Live with Steve Varsano: Ask Me Anything!

How do you make connections with more greater people or more better people, like to expand your business?

Listen, I'm an old man, okay? I've been doing this a long, long time. It's built a network over many, many years, and part of my social world also is in that world. I'm very lucky that, you know, I work and I play in the same sort of group of people.

Hey, good afternoon, Steve.

Hi, how you doing? Can you give me your name and where you're calling from?

Yes, yes, I'm Louis Setney, I'm 20 years old, I live in the Netherlands. I want to start to become a broker and I applied for a training. It's a training for jet brokers, it's from the Aviation Factory. Do you recommend training for jet broker for starting a business?

Well, sure, any kind of education, formal education, is helpful. At the end of the day though, you really have to get sort of into a real life situation. And I would say maybe a step before that, if you can't get into an aircraft brokerage business because they're not obviously as widely located as, let's say, an aircraft charter broker business, and maybe there are some charter broker companies that are in your area and you can get in the door with them, and what you do is you learn all the different types of airplanes, what the capabilities of the airplanes are, what the pricing of these airplanes are, and once you get comfortable with all that and the language that goes around it, then maybe you can go and talk to one of the aircraft sales brokerage businesses and start in there, maybe as a researcher.

Okay, okay, thank you. Thank you for the, for the answer. Uh, a follow-up question is, uh, do you recommend books before you want to start in the business? Because, uh, maintain some knowledge.

Yeah, I mean, listen, I'm not sure about books because really what you need to know is capabilities of all the different airplanes. And, you know, there are a limited number of airplanes, obviously, but, you know, to know all the details as far as the size of the airplanes, how they compare, what their use is. So if somebody says to you, you know, I need an airplane with 6 people and I need to get from this place to this place, I want to spend this much money, you have to be able to calculate that in your head very quickly, what airplanes meet those needs. Of course, we have our video walls, we can do it that way. But the fact of the matter is, is you have to be so comfortable with the answer right away, because if you're talking to, let's say, a principal or a pilot that knows the business very well, and all of a sudden you don't sound like you're confident in your answer, then they're not going to feel confident in getting your business. Giving you business. So I think what you really need to do is get so knowledgeable on what every airplane does and how one compares to the other. That really will give you the benefit of trying to get into somebody's employment. By doing the aircraft charter broker business, I think that's a good way of doing that.

How do you get good negotiation skills?

That's by negotiating. Yeah, yeah, I keep learning every day when I'm talking to these people. I mean, these are tough people and they know every trick in the book. And no matter how much I think I know, somebody tricks me some somehow in another way. But it's really, um, you try to put yourself in their shoes, try to figure out what they're trying to accomplish. Really, it sounds a little crazy, but once you do that, you know what kind of things they're trying to achieve. And then go back into your shoes and say, okay, how can I get from here to there and, and still give them what they want? Because sometimes what they want is not a big deal, and they're, you know, you're arguing over things that don't even matter. So if you have a lot of things to give away, okay, make them feel like they're getting more than what they're giving. That's a pretty good way to do it. But you really— it's never going to be 100% win on your side and a loss on their side. It has to be some give and take. And if you're just going to go for an all-out win, then nobody's going to want to do business with you.

Okay, thank you. You're well dressed, man, and have a good day.

Thank you, take care.

Bye-bye.

Hello? Steve, how are you?

Great speaking with you again.

Nice to speak. Who's this and where are you calling from?

This is Eli Babaev. We had met previously back in May on Park Avenue. I'm calling from New York.

Ah, okay. How you doing?

Good.

So I have a lot— I had a lot of questions going into this, but I'll just choose like maybe one or two.

You got 5 minutes, man. So let's go.

Yeah.

So the first one I think would be like, so your businesses operate in a global context, right? And you've dealt with many international clients and partners. Like, so what key cultural or market insights have you gained in general? And how can entrepreneurs adopt a more global mindset from day one off the bat?

That's a great question, because I'll tell you, everybody thinks that everybody does business the way you're used to doing business, and that is so not the way it goes on an international platform. So everybody in different countries thinks different way, and they negotiate different way, and sometimes you really think that they're trying to screw you, they're trying to manipulate you, they're trying to play with you. In reality, that's just the way they normally do their business. So you have to be very patient and very understanding. Believe me, a lot of times I'm not and I get very frustrated, but the fact of the matter is, is you really have to bite your tongue and sit back and think about again what they're saying and wondering why they're saying that. And then ask them to basically, you know, you have to be a little humble in your conversation with them and say, you know, normally we don't do it that way. Can you tell me why you're trying to achieve this or why you're asking for that way? And usually when they approach that way, they'll sort of come around because, you know, just sometimes they just don't know they're being difficult. They really think they're just doing their job. Also, if you're not dealing with the top person, the decision maker, okay, everybody's trying to earn a few points for their boss. So sometimes you also have to be patient for that, and sometimes they're trying to look good in front of their boss for, again, a reason that has no business sense. It's a legal point or something like that. So you really— sometimes people are negotiating just for the point of negotiating, and we have to decide, is it worth giving that point up to try to get a bigger point? And, but international negotiations is very difficult because people just don't think the same way, you know, they think in, let's say, in an American mentality. All right.

