30: Even More BMB (Series Part 3) Custy Relationships & Revenue

Intro:
Hey, you’re drinking house coffee – unfiltered conversations brewed at the intersection of real estate life and coffee shop service. We’re Maggie and Rich – local business owners and friends sharing stories and welcoming you to pull up a chair with us. The door’s always open. Let us pour you a cup.

Rich:
Hey, Maggie.

Maggie:
Hey Rich.

Rich:
Never mind that we’ve been sitting here together for the last

Maggie:
Five

Rich:
30 minutes.

Maggie:
However, many yeah.

Rich:
But they’ll never know that we didn’t just say hey nice to see you for the first time.

Maggie:
Welcome to episode 30. This is dirty 30.

Rich:
Dirty Thirty

Maggie:
Thirty okay. So my favorite movie

Rich:
Just did 20.

Maggie:
It’s one of my favorite movies is 13 Going on 30. And Jennifer Garner’s in it and it’s like 30 and flirty and thriving

Rich:
Well.

Maggie:
That’s us. So that’s this episode right here.

Rich:
This is awesome. I think we need that in our lives, right? Happy to hear.

Maggie:
What have you been listening to?

Rich:
A lot of a lot more Dateline just just binging.

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
Binge in the True Crime so many murders, but that’s not what I came here to talk about. I listen to the newest episode of the Marketing Made Simple podcast this morning. Oh because they’re starting a new little Series where they’re going to do like Kind of a walkthrough of of how to clarify your your message. So it’s like one of those practical ones. It was like a 20 minute lesson and That was just something to break it up.

Maggie:
Cool

Rich:
This morning.

Maggie:
Did you listen to the song I sent you? by Jason Mraz

Rich:
No, oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. No you texted me

Maggie:
That. You got to listen to it.

Rich:
All right. Now there we can all just

Maggie:
Wait. Yeah, let’s just all listen to

Rich:
It. All right.

Maggie:
But when you get a chance, maybe listen to it on your way home. I guess I think you’ll really like it.

Rich:
That’s fair.

Maggie:
I think it actually might feel a little bit cathartic to

Rich:
Maybe sorry today

Maggie:
Our pre-recording conversation. So you might like it. Okay.

Rich:
I’ll check

Maggie:
You kind of like Moody songs.

Rich:
You know me. Maybe Jason Mraz never struck me as the Moody type and that’s why I never got into him, you know

Maggie:
Very moody.

Rich:
Okay, cool speaking my language.

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
Here for that. What are you listening to?

Maggie:
I just started a new book. I tend to book hop. And I started a book and like listen to it and then like

Rich:
But not finish it

Maggie:
But not finish and I come back

Rich:
Start a new one or just another one.

Maggie:
I do feel like I’m going to finish this book. It’s something that I’ve been waiting for a while. And the book title is I am bunny. How a talking dog taught me everything. I need to know about Being Human by Alexis divine.

Rich:
A talking dog.

Maggie:
Yes. Do you follow? What about bunny on Instagram?

Rich:
No, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of. Bunny,

Maggie:
I’m so surprised because bunny is a sheepadoodle and has like millions of followers and bunny is a dog that uses buttons. To speak to her human whose name is Alexis, and it’s fascinating. There’s a ton of scientific research happening with bunny and other dogs like bunny who use AAC devices Which stands for augmented accelerated Communications? I recently read a book. I’m not gonna remember the title of it, but it’s by another author who has a dog who uses buttons to talk and the dog’s name is Stella and the humans name is Christina Hungerford. Oh, I think her book is called hunger for Words might be her Instagram handle. But Christina Hungerford is actually a speech pathologist. So she using her speech pathologist background thought like oh, I want to see if I can teach my dog the same techniques that I’m using children who can’t speak because she works with children who use AAC devices like iPads with words and stuff to help communicate. So she thought that she could do that with her dog and Alexis Divine who’s the owner of bunny was inspired by Christina Hungerford and has become way more. Has way more of a following and is influenced way more pet owners and including myself.

Rich:
Yeah,

Maggie:
Rosie

Rich:
Use the

Maggie:
Buttons Rosie use it. Well Rosie used to use the buttons a ton before we got our other dog Bruce and then we had to put the buttons away because Bruce was like using it as a toy and like chewing them up and what it just it was a big distraction and so I feel like now I have become more alert as a pet owner. To how my dog are communicating to me. Like I’m not this is like hand to the sky like truth. What just happened today before coming here? I stopped at home to eat lunch and let my dogs out and we came back from inside and we have a bell but by our front door so our dogs ring the bell when they want to go outside, but they also ring the bell for like other things and I never know like they’ll come inside in the ring the bell and I’m like, I wish I knew exactly what this meant. But today actually Bill he has a happy Bachelor and so we came home from inside and Bruce one of my dogs. Walked over to my sneakers sniffed. My sneakers walked over to his collar and booped his collar with his nose. Then he walked over to his leash which is hanging by the door. Oops the leash and then rang the bell.

Rich:
Wow, and

Maggie:
I was like Bruce. Do you want to go for a walk and he just started like spinning in circles and like wagging his tail like that was a clear communication to me. That was like sneakers collar leash ding ding like let’s go. So it’s just interesting that like our our pets are trying to communicate to us if you’re like if you’re able to like listen and see that. Yeah,

Rich:
So Bruce The Brute.

Maggie:
Yeah.

Rich:
That’s huh. Good job Bruce. Good job, Maggie.

Maggie:
But anyways, that’s what I’m reading. Now. The book is called I am Bunny and you

Rich:
Know, we got asked about stuff like that is Christine. She’s really way more up on the Instagrams and you like the especially the animals. Yeah, and we’re not that you’re gonna find out there. Yeah. She’s the one to check in with although we’ve never she’ll send me real and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything or heard of that person or that dog.

Maggie:
Yeah.

Rich:
It’s a dog named Bunny.

Maggie:
The dog’s name is bunny.

