078 – Moving into a Shop on Main Street with Ryan Newberry

Ryan Newberry

Ryan is originally from a small farming community in Northwest Missouri.

He’s been in sales for over 20 years and it’s definitely his career passion; first banking and now real estate. I’m not surprised he’s so successful. He’s got a style that works; friendly, helpful, and sincere.

Ryan lives on the North Shore of Chicago with his husband, Brian, who owns an upscale boutique eye lash salon in Highland Park.

Currently with Berkshire Hathaway, he’s going to share tips on the industry that will be particularly beneficial if you are considering a brick and mortar store for your business.

Business Inspiration

Ryan’s entrance into a career in real estate [4:57]

Candle Flickering Moments

Advice for working with contractors when you’re building out your new space [18:25]

Business Building Insights

Relationships are the name of the game [3:30]

The first steps when you begin thinking about a brick and mortar shop [8:54]

Working through negotiations with your realtor [12:02]

The role of the city in your business location [14:46]

Understanding a Letter of Intent [16:44]

How to make sure you choose the right realtor for you [20:59]

An around good management tip [25:48]

Success Trait

The confidence and strength of being yourself [24:47]

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

The power and a success story dealing with handwritten notes [27:38]

Valuable Book

Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets: Proven Tools for Personal and Business Success by Mary Buffett and David Clark

Free Audio Book

Contact Links

Website

LinkedIn

If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcript
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Gift biz unwrapped episode 78.

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It's just about being,

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Hi, this is John Lee,

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Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,

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and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped.

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And now it's time to Welcome to gift bears,

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unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop

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and grow your business.

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And now here's your host,

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Sue Mona height.

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Hi there.

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I'm Sue and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

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Whether you own a brick and mortar shop sell online or

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are just getting started,

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you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your

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business. And today I am thrilled to have joining us.

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Ryan Newberry.

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Ryan is originally from a small farming community in Northwest Missouri.

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He's been in sales now for over 20 years,

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and it's definitely his career passion first in banking.

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And now in real estate,

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I'm not surprised he's so successful.

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He's got a style that works.

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He's friendly,

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helpful, and sincere.

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Ryan lives on the North shore of Chicago with his husband,

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Brian, who owns an upscale teeth,

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eyelash salon in Highland park,

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which is a,

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my hometown as well.

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Currently with Berkshire Hathaway.

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He's going to share tips on the industry and be particularly

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beneficial if you're considering a brick and mortar shop for your

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business. So with that,

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Ryan, welcome to the show.

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Hello, Sue.

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Thanks for having me.

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I appreciate It.

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I am thrilled that you're here because with our listeners,

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all lot of times,

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we're talking about,

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well, should I make the leap from an home-based business to

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a brick and mortar shop,

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et cetera.

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And I know you're going to be able to shed some

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light on that,

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but before we do that,

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I want to talk about your motivational candle,

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which is how I love starting every single one of my

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podcasts. It gives us the different feel into what you're all

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about Ryan.

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Sure. All right.

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So if you were to describe your perfect motivational candle,

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what color would it be and what would be the quote

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on that candle?

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Well, I think my candle would probably be like a bright

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color candle of some kind,

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maybe an orange,

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a yellow,

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or a bright red,

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because because of my personality and bright colors,

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help to motivate people on,

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put you in a positive,

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light and perspective in a way of thinking.

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And one of my favorite quotes,

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it's actually by will Smith.

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It's, don't chase people,

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be yourself,

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do your own thing and work hard,

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the right people,

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the ones who really belong in your life will come to

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you and stay Boy.

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You know,

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if you follow that,

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there's a lot of stress that goes by the wayside.

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Yeah. I mean,

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cause that quote follows along with your sales and cultivating your

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clients and keeping in touch with them as well as family

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and your everyday life.

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So it really just kind of ties into your whole life

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being. And I think it makes everything clear.

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Absolutely. And I would imagine specially in sales,

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I mean I come out of a sales background to the

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first idea,

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is that every single person that you talk to you on

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a cell,

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like you'd like to have a hundred percent close ratio.

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Right? Absolutely.

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That'd be awesome.

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Yeah. And then reality jumps in and it's like,

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you're not going to be,

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in fact the percentages are way lower than that,

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but you just can't possibly appeal to everybody.

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So this quote in terms of just being yourself,

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because the right people are going to be attracted to who

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you are,

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if you're yourself.