All right. And, you know, going back to your private equity background, right? Successful, like, acquisitions and exits are key, essentially. Like, what did you learn from deals that really didn't meet your expectations or didn't go as you saw them? And, like, how did these experiences shape your approach to investments or ventures that you pursued?

Well, I could say most deals don't go the way you think they will, and I think in the private equity world, it was, uh, you learn so much with every single deal that you're doing because in my eyes, I think 60-70% of every business is just business, no matter what the subject matter is, you know, what the sector is. So once you have that, you can learn maybe another 20 or 30% of it by reading a lot of the documents or papers, on different internet sites and things like that to get you up to snuff on the terminology and the market for those different things. But there's always about 10 or 15%, no matter how much you understand, is only going to be achieved by the expert who's been in that industry for a long, long time. That's where the hire of a CEO that's key for that business comes into place. So as much as you think you understand it, there's a lot of guys who come out of MBA school and they know how to look at financials, they know how to how to restructure a company if you, let's say, work for one of the, like a McKinsey or a Bain or something like that. But the reality is the real difference between a profit and a not a profit is that guy or woman who has that expertise of many, many years, who knows how to squeeze out the little piece that of things that you wouldn't think of if you just read up on the industry for 6 months. Does that make sense?

Yeah, yeah. I don't know if you have time for one more question. This is more a jet business focused.

Okay, go ahead.

I guess fractional ownership platforms and new age charter platforms as well with the new rise again in supersonic business jets, right? How do you see the new competitive landscape evolving in the next couple of years? And then where do you see the greatest untapped opportunities for the jet business to differentiate itself?

So I think supersonic and things like that, yes, that market will have a market in our industry, but I think it's going to be more of a fractional or a partnership kind of thing than the whole ownership, only because You know, one company probably doesn't have that much demand for, you know, a need for speed like that. And so I think in a part-time basis or fractional basis, it might make more sense. As far as how we're going to change ourselves, well, I mean, we're going to look at opening up a showroom in the States to expand from here, from London, because the biggest part of our market is actually in the U.S. And also, I think going forward in the next few years, you're going to start seeing a lot of these eVTOLs or these passenger-carrying drones coming around. So there might be some kind of a marketplace in that market, which I think will have a big impact on our industry in the years to come. Oh, wow.

That's really interesting. Drones flying people?

Wow.

Yeah, absolutely. They're called eVTOLs, e-V-T-O-L, which is electric vertical takeoff landing. So a VTOL is a helicopter. Now they're coming out with eVTOLs. But look it up and you'll see. It's a really up-and-coming industry. Thank you, Eli. I appreciate it. Thank you, Steve.

I really appreciate it, too.

Maybe Hopefully soon. Yes. Take care.

Take care. Bye-bye.

Hi, Steve.

Hey, how you doing? What's your name? Where are you calling from?

My name is Kafil.

I'm from—

I'm calling from London. Um, I just wanted to ask a quick question. Um, in your experience, what has been the most effective way of persuading potential customers, and where do you go to find your clients? Is it mostly inbound or outbound?

I don't know about inbound, outbound. I think it's more if we're representing buyers or sellers. And, uh, you know, we used to be just representing sellers, but as the showroom started getting much more appeal and people knew who we were, we started getting many more people coming to have us represent as a buyer. And I think that really got expedited after COVID happened because there were not a lot of airplanes available. So they actually needed us to help them find airplanes. But as far as outgoing and incoming, we have a full research department. And these guys, all they do are constantly calling people who own airplanes. And we're trying to find out if they're looking to sell their airplane or if they're moving up to other airplanes. So we're trying to do the guerrilla marketing, if you want to call it that, from the beginning, try to find out from people who are actually looking to change versus just putting out advertisements and worried about people calling us. But now, as a result of social media and a lot of our regular media that we do, and we do a lot of speeches and presentations and newspaper articles and interviews, I think the combination thing is we're getting a lot more people coming in than we're finding them going out. We have more, much more activity that we have to give our attention to people who are calling in.

Brilliant.

And just also as well, just super quick, in your experience, how have you found persuading customers and getting potential clients on board to, you know, sign the contract or whatever it may be in your— how has it been convincing people? Like, what's your tactics for going about closing potential clients?

I think thought of hard sell, that doesn't work for us. And I think what we do is we really inundate them with an education. We really try to give them information as much as possible. And there's a certain point where they get comfortable enough and they realize this is a good deal or this isn't a good deal, whether you're a buyer or seller. And once you have enough information and you're educated really what's going on in the marketplace, that's where you can actually feel much more comfortable to move forward. And, and that's really what the problem is. People sometimes, especially in our industry, they don't know the right questions to ask. And if you don't ask questions, you can't get answers. If you can't get answers, you don't want to move forward and you don't want to make a decision. So really, I think what we have found is the more information we can give people and the more educated we can get them, that they can actually move forward with a decision that sort of they're empowered to make.