Rich:
Layers

Maggie:
Complaining on this is confusing

Rich:
Cool,

Maggie:
But it’s really fun. It’s it’s a really good read so far.

Rich:
I wish that I could get would you really have like audible or something?

Maggie:
Yeah, I use Audible. But before

Rich:
I know subscribe to one more thing, you know before

Maggie:
I had do you have a library card?

Rich:
What’s the library?

Maggie:
You can use the Libby app. Which is the free version of audible and you can borrow books. from Libby and that’s how I read Atomic habits for the first time. was through the Libby app you just go in and put it like on hold like you would a book that you wanted or like request it and they will you can listen to it.

Rich:
I’m downloading you. Now.

Maggie:
Nice

Rich:
As we speak. Oh, maybe yeah,

Maggie:
You just need a library card.

Rich:
I probably have one if not sound good a new one. All right, first question. Do you have a library card? What if not no yet. Okay. We’ll come back to that.

Maggie:
You just go to

Rich:
About Christine’s they got bars.

Maggie:
Well, if Christine might have Olivia app already

Rich:
She probably yes,

Maggie:
So you just go just go up to those exactly Library.

Rich:
And get your library up on everything. Yeah. I am sure that I have library cards somewhere.

Maggie:
Hmm.

Rich:
They can probably issue me a new one for a buck. I’m pretty sure

Maggie:
For free.

Rich:
In the past they used to charge, you

Maggie:
Know that I think libraries have eliminated late fees.

Rich:
Yeah, but I’m pretty sure they’re still listening to get my buck for a new library card. That career. I’ll check with my friend Diana who? Works at this coach Library. Well, she works at the sewers of

Maggie:
The local

Rich:
Libraries and comes into our store. She’s my library connection

Maggie:
Speaking of Library. There’s this other guy that I follow on Instagram named Michael. And he’s a librarian and he posts motivational library videos about stories of interactions. He’s had with people and kids in the library and he’s so enthusiastic and he is he’s just he makes you want to go to the library. I’ll not to send you his page as well who

Rich:
Knew the age of the library influencer.

Maggie:
Yes. He has the best anyone stories like he just share stories about his interactions with people from working in the library,

Rich:
But that’s actually pretty cool. It’s

Maggie:
Really really good.

Rich:
All right, send that my way. well We got to talk business we

Maggie:
Do.

Rich:
I would

Maggie:
Like to give one update before we go into it though

Rich:
Corrections Corner.

Maggie:
What?

Rich:
No, it’s just

Maggie:
A $5 update.

Rich:
Okay. All right.

Maggie:
So on Friday. last Friday was no school in observance of the Veterans Day. holiday and I got a phone call from my bank. And you’ll never guess what happened?

Rich:
You’re kidding me.

Maggie:
They found the $5 bill.

Rich:
No, they didn’t.

Maggie:
So what happened last time when myself and my kid were leaving the bank? To exchange his ripped up $5 bill for a new $5 bill was there was a table of lollipops next to like a sweepstakes enter. You have to enter your like for a $1,000 or whatever. And you have to be like I think 18 or 21 or older to enter So I entered my name and he entered Brandon’s name because he’s like he’s like if they pull your name, will you split it with me? And I was like, yes, I will split it with you. And I’m like, this is for like every single branch of the entire Capital Region for this contest. Not just this little Scotia Branch but whatever but what happened was? He set the five dollars in the windowsill between where the window meets the frame of the window. He didn’t put in his pocket didn’t set it on a table. He just like stuck it in the window. And then got distracted by the lollipops and then took a lollipop and we just left and I thought that he fell out of his hand when we were on our way to the vehicle to my car. But she said the lady at the bank called me and said that she couldn’t believe it but like a couple days later that Friday she was like, you know opening the bank and she saw the $5 bill in the window frame and she took a picture of it. And she showed us the photo of it when we went there to pick up the $5 bill. So we found the five dollars. It had the story has a happy ending. It did not blow away.

Rich:
Wow. Thanks for telling us.

Maggie:
Yeah that I should share that

Rich:
That is such a specific place. To have to do that though. He put it there.

Maggie:
Yes. I’m

Rich:
Surprised you didn’t remember that.

Maggie:
Do you know what I mean? That’s such an intentional place literally remembered it after we found it. he was like, oh, yeah, I remember putting it in the window and I just wanted to be like Really? That’s are you kidding me hilarious. But that’s just like

Rich:
Yeah, I

Maggie:
Think I don’t know. I’m not mad about it because

Rich:
No, that’s really that’s a good thing.

Maggie:
That’s a good lesson learned like put your darn money in your pocket.

Rich:
That’s best case scenario all around you still got to teach a lesson and you still got to get five bucks back. Yeah without you.

Maggie:
Can I share One More Story,

Rich:
Please?

Maggie:
So later that day on that Friday. We went to an estate sale. And I go to stay right? No, no. At this estate sale. In someone’s office. There was a piggy bank that was in the shape of a dinosaur. And you could see in the belly of the dinosaur all these coins. It was clear. And the price of this piggy bank was eight dollars. And he looked at and he was like this piggy bank is for sale with all these coins in it and I was like, yeah, like get it and so he bought it and then on our way to the car we were guessing how much money we thought was in this like dinosaur belly piggy bank. I thought about four dollars. He thought about five dollars and when he went home guess how much money was in this pink.

Rich:
Ten dollars

Maggie:
Sixteen dollars so he doubled his money. And he found his five dollars all in the same day.

Rich:
I don’t even know what kind of lesson that is.

Maggie:
I don’t know either.

Rich:
I guess that’s like an investment and you never know what you’re gonna

Maggie:
Like. I’m I’m never overlooking piggy banks ever again. When I go to a state sales.

Rich:
I never would have thought of that

Maggie:
Like that. What are the chances?

Rich:
There’s a pro tip for y’all.

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
Hit those days sales.

Maggie:
Yep,

Rich:
Y’all you all thrifting junkies?