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Exactly. And that's a big secret into why you're successful in

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sales, I'd say Ryan.

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Yeah. I mean,

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it helps for sure.

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I mean,

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and you build relationships with people and you get involved in

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your community and even within your own company,

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you know,

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getting to know the people in your office and,

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and helping them,

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you know,

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do open houses and do other things.

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Those are great ways to get to know people.

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And I mean,

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I've been very fortunate too,

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because as you know,

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and thanks to you,

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you know,

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I was on the,

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on the board of directors for the chamber in Highland park.

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And that really helped me to get to know people and

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get to know people in the community.

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And as well as with the salon,

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I mean,

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I've gotten to know a lot of Brian's clients and get

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to know people.

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And so I,

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you know,

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I just love it and,

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and it's great Now,

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were you always a people loving type person?

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I mean,

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how did it,

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how did that whole thing start and how did you decide

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that sales was going to be the way you were going

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to go?

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When I was younger?

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I mean,

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I was an only child,

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so I wasn't really around a lot of other people other

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than grownups.

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Well, I was always more mature for my age.

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So I feel like probably,

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I would say in the last 20 plus years,

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maybe I've kind of come out of my shell a little

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bit and gotten into that positive type of vibe and just

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really trying to live life and live it to the fullest

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every day.

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And so you started in banking and I really am going

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to want to focus because our time gets shorter.

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I wanted to get onto the real estate thing,

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but first with banking,

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but why did you then switch and why did you decide

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real estate?

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Cause that can be a really,

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really tough industry.

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A couple of reasons.

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One is,

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like I said,

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I'd been in big G for 20 plus years and you

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know, we had sales goals and different things like that.

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And I started thinking,

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why am I working 50 and 60 hours a week for

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a company that we're,

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I'm making them money when I could be doing something,

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running my own business and making myself money.

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So real estate had always been something that I had always

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been interested in ever since I was probably like 13 years

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old. I actually worked in a little real estate office in

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my hometown.

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I would mow yards for some of the realtors that have

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clients that didn't live there anymore.

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I would answer phones just to take messages,

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that kind of stuff.

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Cause obviously I didn't have a license,

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so I couldn't do anything in that aspect,

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but I've always liked architecture and I've always liked older homes

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and you know,

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new construction and things like that.

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So I had decided we lived in Glencoe at the time

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and Brian was just opening up the shop and I was

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commuting downtown every day and I was getting home at eight,

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nine o'clock at night.

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And I just told him,

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I said,

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you know what?

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I just,

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I do this anymore.

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You know,

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real estate is just something I really want to do.

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And so I,

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you know,

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we talked it over and I went and got my real

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estate license and it's been on ever since.

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And I love it.

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So were you afraid to take the leap?

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You went and got the real estate license?

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I mean,

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was it just like,

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okay, one day you have this conversation with Brian,

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you guys agree.

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Yes. And the next day you get totally started or did

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you overlap or how did that work To answer your first

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question? Yes.

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I was nervous as can be for sure,

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without a doubt,

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very nervous and very scared because yes,

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it was something new when you first start out.

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I mean,

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obviously your first year or two is really your years that

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you're going to be building your relationships and getting to know

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people and doing your open houses and doing these other things

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to try to help to get your basic book of business

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so that you can get those referrals coming in and that

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kind of thing.

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And so,

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you know,

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of course the money aspect of it was a little scary

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because, you know,

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Brian was just starting his new business as well.

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So we nothing like just doing it all at once.

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Exactly. Just jump in and do it because we might as

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well just go through what we're going to go through now

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instead of later on.

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So we did it together.

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One of the things that I want to highlight that you

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are mentioning is the investment of time in to build relationships

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and give biz listeners.

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I think that's important for all of us to understand,

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even if you already have a business,

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but you're venturing into a new department within the business,

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a new product within the business,

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it takes some time for people to get acclimated either to

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you in a new business or other things that you're doing.

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And I think that's an investment of time that you need

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to consider anytime you're presenting something new,

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anything you would add to that,

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Ryan. Yeah,

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Yeah, absolutely.

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I mean,

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you know,

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even, you know,

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the things that I'm talking about,

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building relationships on the real estate,

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and that also goes into the retail sector as well.

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I mean,

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that's how Brian has built his business,

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getting to know people because all of our business,

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you know,

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whether it be a salon B real estate,

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whatever, it's all word of mouth.