Cool. Brilliant. Now that, I appreciate that. That's, that's all I really wanted to ask. And I love hearing your story and how you sold your first jet. Like, that was a crazy story.

So yeah.

Brilliant.

Thank you for— Thank you, Kafil. Appreciate the call in. How you doing?

Hey, what's going on, Steve? Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. What's your name? Where you calling from?

Hey, my name is Jack. I'm calling from Florida. And I wanted to ask you a question. I'm sorry, what'd you say?

Lucky you.

Yeah, that's right. You can see the background. But hey, Steve, I wanted to ask you a question about client relationships. I'm down here in Florida and I just started working in the financial services industry. We do financial planning and various financial product sales, and it's very much the industry of having a lifelong client relationship. And I've noticed that when you interact with clients, you strike this really good balance between being informative and consultive while also being fairly charismatic and friendly. And so I wanted to ask you about kind of how you think about finding that balance, and then also whether or not you try to think in the back of your mind about maybe whether or not becoming too friendly with a client could potentially become a disadvantage. So that's my question.

Yeah, it definitely becomes a disadvantage, especially when you want to negotiate your fee. But I think one of the most enjoyable things I actually have about building the relationships with my clients is sincerely learning about their industry, their business. And how they got to where they got. I think that is something that I actually enjoy hearing, and most of the time people actually enjoy talking about that kind of thing. So, you know, you want to learn as much as you can about the client, about their family, about their business, how they actually, you know, moved up in the industry, in the world. And once you understand a lot of that, I think you will find someplace in those conversations where there's similarities in what you're going through now, even at a much earlier stage. And maybe, you know, you reach out, ask them what they think about what you should do to this point or that point. And, you know, having that give and take, nothing to do about business, but sincerely trying to help, you know, yourself, but they're trying to actually, you know, help you by giving you some guidance. And I think by you paying attention to how they got to where they were and seeing how that connection was made, I think they will see a connection and they let their guard down a little bit because, right, you're not trying to play games with them. I, I think you can sincerely get something out of that kind of a give-and-take situation.

Certainly. And kind of as a follow-up to that, so with kind of what we're doing, we're kind of speaking to people with a net worth between maybe $1 and $5 million. So they do have somewhat of a successful background, but at the same time, a difficulty for me has been that I've kind of got that young face being that I'm in my early 20s, and I understand that you started off in private equity. So how did you kind of approach when you were in your early 20s and you were somewhat younger, speaking to people who are a lot older than you and maybe providing consultive services even though that they've had a lot more years under their belt?

Yeah, well, when I was in my 20s, man, we had a telephone. That was it. So there was no internet, there was no screens on your phone. It was, you know, and it was hard to go actually see somebody unless flew there and to see them, which we did, of course. But if you do that, they take you a little bit more seriously as well. But I think something that most of the older people, and me included, should be knowing and learning is that the younger people do have their fingers on the pulse of what's going on in the world today and how it's evolving and changing much quicker than most older people realize. And I think maybe if you sort of tell them, hey, by the way, you know, in their industry, do you hear about this and this and this or this app or this company or whatever? And I learn a lot from people who come up to me and say, wow, thank you so much, Steve. I've learned so much, you know, listening to you. I actually learn a lot from getting feedback from some of the people that are much younger than me because, you know, we are set in our ways. And we try to think we're adapting and we're changing, but you know, it is hard and you know, you can't, I can't understand the language of a coder, let's say, and I can't type anywhere fast, as fast as any young person. It just became innate in their upbringing. So I think you have to figure out maybe what industry, if there's something, somebody specific you're going to see, maybe learn a little bit about their industry and maybe what the younger people are doing in that industry to sort of change it and move it and maybe inform them in an educated way, but not in a condescending way, of course. But, you know, hey, by the way, I was reading about the industry and, you know, I heard about this, this, and this. I think that's a good way to sort of get their attention, but they should pay attention more than they do. And I think that the 20-year-olds today in any industry, in any company, are getting much more attention than they used to. I mean, before, if you weren't in your 40s, a lot of companies would probably never pay attention to you. But I think a lot more people now realize that people are getting smarter earlier in their life. They know what's going on as far as the changing environment. And I think that the younger people, if they're not being paid attention to more in different companies, those companies got big problems going forward.

Yeah, and I understand that you've utilized this, but looking back on it, do you wish— I mean, if I know that this wasn't a thing, but do you kind of wish that when you were in your early 20s you would have had the ability? And if so, would you have started a personal brand that young where you're kind of advertising your business services and answering various questions that your clients or prospective clients may have? Would you have done that earlier?

Well, yeah, if I— if they had the technology. I think in those days I had to put posters on the streets to get somebody's attention. So yeah, I mean, this is, you know, the world's changing and now you'd be able to talk to so many millions of people in 2 seconds. It's not like you need to get in an article in a newspaper or a magazine and, you know, only a certain amount of people see it. Now it's the world has changed and I think being a personal brand is important for sure.

And then one last question. I know I got 1 minute. How important do you think it is to maintain a very good physical presentation as just like kind of a consultant and a salesperson? Do you think that it really matters taking care of your attraction and how you look and dress?