Maggie:
Yes.

Rich:
All right. Yeah.

Maggie:
So like that’s a core memory made right there. He’s never gonna forget that

Rich:
That’s cool. I’ve never had any experience like that.

Maggie:
Yeah, however unique who sells money in a piggy bank.

Rich:
That seems like an oversight.

Maggie:
I don’t know but he found it. He bought it.

Rich:
No, totally that’s cool.

Maggie:
Yeah. Speaking of revenue streams

Rich:
Got me with that one. Excuse me, by the way. I’m

Maggie:
You also getting over a cold

Rich:
Getting over

Maggie:
A cold. I am too.

Rich:
It’s been the worst. I

Maggie:
Actually don’t I just the best day I’ve had in a while. Me too. I have a sore throat. But but not any other symptoms. It’s just a sore throat. That I got

Rich:
It

Maggie:
That came from school.

Rich:
My Baseline when we’re talking on the mics is stuffy nose is like stuffy. So

Maggie:
Hmm.

Rich:
Not good. Yeah. but we are talking about Road Industries. Yeah, at least we hope to as you may know if you’ve been following along over the last couple weeks. We’ve been talking about business models. And one what the heck are they two? How do they pertain to our businesses? I have a coffee shop. Maggie has a real estate business and a staging business. Yep, and it seems like for every business. There

Maggie:
Could be a specific model to it and I don’t have a business model.

Rich:
That’s not true at all. That’s why

Maggie:
I don’t have one written down

Rich:
What you don’t what you mean is you don’t? You think you’re proving my point? You’re actually if you’ve been following along, you know, I’ve been making the point that everyone has a business model. They just take for granted that they have a smile and that it works.

Maggie:
Who knew

Rich:
And the question that I’ve been asking is does a business model work and that’s the question for everybody. Does your business model work?

Maggie:
Does your business model work?

Rich:
That’s right. Now I’m not here to say whether one works or not. The proof is in the pudding when it comes to your business model whether it works the what a business model is is the structure. of your business such that you’re going to basically have more money at the end and when you started that’s that’s the Bare Bones. Yeah this model, but what we’ve been doing again to recap is we’ve been going through nine components of a business model that we’re borrowing from a YouTube video called the business model canvas. from the business Channel and we have found it to be a succinct iteration of May the main components of business model So we’ve been working through those over the last couple weeks. We turned it into a series who knew we thought we’d be farther along and

Maggie:
I know

Rich:
By now that we are but that’s because we are using this experience to kind of mine. We’re using this framework. And conversation to mine our experiences. In starting our businesses over the last few years and running them over the last few years to yeah mind them for for the gold the goal for the stories.

Maggie:
So, how would you define revenue streams? Can you give some examples

Rich:
Revenue streams? I did a quick Google Search right before he did not a revenue stream is essentially by the way, this is number five component number five. and yeah, we’ll we’ll just say that you can either go watch the video or listen to the last couple episodes or we might touch on more of them today.

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
For the what what exactly these nine components are but revenue streams is right in the middle and a revenue stream is basically money. Revenue money that’s coming in your business streaming into your business flooding you with cash. So that’s what you hope

Maggie:
Would. For you for an example of storied wood. Books be a revenue stream. Yes, so there’s books there’s coffee. There’s baked goods

Rich:
Yeah, and Bubble Tea

Maggie:
In bubble tea

Rich:
Now it okay. All right. So this is actually a good question and this is the kind of thing. This is the specifics here. Are why we’re talking about business models because you can it can be as kind of vague and as broad as you want it to be or as like specific and picky as you want it to be and I suspect that those who are pickiest about their business model or at least the most in tune with what exactly is happening in each of those components are the ones with the more successful business models. I think the vagueness of my business has been why I have struggled. yeah as much as I have over the over time part of part of why struggle there’s a lot of different things happening because my whole model has been questionable from the start, but

Maggie:
I actually going off that when you just said is a good transition to a direct quote from this video that I wrote down that I like pinged as I was listening to it and when I went went back to like scrub through it, I wrote this down because I think it is so it caught me off guard in a good way. It says your customers do not exist to buy from you you exist for them. Your customers do not exist to buy. From you you exist for them.

Rich:
Yeah. Tell me again where that

Maggie:
Is like towards the beginning of the video.

Rich:
Okay.

Maggie:
Like a few minutes and

Rich:
Yeah,

Maggie:
And I just thought like that was worth mentioning because if you do have a business or you want to start a business like You you are you have to identify a problem that you solve?

Rich:
That’s right. Point number one?

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
Component number one. What problem are you solving

Maggie:
But not only what problem are you solving like? I think you like your customers do not exist to buy you exist for them is such a mic drop moment. I feel like because I don’t think a lot of people really grasp. Yeah, like the fact that like the reason why you go into business is so you can Exit like solve a problem for other people but not only solve a problem. Like you’re every decision you make should be about your customers.

Rich:
Yeah, you said that before?

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
From someone else’s.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm

Rich:
Wisdom. That’s a great point. It’s kind of a script flipped.

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
Ripped flip, and that’s actually that’s exactly where I mean. That’s I told you I was heard that marketing Invincible podcast this morning. It was basically talking about that same thing. It’s talking about because they’re starting from the beginning of essentially this process and they’re using a story brand framework that we’ve also talked about in the past. What are the people around you struggling with or what is a problem? What is the problem of the people you’re trying to reach and

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
You exist. To meet them in that need. Now the beauty of it is right that you get to be. Bringing your your time your skills your passion. You get to pour yourself into meeting that need for somebody. So it is a kind of about you, but it’s not it’s not ultimately about you. Right. Yeah,

Maggie:
It’s

Rich:
Kind of both but in terms of marketing and this is maybe the key. in terms of marketing It’s not about you at all. Or I can’t you can’t make you can’t make your marketing about you. You gotta make your marketing about them. That’s really worse. It’s not like we’re trying to wash ourselves out or lose sense of ourselves in this process

Maggie:
And your business should be something that you enjoy. Yes.