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And it's always about the level of service and the professionalism

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that you project to these people.

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And that's in turn how you start building your business.

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So it doesn't matter whether it's real estate,

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a salon,

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a restaurant,

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your business,

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for example,

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all of this kind of just goes in hand in hand

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together. It's just different industries.

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All right.

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So let's dive in now into real estate in particular,

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let's build a scenario here.

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We have someone who's been working out of their house for

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a while.

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They are,

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let's just say they make cupcakes.

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Okay. Okay.

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And they had a commercial kitchen,

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but virtually they're conducting all the business out of the house.

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Now they're thinking,

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you know what,

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maybe I want to be in a brick and mortar.

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You know,

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I want to consider having a bakery for myself,

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like a real retail shop,

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not a commercial kitchen.

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And so now they're going to go and they're going to

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start looking at locations.

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What are some steps or what are some suggestions since you're

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an expert?

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Like what would you suggest if someone was coming to you

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with this scenario,

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there's several different that you want to do When you're starting

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up a business.

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And especially if you're looking to either a rent,

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a space or B build out a new space,

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first and foremost,

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you want to have a business plan because you want to

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know step by step.

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What am I going to do?

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What do I need to do?

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What are the costs going to be?

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What can I afford that kind of thing.

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And you need to go back kind of look through your

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P and L look through your numbers,

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depending of course,

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how long the person's been in business.

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If they're just a brand new startup,

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obviously you may not want to,

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to invest a whole bunch of money into a new space.

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You may want to just do a little pop-up shop,

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see how it goes,

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and then go from there.

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You definitely want to have an idea of what you can

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afford. What size space uni are you going to have employees?

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How many employees are you going to have?

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What are those costs going to be?

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Those kinds of things,

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to help you to determine what to look at?

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What can I afford on another thing that you might want

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to do too,

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is kind of do market research,

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like have a focus group and invite three or four people

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have them test your products,

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what works well,

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what works best,

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find out different areas,

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whether it be Highland park,

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Glencoe, or wherever,

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you know,

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wherever your listeners live to kind of do that,

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kind of like a test run kind of thing,

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to figure out,

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well, what's going to be the best market for me to

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sell. And this instance,

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we're talking about cupcakes.

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As you know,

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we have a very successful one here in Highland parks over

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in the Ravinia district.

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And they've been there several years now.

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I'm sure that that's how those gentlemen over there,

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you know,

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started their business with that.

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And they're phenomenal.

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They're awesome.

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I want to underline again,

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a couple of the things that you're talking about,

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not just go out and say,

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I have this idea and you get a space that you

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like, you want to have a vision.

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First of what overall your business is going to look like,

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and then go and look at spaces once you've determined,

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what you're trying to do with your business.

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I think a lot of people do that in reverse.

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They just like,

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Oh, I want to know.

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Let's see what's out there.

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And then they try to build the business into the space

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versus the other way around.

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Right. For sure.

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And I mean,

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even if you're at that very,

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very step one,

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you do want to decide like what area you want to

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be in.

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So for example,

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when Brian was opening up the salon in Highland park at

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the time we lived downtown.

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And so of course,

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you know,

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we didn't know the North store very well.

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And so what we did was we drove around,

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we went to all the different suburbs.

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It's kind of determined where he thought his market niche would

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be. We probably looked at maybe 10 North shore suburbs.

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We picked the top three.

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And then we kind of just did our own market research,

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like average households.

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What's the population,

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what's the average income,

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those kinds of things too,

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because that will also help you to determine where you want

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to be and what your competition is going to be within

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those certain areas.

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Okay. And so let's say you've done your research,

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both research in terms of location,

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where you want to go and then also product.

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So you're feeling like you've got the community,

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the product is going to be received.

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Well there,

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what are the steps in working with a realtor to start

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closing the deal?

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Like where does the contract come in and how does all

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that work?

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So once you've got all that figured out,

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obviously then you come to me and say,

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Ryan, I want a motor.

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And I want to go over and look at a couple

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of spaces.

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Let's just use downtown Highland parks since that's where we're at.

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Okay, great.

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Well, you know,

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first thing I'm going to ask you is what is your

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price range?

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So there,

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by that time,

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hopefully then you've got an idea of how much you're going

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to be able to afford what size space you're going to

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need, et cetera.