Oh, there's no question about that. And I was having a conversation with some 15 kids from universities here in London yesterday. You really, you really have to make your personal brand is really out there. Okay, I mean, everybody thinks of brands like, you know, Coca-Cola, Google, or Ferrari or something like that, but you are your own personal brand. You can think of any of your friends, and any friend you think about, you right away put them in a specific spot. You know, they like going out to this kind of place, they dress like this, they're happy, they're sad, they complain, they're motivated. Everybody has their brand. You really have to make sure that brand that you want to portray is coming from deep down. You know, the people you hang around with, how you dress, all this kind of stuff, how you— if you come in the first in the morning, you leave the last at night, this is all part of a personal brand, and that is so important. And whether you think it or not, people notice it, and it goes into the back of their brain, and that's how they know you.

Man, well, great. Well, people walk around here in the United States in pajamas just about, so it's not super hard to stand out.

That's because they're all walking down the streets and, you know, smoking something else. But yeah, the world's gone a little bit crazy nowadays, but you know, you gotta adjust to it also. That's the way the world's going.

Yeah. Hey, so good talking to you, Steve. I appreciate the advice.

Thank you, Jack. Take care.

Yeah, likewise.

Hello? Hello, Steve? Yes, sir. Who's this?

How are you? This is Robert.

Hi, Robert. Where are you calling from?

From Ireland.

From Ireland?

Dublin, Ireland.

All right.

Yeah.

How are you? I'm doing good. What can I help you with?

Yeah, I just had a question. Like, so I just joined sales for the last like 6 months. I was in the construction industry and now I'm selling construction software. Basically, my question was, what would be the best like outreach to reach like, let's say, a CEO or a director of like a, you know, busy construction company or any company? What would be like, what would pique their interest? You know, I know you're like the CEO of the Jet business. So what would be like the best way to reach out to them and catch their attention, would you say?

Well, are you doing it on a local basis or are you doing it on an international basis?

European, so Ireland, UK.

So you're doing, do you actually go see the people or do you, you're on the road a lot or you do it all on the telephone?

No, mostly telephone, telephone, email.

Yeah, so I mean, listen, doing it on a telephone is really hard. I mean, I know 'cause we do it a lot here. But, you know, one thing that's helped obviously is people know who my brand is now, so it helps us get in the door a little bit. But once you get in the door, you better know your stuff or you lost that opportunity. Sometimes you have to be creative. I mean, I can give you a story. A long, long time ago in my 20s when I was trying to get a hold of some guy in his office and I just could never get through. And one day I called the assistant and I said, "Could you please tell Mr. So-and-so that this is Joe from XYZ Trucking Company, and I'm outside his house, and I want to know, does he want me to dump the horse manure in the front of his house or the back of the house?" And all of a sudden, the guy picked up the phone and, "Who is this?" I got him on the phone, but that guy actually had a bit of a laugh, and then he got a little bit upset with me, but I got him on the phone. That's one of those things where, you know, You're going to either lose the guy forever because you're a wise guy and you tricked him, or he thought that was ingenious and you really tricked him on. But sometimes what you could do is, you know, if it's a really important client, send something to them by like DHL or Federal Express or some kind of thing like that. It's an expensive way to go about it, but if you're really trying to pinpoint specific people, those kind of little extra things can really get their attention and they see you standing out. It doesn't have to be anything crazy expensive, but just something. You can even actually send a box and inside it there's just a little piece of paper saying, can I please talk to you for 5 minutes? You know, I mean, something out of the box thinking, in the box thinking on that case. But I think you have to just think differently. And if you have some unique approach, They'll appreciate that.

Sure. Sounds good. Yeah. Because I work on mostly at the moment because I'm just into sales, like small to medium-sized businesses. So it's kind of a numbers game because there's so many of them and they're so busy, you know, obviously like that'll come in handy when I'm moving up into commercial enterprise. But yeah, definitely. That's the question I have for you today.

Yeah.

I mean, listen, if you're doing small, medium, you're talking about people that are working out of their homes.

Well, let's say if they're construction companies, so the directors, the managers, like a lot of times they would actually be doing the construction themselves. They're actually on the sites themselves. So, it's hard to catch them, you know. They're not really— some of them depends on the company, you know, it could be $5 million, could be $25 million turnover. So, some of them, they're not even office-based. They're actually like, you know, doing the work themselves. So, it's hard to catch them.

In that kind of case, I think, listen, since you're doing regional, it's not international business, UK, you know, I only know it's international, but I mean, I'm talking about actually showing up. Hey, leave a message. I'm in your area. Can I come by and see you on Friday or something like that? And if you ever get a yes, then you're going to get in your car and go. But, you know, that's a way of maybe sort of letting them think you're going out of your way to go and meet them because they must get, you know, 10 of those calls a day.

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, definitely. For the Irish ones, yeah, I'll reach out, say I'm in the area, I'll drop by, you know. Give me 10 minutes of your time.