Rich:
Nice to be

Maggie:
I would literally stage houses for free because I love it so much. That’s how I know. I’m doing the right thing. That’s

Rich:
Cool.

Maggie:
And I don’t know. I just have reached a place where I’m like, wow. I really really love what I do so much. So I’m trying to scale my business right now.

Rich:
Yeah. right

Maggie:
But also going off of this business model canvas. I have to exist for my customers, so I have to continuously go back. And think like what? How could I what could I do that shows that I’m existing for them? And so I’m asking that question. Yeah myself.

Rich:
Yeah. What can I do that shows? I’m existing for somebody.

Maggie:
For my customers

Rich:
As a need

Maggie:
My staging

Rich:
Customers. It’s ironic. It’s almost ironically talking about revenue streams is like that feels selfish that could feel selfish. How can I get the money in? How can it how can I make this? thing, you know work for me and So you almost have to do a mindset shift on that where you’re like, okay, wait a minute, even my revenue streams can be geared toward my

Maggie:
Customers

Rich:
Because my customers want my nothing my service. Yeah, they want my product so

Maggie:
It will happily pay for

Rich:
It. Yeah. yeah, they will they need it and I understand that want to give them as many ways to be served as I can. It just requires money,

Maggie:
Right? So

Rich:
Yeah revenue streams. one I think I talked a little bit we touched that last time we talked about like the retail storefront. Yeah that I have. So I think if I went to if I were to broaden that that answer within the storied coffee business model. We have a storefront. Okay, and that’s where people come in and they give us money at our point of sale. Cash or card it’s right there. That’s pretty much our almost our only Revenue stream. I’d do as I discussed last time have some merch available online. So that might be another Revenue stream.

Maggie:
I think more people want that more than you think.

Rich:
Most likely don’t t-shirt. Prop, okay.

Maggie:
Oh buy

Rich:
One probably that one for you. You can get some bootleg merch. But like think about like subscriptions, right? You got Netflix and Max and Dateline premium. Yeah, everyone’s doing a subscription model. Or a lot of people are doing like a subscription model or you’re doing what do you call memberships? Would be around stream. We did members. Actually, that’s a good example storied. We did a membership program. Late last year that was covering this year. And for a select few

Maggie:
You do a monthly membership.

Rich:
Good storied. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know what it would look like.

Maggie:
Okay, I

Rich:
Have thought about it. Because it’s it’s cool. Now. The reason people want to people want to subscription or a membership based Revenue stream is because it’s sort of like it’s recurring, you know, what’s there, you know what to expect, you know, it’s not dependent on okay. I need this person to come in three times this month. It’s like no either way. I’m getting there 15 bucks or whatever.

Maggie:
I was going to say like 20 bucks a month.

Rich:
Yeah. Yeah, I mean I’m considered I’m like, okay, what would people get for that? We’ll make it worth it.

Maggie:
Yeah. a cup of coffee

Rich:
Well for 20 bucks, you don’t for a few cups of coffee. I mean maybe sandwich.

Maggie:
I say like 20 bucks a month unlimited coffee, that’d be worth it.

Rich:
Oh like okay. Okay, like a like Panera’s see Panera has one of these yeah. Sip club or whatever it’s free basically free drinks, but you just pay that membership.

Maggie:
Yeah.

Rich:
I don’t know. I don’t know what people would go for. I put it out there put it out there. Maybe we’ll try that this year because people have been asking us are we gonna do our memberships again? Yeah, we’re kind of feeling like probably not like I think that would hurt us more than it would help us right now. Into the next year, it’s good real short term. But like long term it’s a hard game to play because there’s no cash flow.

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
Is everybody paid up front?

Maggie:
Yeah. But a member shit, like if people are asking you now about memberships, this might be a good way to Pivot and do subscription. Be like people, you know just announce that be like hey, I know y’all been asking about memberships. We have thought about it. We really want to do it. But we think a better way to serve you. Our customers is to actually provide a subscription. It’s a win-win.

Rich:
Yeah,

Maggie:
Sign me up.

Rich:
I’d have to. We’ll have to talk about that almost off the mic. No so many angles, too.

Maggie:
No, I know. I’m just throwing that I

Rich:
Know you could just brainstorming that.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm. I know me too

Rich:
Because I have thought about it in the past. I’ve never landed on anything so We’re good to hear that. I appreciate your vote of confidence on that one.

Maggie:
Yeah, you should really pull your customers see if it’s something that they would do.

Rich:
Okay. I can do that. I’ve never I cannot think of you know, you see that as Coffee Roasters Coffee Roasting companies love subscriptions

Maggie:
Because

Rich:
You just send them a coffee every month and you know, it’s like it’s baked in your business is you got that Revenue coming in. They never got to worry about fresh coffee.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm.

Rich:
They can choose the frequency. They can choose they can customize it, you know, they chose the roast profiles and whether it’s ground or not blah so often a roaster will do percentage off like get 10% off when you do this prescription and things like that. So there’s incentives to to do that, but that’s that’s a different experience and Going to your local coffee shop, but I don’t know I guess Panera is doing it. The reason I thought of that was like I’m like, I don’t never seen a coffee shop do a subscription model where you coming get free coffee and you pay every month other than Panera

Maggie:
Tell me that I think

Rich:
I don’t know. They’re already so did low. So so cheap on that. I don’t know but I that’s a good

Maggie:
Yeah. I will say your punch cards or the library cards were really popular when they were first rolled out. Yeah,

Rich:
They’re still yeah version of that. Um,

Maggie:
Chill Vibes,

Rich:
Right? The Chill Vibes is what we call our loyalty points. So as you we were using the square loyalty and as you do that you get you you amassed you you accrue Chill Vibes to your account

Maggie:
Love that

Rich:
Then you can redeem them that has been cool. That’s not exactly a revenues stream. That is an answer. I Revenue history. Haha my revenue streams drying up because of all the freebies were giving away, but

Maggie:
Now I mean Yeah, I think that something like this you should definitely pull your customers and see what they would like

Rich:
Noted,

Maggie:
Especially if they’ve already been asking you about memberships and is it is the season and it could be like an open enrollment type thing where it’s like if you want to be in our subscription service. You can enroll this time of year.