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Then we go and we kind of look at two or

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three different places and walk in,

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we look at it,

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we talk about,

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can you envision yourself working in this space?

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Like, this is what I'm trying to say.

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Like, what's the setup of your business going to look like

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in this space,

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once you determine what space you like,

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obviously what's going to work.

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Then I would then contact the landlord.

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And then we start kind of negotiating to try to get

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a price determined from Elise determined,

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that kind of thing.

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And there's lots of things that you have to think about

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too, when you're negotiating on a commercial space.

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Cause it's obviously it's a lot different than residential versus a

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little bit more intense because you have to think about,

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am I going to have to pay insurance?

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Am I going to have to pay taxes on this space?

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And then am I going to be able to go into

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this space because do you know in Highland park,

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if you're on a first floor space,

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you have to generate some type of sales tax.

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So are you going to have something that's going to generate

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sales tax,

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obviously in our scenario that we're talking about with cupcakes and

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things, obviously you're going to generate sales tax.

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Yeah. And let me stop here and just clarify for some

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listeners, just in case they don't know,

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every community is a little bit different.

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They have different rules and regulations about different types of spaces

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in our city.

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Right now it's been designated that if you're going to be

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on a first level,

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you have to be in some way collecting sales tax,

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where the city can benefit.

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And mostly it's because real estate is,

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is at a premium.

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There aren't many spaces left.

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And so that may or may not apply to you,

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but it's really important if you're looking at this to go

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to the city and see what the regulations are.

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And I guess your realtor would know too Ryan.

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Right. Right.

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And so then,

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okay, so you've talked a little bit about the space in

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terms of,

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you know,

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are you going to have to pay for a lease?

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Also? I think what types of services included like garbage removal,

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you know,

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all that type of thing as well,

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right? Yep.

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Exactly. You have to know,

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do you pay your own trash on?

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Who pays for what basically is kind of how I put

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it, who pays for electricity?

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Who pays for the gas,

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the water,

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the insurance,

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if there's taxes involved who pays that?

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Is it the owner or is it the tenant?

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You know,

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your trash,

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you know,

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who pays for those?

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Definitely. Those are all things that have to be considered as

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well. What about signage?

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Signage? Absolutely.

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Signage is a big issue.

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Signage can be very expensive or it can be little as

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none. One thing you need to do once you determine where

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you want to open your shop is to contact the city

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planning division or someone or the city manager or somebody like

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that to find out what are your rules and regulations about

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signage in some suburbs,

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signage has to be blocked letter.

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Some of them can be halal lit.

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Some cannot signs have to be a certain size and they

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can only be a certain color.

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That's all part of that research that I was talking about

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earlier in our conversation.

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So signage is not determined by the landlord.

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It's determined by the city.

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Correct. Okay.

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Important point really important point Right now and maybe different.

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I just know that speaking from Highland park,

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the signage is regulated by the city.

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And what about such things as air conditioning,

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heating, maintenance on those types of pieces of equipment?

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Absolutely. Yeah.

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So what you want to do too,

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is obviously the landlord is going to be responsible for those

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things. Now it can be written into the lease.

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Some commercial spaces require that the tenant pay for quarterly maintenance

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of the furnace or of the air conditioning,

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you know,

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to changing the filters and different things like that.

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So you need to find out for sure,

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who's responsible for what,

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what do I need to do as the tenant in your

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space? Okay,

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perfect. And anything different that you know of for a consumable

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type space where it's a restaurant or a bakery as our

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earlier example?

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Not really.

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I mean,

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basically what a,

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what a,

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a PR perspective.

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Let's say landlord,

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I suppose some of them are going to ask for a

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business plan.

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And that's why I said,

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you know,

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you want to make sure that you have that upfront.

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Some of them may ask,

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do you have a letter of intent with your current village

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or city?

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You know,

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those are things that you have to find out as well

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when you're getting ready to make an offer on these commercial

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spaces. And a lot of times,

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you know,

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if you're not familiar with it,

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the agent that has the property listed is going to come

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back to the agent,

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that's representing the tenant and say,

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these are the things that we need in order to move

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forward. Okay.

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And what do you mean by a letter of intent with

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the city?

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So what that means is that you contact,

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let's say your business development,

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economic person and say,

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Hey, look,

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I want to come to Highland park.

Speaker:

I want to open up shop that person.