And yeah, but just say, I'm going to be there on Friday, you know, you— can I get 5 minutes, you know, for a coffee with you? Don't say, you know, if I come. Just say, I'm gonna be there. And yes, and then if they say yes, then you got to go.

Yeah, sounds good. Perfect. Yes, I'll let you know. Yeah, I enjoy the content.

Thank you very much.

Oh yeah, yeah, I enjoy watching the content and everything like that.

All right, well, good luck. Let me know if I could do anything else.

Yeah, cheers, Steve.

Take care.

Have a good one.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Hello, Steve.

How are you?

Good, and you?

Good, good. What's your name? Where are you calling from?

My name is Mayara. I'm calling from Boston, Massachusetts.

Ah, okay. Cold?

Believe it or not, but it's not cold.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, we have not been getting the snow how we used to.

Where are you from though? You're not from Boston?

No, I'm from Brazil.

Okay. Okay.

Yeah.

What can I do for you?

So yeah, I have a couple of questions, Steve. Uh, throughout your career, is there a deal that you made that when you look at back, you kind of, I shouldn't have done this way, maybe I should have done this way?

I could tell you a couple of deals that I didn't do that I wish I didn't do that way. Um, because a lot of times I have learned your ego will get you in trouble. And sometimes when I'm negotiating with somebody, somebody gets me so mad and I take it very personally, which you definitely should not, and I get upset and I say something I shouldn't have said, or I wrote them an email I shouldn't have said. And I've learned my lesson so many times that I call it a 24-hour rule, but unfortunately when you're in a conversation with somebody, you don't get a chance to have a 24-hour rule because when you get something in email and it's very, very disappointing or mean or whatever, you immediately write back on that email and I have learned to save it. Go back, you know, you can go back 24 hours, you go back in 8 hours and you read that email and you are saying you are so glad you didn't send it because what you wrote in there is so mean, so terrible, and you're sure going to lose that deal. And unfortunately, when people have a conversation, they say those kind of things. You don't realize what you say when you're in a bad situation. So I really, really have learned to calm down when people get me upset and sit back and just take it in. Don't let my ego get the advantage of me because I have definitely got myself in some trouble and lost relationships and transactions because I move too quick.

Yeah. And I think you say something I was thinking here, Steve, especially with email. It's so difficult for us to understand the feelings, how someone is expressing theirself through email. So that's something that I actually, I see myself in your shoes in this situation because email is very difficult. I think in some situations when I read something, I just pick up the phone and just call, just to kind of have the exact feeling that someone might have. I think that will be the best to do.

But it gives you a chance to think about it and how you're going to approach it. And you have that ability to sort of digest it and what kind of point you want to get across. But I'm talking about when you respond in a mean way because somebody was mean to you or something. And that's That's really the problem. And, and, you know, when you're talking to somebody face to face, you can't say, hold on, let me get back to you in 5 minutes. You know, you want to respond. But people most of the time have ego, and ego usually is one of the worst traits humans have.

Yeah, that's true, Steve. And if you could go back years ago in your career, what would you do different?

I probably would have started my own business much earlier. I've worked for some very powerful people, very successful people for a long, long time, and it was a great education. There's no question about it. I don't regret any of it, and probably I wouldn't be where I was today if I didn't have the education from those kind of people. But I would have started a little bit earlier. You know, a lot of people are so scared to do anything, and they always say, I'm going to start. I'm going to start a diet next week. I'm going to, you know, whatever. I'm going to go call this person about this job. I'm going to start working out in the gym. You know, if you're going to do it, do it now. And I think a lot of people always procrastinate and they never end up doing things. So for sure, I would have started my own business much earlier in my life.

Yeah, that's great advice because I think that's something that a lot of people think about. It looks like it's always late. But in the end, it's never too late. But I think there is some point in our life where we like, oh, we should start this before. Yeah.

I think I read somebody's comment. It wasn't mine. It was somebody who said that if the product you're trying to design does not offend anybody, then you already launched it too late. You have to launch something, whether it's you or your business or your product before it's 100% perfect. Because once you overanalyze anything, it's probably going to be too late.

Yeah, that's great advice.

So I'm not sure what you're thinking of launching, but do it now.

Yeah, I just opened my first business and my husband and I, we start to acquire small business here in Massachusetts.

Okay.

So yeah, but I just said do it now.

Do it now. Really? I mean, because you're not going to learn. Anything more from reading a book than you are from being in the business. I mean, street smarts, you can't learn street smart or business smart from a book because the books are written a long time ago and the world is changing too fast. Books can't keep up.

Yeah. Yeah, that's true.

It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you.

Nice to talk to you, Steve. Thank you so much.

Start now. Yeah.

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Take care. Bye-bye.

Hello, Mr. Varsano.

How you doing? You call me Steve, please. What's your name?

Where are you calling from?

Oh, there's a couple of you.

So I am— yeah, so actually those are my friends and colleagues. So I am basically Anand Sharma and he is Devash Patel and this is my second friend, Kritan Arora. And so we are very honored to meet you today.

Where are you calling from?

So we are— we all are from India.

Are you in India now?

Uh, yes, sir.

Okay, great. What can I do for you? What answers can I give you or try to give you?