Rich:
Enroll in December

Maggie:
From

Rich:
A discounted price. Yeah in January it’s going up.

Maggie:
Or January it’s not available.

Rich:
Can’t but they can cancel out anytime.

Maggie:
No, it’s it’s a they can okay the you could do a pay up front for a yearly subscription service at a discounted price or pay a monthly fee for a fixed price.

Rich:
Okay,

Maggie:
Cancel anything.

Rich:
What I’m trying to avoid is is The Upfront? Pay me now membership type thing. That’s exactly what that would be. To do an upfront version.

Maggie:
Yeah, we should talk about this optimize later.

Rich:
What I’m saying is what we did last time was we sold these memberships at different tiers hundred dollars $200 or $300. The $300 was by far the most popular and we could have seen ourselves doing a $300 tier for one year subscription. again there was also a three plus which was a $500 subscription which was two years and all the same benefits you got I you got a discount that applied for the year, depending on your your tier and The $100 was a three-month the $200 was six month. And then that $300 was a full year $500 was the two year program. So there are still going to be two year members next year and we were thinking we would just if anything we would do that $300 tier again. But the risk is you just you get so you get thousands of dollars maybe. like at the end of your year, which is nice, but then for your slowest months Into the spring you have no real dollars coming in yours you have much fewer

Maggie:
Because they’re all on gift cards.

Rich:
Yes. Everyone’s paying with gift cards because that’s what you that’s what you actually sold them was was a $300 gift card with perks and then there’s just like them the cash flow. It’s then it’s a budgeting thing. You’re creating work for yourself to say. All right, what are you gonna do with this money so that you’re standing your Your operations with those thousands of dollars that you just got you. Just got to sustain your operations for the next three to six months. and use that money to your advantage now, which is the whole reason you did it was because you needed cash infusion right now. So I don’t know. I don’t know how to balance that. It’s a it’s a tough one. And we mostly like our vibing that it’s not it wouldn’t serve us at this time.

Maggie:
Yeah to

Rich:
Do it again on the member on the pay up front model.

Maggie:
Your customers do not exist to buy you exist for them. That’s all.

Rich:
Oh, yeah. Well now I’m thinking about it.

Maggie:
Well for me for my revenue streams, I don’t really know my I know my target audience is Realtors because they’re the ones who are hiring me. And I I don’t really know what my revenue streams. I think I just have one stream. Well, I have my real estate business, you know, I have my staging business so I have two streams of income, but they are. Two different businesses. Yeah,

Rich:
And that’s okay. You essentially run two businesses. I did two you’re two different business models for sure.

Maggie:
Yes,

Rich:
And your real estate commission. Sorry. You’re

Maggie:
Yes.

Rich:
Sorry Revenue stream. And there’s there’s both as seller right sellers agent.

Maggie:
Hmm

Rich:
And buyers Asian,

Maggie:
Correct?

Rich:
Either way you’d get a commission.

Maggie:
Correct

Rich:
In the Right circumstances. And so I don’t know if that’s one or two revenue streams there because you could just choose one right you could you never buy if you wanted so I mean kind of have open up to

Maggie:
And if I want to be technical a third Revenue stream could be referrals. If I if I had a wider reach like Nationwide and you know, there was floods of people who were wanting to move to Schenectady New York. I could be getting referrals or giving out referrals to people who are moving elsewhere, but that’s not a huge

Rich:
But you wouldn’t work paid until The same thing applied until you crack you sold the house right or bought or correct bought a house. So that’s where I think it’s like I think the I think what a business what I’m sorry. I think what a revenue stream is is exactly how is money getting into your Bank your your bank account. How is money coming in? And it’s it’s commission checks correct for buying or selling correct? But you but you’ve done but you do both referrals would turn into more of those sales. Which kind of is like customer relationships question actually Point number four more than Revenue Stream

Maggie:
So then I don’t know what my revenue streams are.

Rich:
We just told you it’s commission Jackson.

Maggie:
There we go.

Rich:
Commissions are for your real estate business primary and maybe only way of making money in that business. staging

Maggie:
Yes,

Rich:
Is you write a contract with someone for whatever service service, right?

Maggie:
Yes

Rich:
Her project,

Maggie:
Correct?

Rich:
And I think that’s mostly it. Yeah.

Maggie:
And then they just write me a check.

Rich:
Cool, so

Maggie:
That’s

Rich:
That’s your Revenue. That’s yeah for you. That’s your industries now. I don’t think With welcome homeco like you didn’t you have it you had a Blog

Maggie:
You

Rich:
Have a Blog but are you having Super Active without an active? But if you had continued on blogging? That’s the thing that a lot of people turn into a revenue stream.

Maggie:
Yep

Rich:
Through affiliate links. Yeah or sponsor sponsorships. Advertise advertising. Yeah, okay, right. So there’s ways to create Revenue out of that. Although I don’t think you ever pursued

Maggie:
Not actively those doing that right now. because I’m How’d you in the past? Yeah. Well, no, I mean the short answer is no

Rich:
Got it.

Maggie:
Yeah,

Rich:
Okay.

Maggie:
So

Rich:
Yeah, so I mean we have this podcast

Maggie:
That’s not off the table for me. Yeah

Rich:
Funny enough. We have this podcast which currently is

Maggie:
Not a revolution

Rich:
Not a revenue stream at all. There are ways we could turn it into a revenue stream. We didn’t get into it to do such but we are finding that it costs money

Maggie:
To

Rich:
Do what we’re doing. We’re doing a pretty low key admittedly. It’s pretty DIY.

