like, oh, let's.

Go quickly here because we're starting to run out of time. What do we got? Why don't you start that?

Okay.

We are.

Oh, man. I don't know. I'm so, like, inspired after hearing all of this. And I think, yeah, just know your worth, you know, like, know that what you're doing is for a good cause and don't sell yourself short. That. That's my big word.

Thank you. Because that. Exactly. I had to pound that into my head. Yeah.

Yeah.

What about you, Kels?

I just appreciate that you follow your heart and I really enjoy learning about the journey that it's taken you. And I think big picture already. You've met so many People that you'll carry with you forever, no matter what the outcome and the impression that it's left on your kids. I mean, that's such a ripple effect that will live on forever, and that's huge. And I love hearing that.

Thank you. Yeah, I feel that way.

So, yeah, you impressed me in many ways. The first one was renaming Buddha booth to these other ones, the clarity one that your profit pod we did right here. So smart. Because you talked about the prejudice people have and you just navigate around it.

Yeah.

Same product. Awesome. I love that you built a resume by going to these different places. So you go to Microsoft, and now it's a resume build, you know, as seen at Microsoft or whatever. Now you'll say as seen at profitcon.

Yeah, it's huge.

No, it's a great resume builder. You told us to look for the money first, meaning figure out who wants to pay for this by asking them to open their wallets prepay pre sales.

And have the courage to do that.

And have the courage. Yeah.

That's the big part.

That's the big one.

Making the ask.

Making the ask. Systems are not that important in the beginning. It's a sell, baby. And, yeah, that's what I learned. There's one other thing, but I can't read my own writing. Don't dress up.

You learned that you need to dress up? Yes, exactly.

All right, now we got your back.

And roll.

There we go.

All right. Am I talking or you.

You're talking. You go.

Don't you say, find out more about my takeaway.

I just say real quick.

I mean, seriously, I just take away that you're super cool and I love being here, so thank you. My takeaways come this and your.

Your book, and we want to know your takeaways. So go to itunes, stitcher, wherever you're listening to us. Leave us a little.

Oh, God.

What the hell is that?

I got, like, caught up on my own animal.

I was choked.

Anyway, we want to know what you think, so go to proffers podcast.com and you can go to profitfirstprofessionals.com.

Why? Why? Because this is where. This is where it happens. I mean, up there with the Buddha boost is Profit First Professionals. Like, we're. We should have got that Go Green award or whatever you got. Green Innovator award. We deserve that.

There's a PFP in my workspace. I found her. She was. We connected on Facebook the other day. Christine Rico. We've met, but I didn't know what she did until I was Passing through Facebook the other day and saw that she was a Profit First Professionals. I'm like, I am hunting her down.

She is amazing. Are you working with her?

Not yet. I'm gonna find her later today.

Okay. Okay. Christine Rico's amazing.

Yeah, she's wonderful.

We've 100. 150. It's legit, right this morning. 150. Profit first professionals. These are accountants, bookkeepers, and coaches throughout the globe, quite frankly, from all the way from New York City to London to New Zealand. New Zealand.

What about in South Africa? Your books there. Don't you have your people?

Yeah, it's a good point. No, but we're in Africa. South Africa. We're in Nigeria.

Yes.

No, no. Maybe we're in Angola.

Goal. 150 members. And here, here's the deal.

These are people in Mingle.

Bookkeepers and coaches who've become certified in the Profit first method. We've taught them. Our little team here of 10 people have trained them in profit first. They implement profit first in their own business, and then they teach you how to become more profitable than ever before. It's based upon the Profit first principles, but they're like an accountant or bookkeeper coach. To actually delve into your specific business needs and drive profitability. Here's what you need to do right now. Now go to Profit First Professionals dot com. That's step one. Step two, click on the Find button. Then fill out the little form so we can get the best qualified Profit first professional for you. Maybe it's Christine Rico. And then we'll send them your way. That's all you need to do. So do it. Oh, actually, let me play something else that's more appropriate about you. Here. Here's how you do it.

Do it.

Couldn't anticipate that.

You didn't anticipate that, did you? So just do it. I love this guy. Make your dreams come true.

Yes.

Nothing is impossible.

We didn't have time for Francine's takeaway, but.

Thanks, Mike. Yes, you can.

That's funny.

Priorities.

Priorities. All right, y' all, let's get out of here. Okay?

Okay.

Bye.

Bye. Thank you, Sam.