So, so it's like, uh, we have been watching your channel and, uh, Instagram handle like for quite long, and so we are like intrigued by your like content and your personality, sir. So, so we like— so my personal question would be, so like you're in the jet aviation jet industry So, so like, uh, what— like, I wanted to know that, how do you— so what's the aspect of your connections? How do you make connections like with more greater people or more better people like to expand your business?

So I— listen, I'm an old man, okay? I've been doing this a long, long time. So it's, it's built a network, uh, over many, many years. And part of my, uh, social Ish. World also is in that world. I'm very lucky that, you know, I work and I play in the same sort of group of people. And it hasn't been planned that way, but, you know, I like being around people who I learn from and who challenge me. And so I like being with, you know, sort of positive energy, successful kind of people. And that's something that you guys should definitely know as you get older. Is that you really should have the ability to surround yourself with people who will bring you up, who have positive energy. And just by doing that, you'll get pushed to go and stretch yourself, to go meet more people, network, go to industry events, go to conferences, and get out there. You know, unfortunately, nowadays many more people are sitting there texting at home and being on the computer all the time, and you really need to get out and see people, approach people. Sometimes it's a little uncomfortable to walk up to somebody, but that's really the only way it's going to get done. People would send emails, I want to meet you. It doesn't work too much. People get so many emails every day.

All right, sure. Listen, so my question was— yes, sir. So I would be handing the chance to Mr. Devash Patel. Uh, so what do you think are the key challenges in the global sales market in today's day, and how should I plan to overcome them at the start of my journey to become a businessman?

Well, it depends what business you're talking about. What kind of business you're looking to get into?

So I, I would like any type of sales. Uh, so in India there is a very big stock market boom, there is a, uh, like a money market boom. I would, I would love to enter into finance sales.

I mean, have you been through school and have you taken courses in it?

Yeah, so I am a university student currently and I am gonna pursue my MBA from any foreign institute. I plan to do it. Currently I'm pursuing my bachelor's degree. Now I plan my master's in business administration soon enough.

Well, I think, listen, there's so much information available, you know, on YouTube and on all these different platforms. That can educate you, you know, far more than just the books in the school. And I think you should try to hear about different people who are in the industry you want to be in, people you look up to, that you'd like to work for, and watch and listen as much as you can from these kind of people just to get the buzzwords and what kind of things they look at. They usually will tell you a lot of the sort of the hurdles that they've been through and the hurdles that they look for when they're going into any kind of investments. So I think the best way before you go to university, before you get the formal education, is to do it on your own. And you really should do it as much as you can. I'm talking about every time you're in a car or in a bus or at home, you know, you put your headphones on and you listen. You're not surfing, you know, I hate to say it, on the social media, but if you want to really learn something, you got to just dive in it at your age and live it and do everything you— forget about going out with your friends. You really, really, you have to focus on it so strongly.

So are you a billionaire already? Are you a billionaire already?

In Indian currency? All right, guys, I think our 5 minutes are— I got to go to the next person. Anything, anything quickly, if you have one more question, or I got it. I got to get to the next one.

Get us a very— the best piece of business or personal advice that you would give to all the young entrepreneurs that are wanting to become.

Listen, fine.

It was very pleasant experience, sir.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Find the company that you wanted, that dream about working for, and then go get a job in there at the lowest level you can just to get in the door. You'll meet whoever's working in that company, and sooner or later you're going to find the right person to talk to, and then they'll probably give you a job in their department. So that's how you get in the door at the lowest level as you can. Okay.

Yes, sir.

I would also like to ask a question.

You got to do it quick. I'm running out of time here.

Yeah. Yes. It's just one question. I would really like to ask, like, how do you build trust with clients when selling multimillion-dollar assets like private jets? And where do you see the future of private jets in the next 5 to 10 years? 5 to 10 years.

So I think, listen, building trust is information. You have to make sure you're educated. I said this before to somebody else. You have to really be educating them so much with so much knowledge and be transparent, and they have to feel the sincerity that you're trying to give them, that you're not trying to just sell them and move on. You're trying to do whatever you can to educate them, and worrying about how much you're going to make is sort of second third or fourth. The biggest thing is build that relationship quick, and the way you do that is to give them as much information as possible. There's a chance they take the information and move on and go somewhere else and do business with somebody else, but that's sort of like a roulette table. Eventually you'll get the person who likes what you say and how much you're trying to help them, and they'll catch you, and they'll say, okay, come on and go for the ride. So you really got to— that's how you build the relationship. Okay, guys, thank you very much. I appreciate the call.

Thank you so much.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

It was really nice talking to you.

Thank you.

Hello?

Hi, who's this?

Hello, this is Me from India.

Hi, Me. Nice to talk to you.

Hello.

I can't say nice to see you because I don't see you, but go ahead. One question.

Sorry.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay, first of all, it's an absolute honor, sir, to like— I've been watching you for like, I guess, probably a year now. And, um, it's like this is like a really good moment for me. So probably my first question would be, um, I mean, I don't know, just what can I come from the top of my head, but, um, I mean, first of all, like, you have met, I met like, um, like really, like really rich people, right? And, um, what would probably be Like one of the funniest things or like something that these guys have done to like probably throw you off guard?