Maggie:
Yeah,

Rich:
But TJ is trying to get paid and rightfully, so and then like there’s monthly subscription fees for hosting it and we’re not paying anything to advertise

Maggie:
Just renewed our our domain name

Rich:
There’s domain names and sorry there’s a there’s costs, you know, so at the very least we should be thinking about how to how to cover those costs right, you know and I have been thinking about that and that’s another thing, you know, that would be part of your I mean in this case yours and my

Maggie:
Mm-hmm,

Rich:
Excuse me co-business, we could true, you know, but so yeah other other podcasts. There’s only I guess there’s a lot of ways of podcasts can make money. Usually most most obviously like

Maggie:
Hmm

Rich:
Add roll sponsorships. But like you could do subscriptions where you offer premium content or ad free content or whatever. So there’s that subscription model again.

Maggie:
I could upload all the videos I’ve ever taken onto a YouTube channel, which I intend to do one of these days. Or I could just hire. A 12 year old to do it for me and feed done with that

Rich:
True even that like and that’s another way that people make money is content creation. Yeah, we’re not super on that. We’re not on that at all. But that’s another thing like you just kind of you just kind of automatically as I overthink that right. That’s my problem as well. That’s why we ain’t got no contact. No just literally over thought. It’s a death

Maggie:
Everything.

Rich:
Oh, yeah.

Maggie:
I told you how I switched my Instagram handle name and I’m like still wondering if I regret that or not. Like I question it every day.

Rich:
Tell us more you did change it. I

Maggie:
Did change it

Rich:
Which change it to

Maggie:
Somebody what to what my Instagram handle for years and years and years. has been my first and last name Maggie from and I thought that maybe switching it to. reflect more of my business would be better suited for me and would like incentivize me like mentally to like separate the personal and like the businesses side of it and like focus on being more of like a brand so I change the handle to the welcome home Collective. Because I felt like it was a good. A good reflection of what welcome home Co is and all the welcome home. Co handles were already taken or being squatted on by somebody else. So I’m sort of like last to the game for like getting the handle that I really wanted. Without having like an underscore or like a period in the middle of it. I just wanted to just be one thing

Rich:
Got it

Maggie:
And my website is they’ll welcome homeco.com. So I thought maybe like the welcome home Collective. Might be a good like equivalent but it’s it’s mad long and I’m still questioning it. And so when you’re listening to this, I might have changed it back to Maggie from or it could still be the welcome home Collective. We don’t know right now.

Rich:
Yeah, that’s deep. That means that between Wednesday and Friday

Maggie:
You

Rich:
Made that call.

Maggie:
Yeah, it’s yeah, it’s true. I’m like, I’m like on the fence right now. I go back and forth depending on my mood. But here’s the thing. Here’s the okay. I also, I’m overthinking my Handle, my Instagram handle, but have I produced content in the last six weeks? No. haven’t uploaded a single photo or a real I’m I’m posting on stories here and there but I have sort of disconnected a little bit from content creation because The time like I’ve just sort of shifted roles from being a business person to being more of a parent now and that’s really taken up a lot of my time. Shout out to all the parents who have been parents for the entire life of their kid. I’ve just been a parent from age 12 on so it’s kind of like I’ve been sort of plopped down in the middle of it figuring out how to like react to me my time and my life because the time of day when I used to really produce content was between like 5 AM and seven am that’s my sweet spot. always But my kid at home wakes up at 6:15, and I’ve just barely had time for my body to process my first cup of coffee before he wakes up and I’m like then I have to be awake and like ready for him and his needs and stuff and so change

Rich:
When your morning person.

Maggie:
Yeah. It’s a really big change and I’m like do I wake up at 4 am now I get the same amount of work done.

Rich:
I don’t know suggestion. But

Maggie:
Well, I also wonder the other thing that I also have sort of Changed is my like gym routine. I used to also go to the gym early in the morning. And I I’ve had to adjust my gym schedule too because again wanting to be there for the morning routine stuff and I and again it’s only been it’s been five weeks six weeks since this. change has happened like in our household with him, and I’m maybe I just need to give myself a little bit more time to get into the rhythm of our new life, but That’s kind of I think where I’m also like struggling is like I’m I want Instagram to be a revenue stream for my business. so much so that I’ve been like I’ve been taking again a course that I’ve paid for and downloaded but like haven’t really done much with and I I really do want to have like brand Partnerships and just have Joe and I have all this really cool content ideas for videos, but I just have not done them. So I’m like why am I obsessing and overthinking about my Instagram name when like I’m not even producing content right now, right?

Rich:
I got you a secret coming from

Maggie:
So that’s my little rant about myself.

Rich:
If you had not changed your handle, it’s not like you would be producing

Maggie:
Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.

Rich:
I

Maggie:
Just proved a point to myself. right

Rich:
Yeah, I mean I hear you. Do you think? All right now to keep going on this one, but deep. Do you think that? If it had been the welcome home Co you would have no issue with the handle?

Maggie:
No. I think I’m

Rich:
Are you think changing it from your name was the problem? Yeah,

Maggie:
I mean,

Rich:
I wonder if it’s the collective word that you’re unsettled about because it doesn’t really match anything you’ve

Maggie:
Yeah done

Rich:
Before yeah,

Maggie:
That could be

Rich:
You know, so if it was simply the welcome home coat, that’s as much you as Maggie from is yeah,

Maggie:
I think maybe you’re right.

Rich:
Just a thought so I wonder if findings like the welcome home with an underscore. Because I don’t hate it. I don’t hate a thing with it. I don’t have a name with the underscore at all.

Maggie:
Yeah again overthinking it.