Speaker:

They would contact someone within the city to say,

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Hey, look,

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Ryan wants to open up a cupcake shop in port Clinton

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square here in Highland park.

Speaker:

I then have to write a letter to the city of

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Highland park stating that I want to open up a shop

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in Highland park.

Speaker:

Then it is presented to the city council who meets on

Speaker:

the last Thursday of every month to say,

Speaker:

Ryan Newbury library wants to open up a ruse cupcake shop

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in port Clinton.

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They vote on it.

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Yes or no.

Speaker:

So the city accepts the business that's coming in,

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I guess is the way to say it is that standard

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everywhere That I can't say,

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because I don't know.

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I'm just,

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like I said,

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I'm just familiar with the Highland park area.

Speaker:

So as for when it comes to commercial anyway.

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All right.

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So now Ryan,

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get ready,

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get nervous for this question.

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All right.

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I'm sitting on the edge of my seat.

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Okay. I have a little bit of an unfair advantage because

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I know you and Brian,

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you've now gone into a new location.

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Talk to us a little bit about the build-out in the

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new location.

Speaker:

I know there were some challenges,

Speaker:

so that's the reason I bring it up.

Speaker:

And I want people to understand,

Speaker:

and just from your experience,

Speaker:

so if you would tell the story of what happened and

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then any learnings that you've had from the out of your

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space that could help some of our listeners.

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So yes,

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we did have some,

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we did have some challenges when we were,

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we were in one location and we were building out a

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new space where we're currently at now.

Speaker:

And I guess one of the things that you want to

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make sure with your contractors,

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make sure that they are licensed and insured,

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make sure that they are experienced in commercial build outs,

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the person that we did use.

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Yes, he was.

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But what happened was is that one price that we were

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getting was actually turning out to be almost three times what

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the price was once they got started.

Speaker:

So those are things that you,

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you know,

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you have to make sure that you have a clear understanding

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obviously, of what those costs are going to be.

Speaker:

You want to make sure that you do have a written

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and formal contract when you're going in working with a contractor

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and making sure that those costs are actually spelled out line

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by line and then make sure that everything is agreed upon.

Speaker:

And if it,

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if it's something that is more than what the contract States,

Speaker:

then you need to have a clear understanding of,

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then who's going to come up with that difference because who

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was the one that got the estimates and those kinds of

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things. Okay.

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So I think what you're saying,

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just in summary is when you're doing a build out,

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you want to make sure that first of all,

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the contractors licensed,

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and then secondly,

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that everything is really done in specific detail,

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Cannes probably signed off by both parties.

Speaker:

And then any change orders,

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just like when you're building a house,

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any change orders actually take place.

Speaker:

Correct. So you always know point by point along the way

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what's happening to your price.

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Cause there's definitely price creep in anything that has to do

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with the hammer.

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Right, exactly.

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Right, right.

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Yeah. The minute I locked that door and your space are

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already charging you hitting the ground running.

Speaker:

So we just kind of fell into a situation where the

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contractor that we use,

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it was referred to us by somebody that was an influential

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person and somebody that I trusted and respected.

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And so we just kind of took word by mouth.

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So we kind of learned our lesson if,

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and when we were ever to do something like this,

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again, we should probably do our homework a little bit more

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than that than what we did.

Speaker:

So that's kind of a situation where it's like shame on

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me kind of thing.

Speaker:

You know?

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Well, it gets so hard because when there are relationships involved

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in referrals,

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you might not have understood each other in terms of where

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the situation was.

Speaker:

So no,

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one's really at fault.

Speaker:

It's just not progressing the way you're thinking.

Speaker:

It's progressing one way with the way you're thinking one way,

Speaker:

the way another brains they gain and they're two opposite directions.

Speaker:

Exactly, exactly.

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That's right.

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Yeah, for sure.

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All right.

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All right.

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Rounding out this a little bit.

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Are there any tips that you would give somebody in terms

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of finding a realtor in their location,

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who would be the right fit for them?

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Well, a lot of times what people will do,

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if you are in search of a broker real estate agent

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is to go to open houses and just kind of see

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how that broker or realtor interacts with the people coming in.

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But is he,

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or she greeting them as they come in?

Speaker:

Are they explaining the features of the house?

Speaker:

Are they walking them around?

Speaker:

You know,

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what is the interaction?

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What do they know about the market?