You mean in negotiation with people?

Yeah, like sort of any, like anything. Like what do these billionaires do for like fun or like anything?

What they do for fun is they try to negotiate my fee.

Oh, wow.

Unfortunately. Listen, usually in buying a corporate jet, you know, it's a pretty serious kind of thing. It's mostly a corporate tool. It's a corporate asset. You know, people think these are just toys, but they're really never a toy. They're never just for fun. And they get, you know, they get their lawyers involved, their accountants involved, their flight department involved. So it's not really, you know, they're not having fun. It's actually they're learning and educating themselves. And that's the problem, is they don't want to ask a stupid question. So maybe sometimes they'll kid around with you to try to get you to answer a question that they don't want to ask because they feel uncomfortable asking a stupid question. But I think that's what we try to do in our showroom and our video wall, is we actually tell them the questions they should be asking in advance so that it actually makes them comfortable in the back and forth of education in this industry because it's an industry that a lot of people don't know anything about and you really don't know what questions to ask. So our job really is to be forward in presenting all those questions and answering them for them so they don't feel uncomfortable.

Oh, wow. Okay. That's nice.

And any other questions?

Yeah, sure. Like, I would like to ask probably what, like, what was that moment when you felt like, oh, wow, okay, I made it? Or like perhaps you made your first million or like whatever, like that thing would be. What year was it? Or like what, like if you'd like to share that.

Well, I'm sure you saw the video of the first airplane I ever sold.

Yeah, true. Year 23, right?

If I'm not mistaken. And I was really— that would took me 9 months 9 months when I started in the industry to get to that one point, and I really wanted to give up. I was going to give up because I just, I didn't think it was for me. I mean, 9 months to try to sell an airplane. I didn't realize how difficult it was in those days, and I really was going to give up, and I just really said that I'm not going to be a loser. I said I'm going to sell a plane. I'm going to sell one plane, and once I sell that one plane, I'll just finish and I'll walk away with my head up high because I sold the jet and now I could say that's not for me, but at least I'm not a loser. But when I sold the first plane, you know, you get this adrenaline rush and I can't believe I just sold that jet. Forget about the fact of escaping a gun to my head in an attempted murder, but kidnapping, but the fact of the matter is, is it just gave me such an adrenaline rush and what I liked about the business is that I knew that 100% of accomplishing that sale was all because of what I did. It wasn't because of what anybody else did. And before I was selling jets, I was a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, and we were helping negotiate and make sure that the Congress and Senate did not pass any bad laws for our industry. But there were so many people in the industry working on those laws, when something changed or didn't change, to your liking, you never knew if it had something to do with what you did or somebody else did. And selling an airplane, I know that that sale happened only because of me. And so it just gives you an internal, if you want to call it, pat on the back. You feel good that it's something that you did and only you did. And for me, that was important. Oh, wow.

I agree. That's like That's like truly inspirational, I'm not gonna lie. I like— and, um, I would also like to ask, like, uh, what's prob— I mean, you again, you have spent more time on your private jets than people spend on their cars, right? So like, uh, what, like, what would be a life hack or a, or like a habit you picked up from this lifestyle that perhaps the regular people should adopt? Like the way you should talk or like anything, like probably the dress. I mean, I know you, you should dress well, that's one. And, um, you should talk.

Listen, I, I, a lot of people don't wear suit and ties anymore. That's true.

I mean, I'm into suit and ties. I'm sorry to interrupt, but yeah.

Yeah, and, and, but I, I still have been doing it my whole life, and I actually like wearing a suit and tie. It's not an inconvenience for me, and it's a, it's out of respect for my clients. They could wear t-shirts, cutoffs, sandals. It doesn't matter to me, you know. It, it's a courtesy and, and respect that I have for my client. And as far as anything else, I mean, out of the experience of dealing with so many people around the world, I still, I think I remain humble because every single person I do business with is, you know, so much more, you know, more successful than I am. And I learned so much from every single one of them. So I never, I always understand I'm the one who's selling them the plane. I'm not the one buying the plane. And that just keeps me interested to hear about my client's business, their life, and hopefully I learn something. And that's really where my humbleness comes from. I enjoy being with people and learning from them.

Oh, wow.

I mean, it's sort of the same for me. Like, I can agree with you on that. And last, I would also like to ask, like, I'm 20 years old right now, and What life advice would you give for today's 20-year-old people and for you as well?

Well, I mean, if I was 20 years old, I mean, I would, I would be starting my, my entrepreneurial life earlier. But I still believe that you do need structure. You do need corporate upbringing, if you want to call that, and the rules and regulations in industry. And I think you really have to work for a corporation and learn about how businesses work because a lot of people start too young trying to think they can start a business and they really, there's so much to learn whether you're, the times are changing, the world is changing, there's no question about that but really how you do business is not changing and you really need to, you know, learn under people for a number of years before you can actually start out on your own.

Oh, right. Oh, no, that's actually super true.

