In today’s episode, Nick talks with Matt Baker, a general contractor from Houston, Texas. They discuss how Matt got started, what advice he has for someone just starting, and how profitable being a general contractor is.

In this episode, Nick shows one of their newer self storage facilities, and goes over the numbers to share how profitable running a self storage facility really is!

In today’s episode, Nick talks about three sales strategies that most people don’t talk about. These are strategies that can really make your company stand out from others as desirable, credible, and sustainable.   1. Use old school sales and marketing 2. Get people to put their money where their mouth is 3. Sales extends past business into all aspects of life- get people to buy in

Today Nick talks about another low cost startup that can easily make you money in the beginning. With how many trucks need hitch receivers and much expensive auto shops charge you for it, you can easily get some flyers, a website, and some word of mouth to get some business going. Check out the episode to hear more!

Nick talks all about delayed gratification in this episode: a lesson he learned from his grandfather, who broke the pattern of poverty in his family. Listen to Nick breakdown and discuss what delayed gratification looks like in business and life. 

In this episode, Nick talks about a low cost and easy startup for a business that can be profitable from the gate.  After being quoted $750 for his deck to be cleaned and stained, he got to thinking about the equipment, supplies, and time that would go into doing it himself, and how YOU could launch a successful business doing just that.  

The main reason that businesses fail is this: the people who start them do so for selfish reasons. Lifestyle, passion, and money are selfish reasons to start a business, and the market does NOT care about these things. Entrepreneurship is not always fun; it’s hard, confrontational, and lonely.  The entrepreneurs who succeed are really good at doing the stuff they DON’T want to do. Before starting a business, you need an unemotional lens: look at the market and ask, where is there an opportunity? Just doing what you love makes you less likely to succeed.

The way the stock market is going, businesses and unemployed people are being helped by the government, and spending habits, there is an increasing chance this recession WON'T happen, and the government will push us right through it. 

If you're looking to open a restaurant, or you just lost everything in your restaurant, it could be the best time in HISTORY to start up your business in the next 6 months.  With so many restaurants either closing or cutting staff, there are talented workers, real estate, land lords, and cheap equipment that are all available. •Land lords want to get paid, meaning cheaper rent for you. • People are hurrying to sell buildings and prices for real estate will be lower than ever.  • New restaurant equipment will be cheaper, and used equipment will be sold as other businesses close their doors • Hundreds of talented chefs, waiters, bar tenders, you name it, will be applying for new jobs after being laid off.  With the government helping relieve the economy and businesses and programs like the PPP, you can get more help now than ever before. We're going to see resources for restaurants and small businesses trying to get their feet planted, and we could see low interest loans, subsidized loans, and maybe even grant money to help companies get back to business.  I don't like the restaurant business, and I wouldn't recommend you start one, but now is the time to do it if you want to get back into it or start your dream!   

On this episode I discuss what I see as the future of hotels and hospitality and a big opportunity for savvy entrepreneurs. 

Lawn care hasn't seen much impact from COVID and is a lot more recession resistant than you might think.

10,000 American's reach retirement age every day. Many of them own businesses. It was a buyers market before COVID and its only getting better. Referenced in the episode Nick Bradley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqxXoduxf7Y

Businesses that are going to get crushed right now but will be a huge opportunity to start a year from now!

I’m an entrepreneur because I enjoy having extreme control over my circumstances, my business, my lifestyle, and my bank account. The decisions I make today directly impact the situation I’m in tomorrow and next week and 5 years from now. The past month has completely turned that upside down.a

Ray Dalio, in his book Principles, talks about the search for truth over the desire to be right and convince other people of your way of thinking. Things are changing fast. The close-minded folks are getting left in the dust. The radically open-minded entrepreneurs will win. Remind yourself that three things are at play when you’re making decisions: 1. You filter information based on what supports your previously held beliefs and desires 2. You actually understand things a lot less than you think you do (the can opener effect) 3. Your emotions (fear, anger, greed) impact your logic in a negative way Change your mind often. Accept all new information based on what it’s worth. Understand your blindspots. Keep a bead on your emotions. The last 10 year run has made it easy to succeed. A rising tide floats all ships. This hardship will separate the winners from the losers. Stay strong!

Change spells opportunity.

Debt is what makes the world go round.

Tough balancing act right now between keeping people liquid and motivating the wrong behavior.

I've seen a lot of emails and from people saying that they've figured it out: businesses have poor online presence, so they'll be the middle man to connect the customers who are searching online to the businesses that are not online. In this episode I break down why that is NOT a good business plan. 