Speaker:

Listen, to see,

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are they talking about what's happening?

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Let's say,

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and I'm using Highland park again,

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of course,

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you know,

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what's going on in the Highland park market,

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how many homes are on the market?

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Well, what's the list of sale advantage,

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those kinds of things.

Speaker:

Do they know the inventory?

Speaker:

Do they know if a person is looking for a mid-century

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modern home,

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do you know of any others in the Highland park area

Speaker:

or wherever they're from another thing you might want to do

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to, or once you determine a person that you think you

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might want to work with is to do some research.

Speaker:

Google that person that happens to me a lot.

Speaker:

I always have people contact me.

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Well, you know what?

Speaker:

I was referred to you by so-and-so.

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But I also,

Speaker:

I looked you up on LinkedIn.

Speaker:

I Googled you.

Speaker:

And I see that you were involved with the chamber of

Speaker:

commerce and I see your family owns lash blue coat tree

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in Highland park.

Speaker:

I see that you were in banking,

Speaker:

they see your whole,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

the whole thing.

Speaker:

So what you want to do is you just kind of

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want to see what is their,

Speaker:

what is their background as well?

Speaker:

What is their focus areas?

Speaker:

There are some agents that their expertise is,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

let's just say a new construction.

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They don't do anything else,

Speaker:

but that,

Speaker:

so you want to make sure that you're getting the right

Speaker:

fit and the right person,

Speaker:

because that person then is going to be motivated to help

Speaker:

you and either find you a home or sell your home

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for you.

Speaker:

So great fit in terms of personality with the realtor,

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either residential or commercial.

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Right? Absolutely.

Speaker:

And then,

Speaker:

so be so really that you feel in sync with their

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personality, which really goes full circle to what we were talking

Speaker:

about at the beginning of our chat,

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Ryan. And then also the online is a really good tip

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too, is just make sure that they're already practicing and serving

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people who are in the same type of a niche that

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you're looking at in terms of what you're trying to buy.

Speaker:

That's right.

Speaker:

Our rent,

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I should say.

Speaker:

Absolutely. Yes,

Speaker:

because you're going to know within at least the first,

Speaker:

I'd say couple of minutes,

Speaker:

maybe up to five minutes,

Speaker:

you're going to know whether or not that person standing across

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from you.

Speaker:

You're having this conversation with whether you're going to click or

Speaker:

not, or over the phone,

Speaker:

even if you're not meeting face to face,

Speaker:

you're going to know whether or not that person's going to

Speaker:

work for you or be a fit.

Speaker:

Right. And I think that's where intuition comes into because someone

Speaker:

might have worked really well with someone else.

Speaker:

And they're like,

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Oh, you have to work with this person.

Speaker:

This is who I used to.

Speaker:

Great start.

Speaker:

But if anything inside you is saying,

Speaker:

boy, my friend is saying that this person's really working well,

Speaker:

but I'm not feeling it a step back and look for

Speaker:

somebody else.

Speaker:

Cause I would imagine,

Speaker:

especially when you're talking about storefronts,

Speaker:

your relationship with realtor is really important because they can offer

Speaker:

you so much guidance based on all the stuff you've just

Speaker:

been talking about Ryan.

Speaker:

Exactly. Yep.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

So now we're going to move on into our reflection section.

Speaker:

So this is a little bit of just some various kind

Speaker:

of random things about you,

Speaker:

Ryan, just to understand a little bit more about how you've

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been successful,

Speaker:

because honestly,

Speaker:

there's a lot of people who will listen to this podcast

Speaker:

who are thinking,

Speaker:

do I have what it takes or you know,

Speaker:

what would I do in this situation?

Speaker:

No, to go off on my own and be successful.

Speaker:

So sharing with them.

Speaker:

Okay. Yeah.

Speaker:

Anything I could do to help for sure.

Speaker:

That's my main goal.

Speaker:

We're all trying to run our own businesses here.

Speaker:

And this is why you have this awesome podcast to help

Speaker:

people like myself and many others learn some of the challenges

Speaker:

and different things that people are having out there in and

Speaker:

across the world.

Speaker:

And I think it's awesome.

Speaker:

Oh, you're so sweet.

Speaker:

Now you can see why he's such a good salesperson.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

So Ryan,

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what is one natural trait that you have that you think

Speaker:

has helped you to be successful?