So go find a company that you really admire, that you really like to work for, and try to get in the door somehow working for that company and just learn as much as you can about the business, the industry, the sector. And the more you learn, the more people in the company will want to move you up in that industry, in that company.

All right, completely.

Okay, Meir, it's a pleasure talking with you.

Good luck. I mean, I still can't believe I'm talking with you. I'm actually like a huge fan. You have no idea. I've been watching you for like— absolutely, sir.

I really appreciate it. Believe me, I, I really appreciate hearing that. I love it.

Oh, I mean, I still can't believe like you're on my screen, you know.

Thank you. Good luck.

Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Take care. How do I begin my jet broker career? I think the best way to do it would be to actually start as an aircraft charter broker business, and that is going to find people who are actually brokering charter or rentals of aircraft. And probably in any local city, major city, there are companies that do this. And if you can actually find one of those companies and just show up, go see them. Don't just call them or send an email. You know, show your aggressiveness about wanting to get in the door, because that you'll have to do as an aircraft charter broker anyway. And I think those people, if you can show that you have a passion for airplanes, I think you have a good chance of getting in and getting yourself educated.

What's the best way to network with corporate jet owners and principals?

So how do you network with corporate jet principals? I think the best way to do is you really have to go get yourself into some really high-level conferences, whether it's TED Talk or whether it's an industry for the Middle East get-together or financial get-together. I think you need to get into these kind of conferences and approach people and tell them that you're trying to, you know, meet people in this industry or that industry. I think there's entrepreneurs' clubs and kick-starting programs, and these people have these networking events, and sometimes they have individuals who are principals that go to them because they want to sort of give back a little. They want to mentor and they want to tutor people. And I think if you go to some of these places, you can make a good connection with them. And you have to start with one person, target one person, and then from that person you get two people and therefore four. It takes years to really build that big network, but that's how you do it. What's one unexpected thing that people don't realize that comes with your business? A lot of things that are unexpected come from dealing with people of different international cultures. And because we are so used to doing things the way we've been doing them our whole life, And when you're dealing with somebody with another culture, it's not necessarily the language difference. It's just the way people do business differently in different cultures. It's body language. It's how you say something. It's what you're trying to achieve. And a lot of people just approach people and they negotiate in different ways. And until you really get in that circle and start really engaging and understanding how different cultures work, book. You're never going to learn it because you can't learn that from a book. What's the toughest deal you've closed? Toughest deal I closed was probably, I'm not sure if it was the fact of closing it, it was actually getting through the closing, and that was the first deal that I'm sure a lot of people have seen some of my social media posts, my first sale I ever made when I was only 23, 24 years old, where I was in a plane going to a closing with somebody or actually after we closed and we were delivering the airplane, and I got, they pulled out a gun and put it to my head because they wanted me to pay them a part of our commission, actually all of our commission, and that was probably the scariest, most craziest time in my life, and I hope, thank God I never had to deal with that kind of a situation again.

Why are you choosing Miami as another location for Jet Business?

Well, I'm not necessarily picking Miami for another location. I think we're assessing different places on the East Coast and I think maybe New York might be more of a location. Miami could be a location before or after that but I think it has a real, it has a real buzz because you get everybody from South America in Miami, you get people from the West Coast coming there, everybody from the Northeast and also people from Europe. So it does have a great turnover of transient people coming through that area.

Would you consider opening in Vegas?

Actually, thinking about opening in Vegas was an idea I had maybe pre-COVID, and it was just one of these out-of-the-box thinking because you do get a lot of high rollers that come through there. They're in a more of a relaxed mode. The problem is obviously there's so many different places to go there. But, you know, if I did pick, I'd go to Vegas and be in one of the hotels. And it is a possibility I might just do that in the future. Do you need a license to be a charter broker? So you don't need a license to be an aircraft charter broker. You really need knowledge. You need to be so on the top of the game that when somebody asks you a question, you know the answer immediately. You don't have to Google it or look it up in a book or paper or anything. Anything like that. That's the biggest, biggest thing, and you have to have the personality to really be fast in talking with people, because if you're too slow, people get bored and they'll just move on. What is your favorite jet? I do have a favorite jet, but I'm never going to talk about it because that's going to kill my whole business. What is a common trait that your clients have? I don't know if all my clients have a common trait. I think that the most of the, most the commonest trait they have is they need to have a corporate jet to be able to be flexible in their schedules and then to build time in their schedules. Because one thing people say you can't buy is time, but actually you can buy time when you have your own corporate jet. So I think most businesses and people that really need to be in multiple places during the week, it's the only way to go. It's not a luxury thing. The only luxury is convenience and building time. Any tips for new market researchers? The only tips I could say about being a market researcher is just being knowledgeable. And you have to be so well read on the industry and what's happening with every new model coming out, which ones are basically becoming sort of out of favor, which ones are costing more to operate, which ones are— what the inspection schedules are for different models. You really have to be knowledgeable on all of that kind of stuff. But once you know it, it doesn't change. So it's really something easy to build up that sort of library of information in your head, and then it's easier to go forward.