Rich:
Totally

Maggie:
So

Rich:
That’s my take from it as an outside. I wonder if that’s actually there’s the collective artist was thrown off

Maggie:
And it’s very long

Rich:
The link to I mean, I remember when we was like when I was like, hey, I think we’re gonna change this from storied coffee to storied coffee and milk teas. Oh, that’s our entire handle Story Coffee and milkies. I was like I was like should we change this? It’s gonna be mad long, but then But ultimately it was a marketing thing because that is people don’t see your name on Instagram until they go to your page you see your handle on Instagram

Maggie:
So

Rich:
You got to kind of lead with that and at the time we were kind of rebranding to where bubble tea was gonna be as much a feature of our business as as coffee, and I was like we got to stand out with this so I’m gonna just Risk it for the biscuit. And we we went with the long one and I’ve never looked back. But yeah, I was. Not competing for that handle.

Maggie:
Yeah. Nobody else was here. Yeah. What’s a frustrating about this whole process is like? The like two possible Instagram handles that I would like are literally just being squatted on by people with zero posts and zero followers and zero, they’re following zero people. it’s so frustrating and that’s that’s the other thing that makes me so. Disheartened about it doesn’t like what’s the point? Yeah,

Rich:
Everyone we found House Coffee.

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
Was already a

Maggie:
Well. No, we’re like oh

Rich:
And then we friended them and they

Maggie:
They us. Yeah,

Rich:
Did we ask do we get right do we write them?

Maggie:
We did

Rich:
I didn’t get back to us.

Maggie:
No, I also report. That’s okay. We just out to someone with With the when the welcome home Co handles they make doormats for houses and they haven’t been active since 2021. I want to say and I reached I messaged them and then like I even clicked their book now and added a message to their bookmet now and I haven’t heard back because like they’re probably not even checking that. Yeah.

Rich:
Well, yeah,

Maggie:
That’s my sorry go off on that tangent, but

Rich:
The things these are the things we deal with.

Maggie:
Yeah. What does this video mean by assets? Is it? So Key Resources, I think is what the other what we

Rich:
Want to prevent us from going ahead. But actually I’m wondering did we did we get into cut did we how much did we talk about custody Relationships by the way custody is an industry term for customer. Especially coffee world.

Maggie:
Yeah it custody. I don’t what we talked about clients versus customers

Rich:
To talk about that. Yes.

Maggie:
So

Rich:
Did we talk about how we get how you get so okay, so maybe we’ll just review if we did. Maybe it’ll feel like a

Maggie:
Review. Okay.

Rich:
Did we talk about how you get clients?

Maggie:
Mmm Yeah we talked about are you guys I’m business to business. Well, I guess that’s sales channels customer relationships. What do you mean so

Rich:
We did see this is where last I did. I did talk. I did touch on how things overlap a lot or overlap a bit in these things. It’s not linear when you talk about your business model and how the different components go together. It’s not it’s not totally linear. So we did talk about sales channels. which is different from revenue streams because that’s like How your stuff is getting out into the world so through social media through your website through your retail store from business to business or or directed consumer. We talked about sales channels. That kind of leads into how you’re going to get customers. And how you’re going to grow your relationships with those customers and then how you’re gonna and how you’re gonna retain those customers and I don’t know the ACT forever really got into that.

Maggie:
By all means

Rich:
Which kind of goes hand in hand with revenue streams. is channels I just think we skipped over that a little bit so Rather than jumping assets and feel like we didn’t do a service to our custis.

Maggie:
Okay.

Rich:
I don’t want to just I just want to avoid avoid so so my question is and you did talk about I think you did talk about your staging business and you are largely business to where other Realtors are hiring you for the stage and services. He did specifically say that so other Realtors are a lot of your customers in that sense So I mean maybe we did so maybe we did get into this more than I’m remembering but like with real estate. business how have you gotten clients? Have you gone about getting clients? or customers in that has been Maybe did we touch on

Maggie:
I’m 100% referral

Rich:
100% referral. You said that about staging

Maggie:
And that’s pretty much in

Rich:
Your real estate business

Maggie:
Real estate business. and I think I talked about the pillars of my real estate business, maybe two episodes ago. But yeah, I I don’t really do a ton of marketing. In terms of like your traditional like advertising. most of my business is through word of mouth and my past clients. So if I’ve provided a really good service to My clients when people who they know. Needed agent they will just reach out to me and they’ll say oh I was referred to you by so-and-so and that person was my like a past client

Rich:
Cool. I remember you saying too and maybe I don’t remember if we were talking about it. I don’t remember if this came up in the context of customer relationships. Or not so sorry if I’m just way more confused than I need to be right now, but you talked about your like networks that you had around you like Community groups. And yeah and like the church at the time and Community groups being like rotary and stuff like that blog. Did you get customers through your blog? Did readers turn into

Maggie:
Um,

Rich:
Who were your readers

Maggie:
I think. people maybe like Googled me and stumbled upon my website and learned more about me and what I do and there was a lot of crossover between my Instagram and my blog. They went hand in hand and I would I would publish a lot of my posts on Facebook and people would see them or I published a lot on Instagram and people would see them

Rich:
Cool. Did you see is there it were there examples of where you’re you’re content? Turned into customers.

Maggie:
Yes.

Rich:
And clients.

Maggie:
Yes. Really? Yeah,

Rich:
We didn’t touch on that. Yeah,

Maggie:
That was interesting. No.

Rich:
Back when like your blog was pretty active. Yeah,

Maggie:
And

Rich:
They became like like people who wanted to sell houses with you or

Maggie:
Or buy

Rich:
Or buy really like how frequently

Maggie:
I worked with a lot of buyers. several years ago because I was just starting in a lot of people who were around our age were also looking to buy houses and They they would see I think what it was is I was posting consistently on Instagram and I was consisting. Posting consistently on my blog and a lot of that went hand in hand. And so the people who are following my Instagram or who are or who I was friends with on Facebook. or just people it just sort of like kept me top of mind for people. I don’t think that people necessarily. Found my blog as a stranger and then wanted to work with me. I think it just sort of. Became a reinforcer. For people like if I had somebody that like needed a realtor they would be like, oh you should work with Maggie and maybe they would look me up find my Instagram and then go through like the rabbit hole and then find my blog or friend me on Facebook. Or email me and then my email signature had a link to my blog and they would read about that just to reinforce. how Like I know what I’m doing.