Speaker:

I think one of my natural traits in this kind of

Speaker:

goes back to the,

Speaker:

to the quote that we talked about earlier today.

Speaker:

It's just about being yourself.

Speaker:

Don't try to be something that you're not because people are

Speaker:

going to see right through that.

Speaker:

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't make something

Speaker:

up. If you don't know what you're talking about and haven't

Speaker:

done the research because a lot of times people are going

Speaker:

to know,

Speaker:

so just be yourself,

Speaker:

be genuine,

Speaker:

you know?

Speaker:

And, and that's,

Speaker:

I mean,

Speaker:

that's kind of how I am.

Speaker:

I mean,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

I come from a small town,

Speaker:

Northwest, Missouri farming community,

Speaker:

and I guess I kind of have that,

Speaker:

what we used to call the good old boy business aspect,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

where everything is done on a handshake kind of thing.

Speaker:

So you just want to just be genuine.

Speaker:

Right. And you know what,

Speaker:

we're all experts in some things,

Speaker:

but none of us can be an expert in everything.

Speaker:

And even if it has to do with your industry,

Speaker:

if you don't know,

Speaker:

be honest and confident in your honesty,

Speaker:

I think that's also important.

Speaker:

But then there's nothing that says,

Speaker:

you know what?

Speaker:

I don't know,

Speaker:

but I wish I did.

Speaker:

I will find out and get back to you about Exactly.

Speaker:

That's what I was just getting ready to say.

Speaker:

It was one of the things that you learn when you're

Speaker:

a manager managing one Oh one.

Speaker:

If you don't know the answer,

Speaker:

just say,

Speaker:

Hey, you know what,

Speaker:

unfortunately, I don't know the answer to your question,

Speaker:

but here's what I'll do.

Speaker:

I'll take the steps necessary to find out the correct answer

Speaker:

for you,

Speaker:

because I want to make sure that I get you precise

Speaker:

information. Right.

Speaker:

And then the next time it comes up,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

the answer.

Speaker:

Exactly. Yep.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

Moving on.

Speaker:

What tool do you use regularly to keep productive and stay

Speaker:

on top of your day?

Speaker:

I have spreadsheets that I've built for myself,

Speaker:

like with addresses of clients or contacts that I've gotten across

Speaker:

through my years.

Speaker:

And I'll always send out a handwritten note because you know,

Speaker:

yeah. Emails are great,

Speaker:

but they're a little bit impersonal only because when you sit

Speaker:

down and take five minutes to send out,

Speaker:

let's just say five note cards a week or whatever,

Speaker:

that person then gets that in the mail.

Speaker:

And they're like,

Speaker:

Oh wow.

Speaker:

That person actually sat down and took some time out of

Speaker:

their day.

Speaker:

Just to send me a note to say,

Speaker:

Hey, hello,

Speaker:

how are you?

Speaker:

Here's a gift card to go have a coffee or whatever,

Speaker:

or go have a nice little snack on me.

Speaker:

I was just thinking of you today kind of thing.

Speaker:

And that goes along Yeah.

Speaker:

Breaks through the clutter.

Speaker:

Right? Absolutely.

Speaker:

And I would say,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

we're getting close to holiday season where lots of people in

Speaker:

business reach out and thank their customers.

Speaker:

But what you're talking about is doing it at random times

Speaker:

throughout the year based on situations,

Speaker:

or do you do a couple of week,

Speaker:

whatever it is that actually probably costs a little less,

Speaker:

depending on the value of those gift cards.

Speaker:

But it has a bigger impact because it's not,

Speaker:

Oh, it's holiday season.

Speaker:

Now I have to send something out.

Speaker:

Do you know?

Speaker:

It it's that you were thinking about them throughout time when

Speaker:

there wouldn't be that big gifting time.

Speaker:

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker:

And you don't have a good example of that is,

Speaker:

or people are thinking,

Speaker:

well, you know,

Speaker:

I do that,

Speaker:

but it doesn't work.

Speaker:

I will tell you it does work.

Speaker:

And here's,

Speaker:

here's why it works.

Speaker:

So I had this person that I had been in contact

Speaker:

with for probably two years.

Speaker:

I met them at an open house and they'd come through

Speaker:

and we kind of stayed in touch.

Speaker:

They'd listed their house with another agent and they weren't happy

Speaker:

with that agent.

Speaker:

And so then they had finally contacted me and listed it

Speaker:

with me and I sold their home in four days.