I've spent the last 2 weeks talking to as many smart people as I can about the economy, what they're afraid of, and what they think will happen. Here is a breakdown.

When change happens entrepreneurs get windows of opportunity to add new value in new places. This is an opportunity!

How you chose to spend your time makes all the difference. Doing an 80/20 analysis can help you figure out what 20% of your efforts generate 80% of your results.

Do the smart work that is uncomfortable and watch your life open up!

Adam runs down his list of essential tools to get your local service business found online. From website builders to hosting to lead capturing he runs through all the tools he uses to build for his clients every day!

Time management is something that can make or break an entrepreneur. Nick talks about the 4 quadrants of time management and how to work on what is most important but is easy to procrastinate or ignore.

Adam tells his founding story and how he has built a web development agency that does $55k a month in revenue with 6 full time employees. He founded SparrowWebsites.com in 2016 as a 30 year old with 10k in the bank.

Nick answers a question from a listener about how he would market and build a power washing company.

Standardizing the material that new employees use to get onboarded and trained is a powerful tool that you should do right now during the slow season.

A customer in the loop is a happy customer. Set up all of your interaction in advance and spend some time thinking through how to get your message across to customers as efficiently as possible.

Nick and Jim talk about more businesses that Nick wouldn't start in if his life depended on it.

Nick and Jim dive into a few business ideas that Nick hates.

Jim Flannery is a founder and professor of entrepreneurship at University of Georgia in Athens GA. He gives his thoughts on big ideas and why they shouldn't be overlooked.

Coach Keppner runs a successful boxing gym in Athens GA and is also host of the Coach Keppner Show on a local radio station. In this episode he shares his story along with his principles and self help concepts that guide him towards a successful life.

We have a caller from Kansas City who is looking into purchasing a business. We talk about some of the questions to ask and what to look for!

Its an expense. They depreciate fast. In this episode we talk about the difference in buying a 10 year old car and a brand new car. Nick shares his cost of car ownership breakdown over the past 14 years and he compares it to the numbers if he had bought new every 5 years.

How do we find a balance in life? The media and the hustle mentality are driving us to crazy lengths. Its about enjoying life.

What is wealth to you? What are your goals with entrepreneurship? I lay out what is important to me.

Nick and Max talk about businesses they love and how they would start them.  https://sweatystartup.com/businesses-i-love/

How would I start a window cleaning business? In this episode we lay out the steps of exactly how we'd do it.  https://sweatystartup.com/essential-tools/

What makes an entrepreneur better? What sets them apart? What makes them more likely to succeed? Mindset. Nick and Max discuss it.

Nick and Max talk about their 10 favorite business books and what they like about each.  https://sweatystartup.com/booklist/

The shift was the moment we stopped pointing fingers and started taking the blame for things going wrong within our business. Instead of texting the employees the night before about their shift we scheduled them out a week in advance. Even if we weren't sure exactly what they'd be doing. We overemphasized their schedules and set up automated emails and texts to constantly remind them as the day approached. Instead of training them by walking around the warehouse pointing at things we spent time recording training videos with perfect voice overs. We quizzed them at the end of the training videos with real on-the-job problems.

You wouldn’t expect to be able to pick up a basketball and play for an NBA team day 1. So why do we expect to start a business and get rich or make good money on day one? It’s a skill. You get better at it by PRACTICING. Making decisions. Communicating. Selling. You can read all the books you want but it just takes getting out there and doing it. Starting small and working your way up. Stop reading this and start putting yourself out there. Start something.

Dan Nick and Max sit around and talk business once again to discuss trends and businesses they would love to start right now and how they would do it.

This book outlines and reinforces the fact that business, negotiation and any human interaction is inherently very emotional. It’s centered around negotiation but this book has so many solid management and leadership principles. Mirroring, tactical empathy, starting with no and labeling are all phenomenal. https://sweatystartup.com/booklist/

Nick, Max and Dan get together to brainstorm business ideas and how they would launch and market a lawn care, Christmas light installation and mobile locksmithing company. This episode was a ton of fun. 

You have to be really good, have money, and have a lot of luck to make a new revolutionary idea work. There are a lot of bad businesses out there right now making good money. Some of them suck at sales. Some suck at recruiting. Or marketing. Or SEO. Maybe they run their businesses like its 1980. Some suck at many of these! Yet they still make really good money. Don't try to reinvent the wheel with a revolutionary idea. Its expensive. The odds of success are low. Its risky.