Rich:
Yeah. That’s a cool Insight. We yeah, we definitely did not touch on that per se.

Maggie:
I stop.

Rich:
We were kind of closer to the end. I think we I think we talked about why I stop blogging. Oh, yeah. I don’t know. I was thinking about our conversation and how like we didn’t get as far into this one as I yeah. I wanted to that’s because we just I think we got cut off when we were

Maggie:
Mmm.

Rich:
Mostly have we had been talking about sales channels. So these customer relationships. I mean we did touch on them because again the bleed over but yeah, there’s specific ways you need to feed your revenue streams

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
By finding customers whether it’s natural networks that you’ve got or whether the referrals work for you. I mean everyone always says this is kind of like anecdotal but word of mouth is the best

Maggie:
The

Rich:
Best advertising and and I mean, it’s maybe the hardest to get and least like broad but it is maybe the best I don’t know the most effective. Yes. It’s the most qualified right you always want qualified leads and no more qualified to lead than like someone who comes in on the word of a friend.

Maggie:
Well, perfect example of a listing I have right now that’s under contract and was actually a referral from my broker but The client is a teacher in a school where she graduated high school from so she still connected to that community and the teachers and and people who still work there. this guy our client bought his house a year ago, but is relocating. Out of Scotia to be like closer to where he teaches because he has like a 45 to an hour commute every day, and it’s just too far. So Even though he bought his house a year ago. He did not reach out to the agent who helped him by this house because I don’t know what that relationship was or wasn’t but it just for whatever reason they didn’t they he didn’t reach out to that person. Yeah. I don’t know who they are doesn’t matter. But he he asked his co-workers at the school where he works other teachers. Hey, I need a realtor. Can you recommend someone and the people he asked every single person mentioned Judy my broker. It was like you got to work with her. She is the best she will take such good care of you now Judy and I went on to this appointment. She invited me to come on to the disappointment because she knew the house would need staging and she’s like you live. Less like so close to this house. She’s like I’m gonna refer this to you. Once we’re done with the listing appointment. You’re gonna take over and you’re gonna treat him as if you he was your client, but I’ll just be involved with it and you know, whatever and so we worked it out.

Rich:
Yeah,

Maggie:
But after we did the listing appointment like we just totally wowed him with like great communication great customer service great staging and just the overall service and he ended up texting me after we were like, or maybe we had a conversation after we under contract and he’s like I just can’t believe that you you both went above and beyond. I’m just so thrilled. This is like better than I could have asked for like basically the people who recommended me you to me like did not steer me wrong and To that is how I get the majority of my business. Yeah

Rich:
Is

Maggie:
Just the word of mouth, but just by offering really great customer service. It’s really not that. Difficult of a formula in my opinion. It’s like you just treat people with respect you’re honest with them. I feel like even when you have to deliver bad news or you screw up. I mean, I had a really really big expensive screw up this year and I still was able to own it with a different customer totally totally different scenario, but one of my point is like You just have to provide good service to somebody and like. be quick with your communication and own up to something if you make the mistake and just In my opinion go above and beyond their expectations and then they’ll be your raving fans and they’ll tell everybody.

Rich:
That’s super well said. Happy that we got that in there. Yeah, I mean, I really think I really comes down to that. There’s a lot of ways to find customers. There’s like traditional models with advertising and things like that. but there’s there’s A lot to be said for just the service you give in the way that that leads to the way people talk about you and the reputation.

Maggie:
Yes

Rich:
That you get as a result.

Maggie:
Yes.

Rich:
You can build off of that, you know and your name gets out there. I mean regardless of of how regardless of the fact that people just don’t cross the bridge and like don’t come to Scotia and like story kind of feels like a desert sometimes. But whenever I hear people talk about us they talk. Well, you know, so it’s that’s what makes me believe we gotta think good thing going. and it’s like a reputation is good and there’s just other limiting factors that we’ve got to figure out how to surmount. But the customers we do have I think yeah, there’s there’s a lot of ways that I struggle to. Invest in those relationships and and grow them that’s definitely like something we could. we could we could work on but we get a lot we get we could repeat business from the people that do know us. So there’s There’s a lot to be said for that. I think you should send Christmas cards like your top 20 people this year always cut a suggestion top 20 people.

Maggie:
I don’t know.

Rich:
That’s an interesting idea too. Always leave me with some of the think about me. I’m trying to think if I’ve ever experienced that from another business.

Maggie:
That’s another thing. I actually do.

Rich:
Was you know, everyone’s addresses. I’m not supposed to know my customers addresses. If I do

Maggie:
It, you know a realtor who has access to people’s information

Rich:
Literally illegal.

Maggie:
No, it’s not.

Rich:
I’m pretty sure.

Maggie:
Getting people’s mailing addresses.

Rich:
I don’t know.

Maggie:
It’s not illegal.

Rich:
It might be illegal for you to give that to me. It’s Elizabeth.

Maggie:
I don’t think so. I’ll look into it if it is I won’t do it. But if it’s not I will

Rich:
Okay notice. We got to wrap this one out. But again happy we got the in there. Yeah, and now I know for sure we’ve talked about customer relationships. Yes. There’s a lot more we said on frankly any one of these points. So we’re just doing a little bit of a gloss over these things next week. We’ll talk about assets for sure and maybe go on from there.

Maggie:
Okay,

Rich:
Who knows we’ll get through the end. I bet we got a whole episode on cost alone. So probably we’ll get through all these next time but it’s not about the destination guys. Yeah about the journey

Maggie:
We exist for you dear listener.

Rich:
Yeah.

Maggie:
So if there’s anything we can do differently, please let us know. Please give us your feedback in the form of a review. We’d love to hear from you. It will help us grow. And yeah, we’re here for you.

Rich:
That’s

Maggie:
All I got to say.

Rich:
All right. We’ll talk soon

Maggie:
Later.

Rich:
Bye.