Speaker:

And had I not stayed in touch with those people either

Speaker:

through email or a handwritten card,

Speaker:

just following up with them every once in a while,

Speaker:

I would have never gotten that business.

Speaker:

So, you know,

Speaker:

a lot of times when you're doing things like this,

Speaker:

it doesn't happen overnight.

Speaker:

You have to be patient,

Speaker:

but it does happen.

Speaker:

That's a great story.

Speaker:

Thank you for sharing that with us.

Speaker:

Yeah, of course.

Speaker:

Or a book that you've read lately that you think our

Speaker:

listeners could find value in.

Speaker:

So one of the books that I've read that I think

Speaker:

is really helpful.

Speaker:

It's Warren Buffett's management secrets and what it is,

Speaker:

this proven tools for personal and business success.

Speaker:

And it talks about how Warren got his company started,

Speaker:

got Berkshire Hathaway,

Speaker:

started free sample and how he had bought some of the

Speaker:

other companies through the years and built the conglomerate of obviously

Speaker:

that he is today.

Speaker:

And it gives a lot of tips and things from his

Speaker:

past experiences that that really helps,

Speaker:

I believe in helps you to focus kind of how to

Speaker:

run your business and how to be the right person for

Speaker:

the business that you're trying to And learning from the best

Speaker:

Warren buffet.

Speaker:

That's for sure.

Speaker:

Exactly. All right.

Speaker:

Gift biz listeners,

Speaker:

just as you're listening to the podcast today,

Speaker:

you can also listen to audio books with ease.

Speaker:

I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to

Speaker:

get an audio book,

Speaker:

just like this one management secrets for free and on me.

Speaker:

All you need to do is go to gift biz,

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book.com and make a selection.

Speaker:

Okay, Ryan,

Speaker:

our time is winding down and I want to ask you

Speaker:

this very important,

Speaker:

last question I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.

Speaker:

It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.

Speaker:

So this is your dream or your,

Speaker:

of almost unreachable Heights that you would wish to obtain.

Speaker:

Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.

Speaker:

What is inside your box?

Speaker:

Well, I think what's inside my box is just to become

Speaker:

the best that I can be at what I do every

Speaker:

day. So the best you that there can be,

Speaker:

right? Absolutely.

Speaker:

Absolutely Wonderful.

Speaker:

Okay. Ryan and give biz listeners,

Speaker:

as you know,

Speaker:

all of Ryan's contact information is going to be over on

Speaker:

the show notes page.

Speaker:

So if you are interested in getting in touch with him

Speaker:

and seeing his all-important LinkedIn page,

Speaker:

because you just shared with us how important it is to

Speaker:

have the correct presence,

Speaker:

just jump over to the show notes page.

Speaker:

I'll have all that information over there for you,

Speaker:

Ryan. Thank you so much,

Speaker:

really interesting and good information from your perspective,

Speaker:

because we're usually talking about getting a new shop and what

Speaker:

you need to do from a retailer's perspective.

Speaker:

So hearing it from the other side has been really,

Speaker:

really hard.

Speaker:

Well, great.

Speaker:

Well good.

Speaker:

Well, I hope so.

Speaker:

I hope that this has helped your listeners to give us

Speaker:

some ideas and some inside track.

Speaker:

Absolutely. Thank you so much for your time and thank you

Speaker:

for all the really great information,

Speaker:

Ryan and I will be catching you within a day or

Speaker:

two I'm sure.

Speaker:

Cause we run into each other all the time.

Speaker:

Exactly. Exactly.

Speaker:

Well, it's been my pleasure and thank you so much,

Speaker:

Sue, for reaching out to me,

Speaker:

I've really enjoyed it.

Speaker:

Fabulous. And may your candle,

Speaker:

Ryan always burned bright.

Speaker:

Thank you.

Speaker:

Same to you.

Speaker:

Where are you in your business building journey,

Speaker:

whether you're just starting out or already running a business and

Speaker:

you want to know your setup for success.

Speaker:

Find out by taking the gift biz quiz,

Speaker:

access the quiz from your computer at bit dot L Y

Speaker:

slash gift biz quiz or from your phone by texting gift

Speaker:

biz quiz to four four two,

Speaker:

two, two.

Speaker:

Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the

Speaker:

next episode.

Speaker:

Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company,

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if you like what you're hearing,

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