How Much Time Does Startup Really Take (CFFL 603)
How Much Time Does Startup Really Take
Jack Butala: How Much Time Does Startup Really Take. Every Single month we give away a property for free. It’s super simple to qualify. Two simple steps. Leave us your feedback for this podcast on iTunes and number two, get the free ebook at landacademy.com, you don’t even have to read it. Thanks for listening.
Jack Butala: Jack Butala for Land Academy, welcome to our Cash Flow From The Land show. In this episode, Jill and I discuss starting a new company and how much time it takes, and some of the associated resources we think are needed. Jill I love this topic, and heck, while LandStay, our regular old land selling operation is what, 17 years plus years old. Land Academy is still very much in the startup stage so I think this is a timely topic and as usual, I think we’re pretty qualified to discuss it.
Hey before we do though, let’s take a question from a caller.
Jill DeWit: Okay. Steven from Washington called in and asked, “I’ve only ever used county tax roles as data to send out mailers. Why is Data To Doorstep any better than the actual county assessor data?”
Jack Butala: What’s Data to Doorstep?
Jill DeWit: What is Data to Doorstep?
Jack Butala: I’m asking you.
Jill DeWit: I know what Data to Doorstep is. Data to Doorstep is our brand new data and mailer bundled program. We have two levels, we have a membership level for our Land Academy members and then we have a Rogue Pro level because we have a number of professionals out there like real estate agents and things that they just need the data and the mailer part. So they have a Rogue Pro …
Jack Butala: We are a licensed provider of First American Titles data. The same data they use to write title policies. We are not a list reseller, which everybody else is.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: We’re going to actually have a podcast-
Jill DeWit: That’s a good point.
Jack Butala: -on that whole topic. Data to Doorstep is a product that Jill and I launched. Developed and launched. Both of us personally launched it, based on requests we were getting from our Land Academy members.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: You log into a database- The same one that First American Title uses. It’s online, and you choose the records that you want based on a bunch of instructional videos that I produce and that are just I guess basically out there on the internet. Not just mine, but any of them.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: You choose a data set and then you print it out. Print out offers and wait for them to come back in the mail and buy some properties super under value.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: That’s my two cents.
Jill DeWit: Interesting.
Jack Butala: That’s my description of the silliness that we just created.
Jill DeWit: Well the question was, why is it different by the way? How is it better? Well, because the format. I mean, that’s a- That’s a whole other podcast but with Data to Doorstep you do this in a couple hours on a Sunday. You can sit, pull the data, merge it into a spreadsheet … you know, upload it to a printer.
Jack Butala: Yeah.
Jill DeWit: Monday they can be printing it out and putting your letters and your offers in the mail. That’s the beauty of it, versus the old way.
Jack Butala: What’s the old way?
Jill DeWit: If I’m lucky..
Jack Butala: I don’t think you ever- Did you do the old way?
Jill DeWit: I’ve seen the old way, but I’ve never done the old way. I’ve heard about the stacks of reams of paper that you might have got, or you if you’re lucky you got it on a CD /However, the way the CD was delivered, the data was delivered, it was a jumbled mess and you had to decipher what it was.
Then I’ve heard even horror stories that not all the property information that you needed was even on the CD.
Jack Butala: That’s the big difference. My answer to the question is that, the format that First American puts this data in- Maybe we should start saying that we put this data in. I don’t know.
Jill DeWit: We put this data in. Let’s go with we.
Jack Butala: First American, the way that they structure it, so every county is exactly the same. If you wanted to purchase data from Maricopa county Arizona, which is where Phoenix is, you would get a data set. It costs $50. You send it in, get the data back and it’s what Jill said. A jumbled mess, you’d have to decipher it.
Then if you did it for, let’s say, Park county Colorado. You’re going to get a CD of the same thing, it’s just going to be a different jumbled mess and you’re going to spend a ton of time trying to put it in the right columns and get it in the right mailer that’s usable and makes sense to you. First American does this all for you.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)- You know what else I hear a lot of people talking about, they get this stuff and their way of around- A way to save money “is hiring a VA to do it”. That’s great, but, the money that you spend on the VA, having them try to sort it and figure it out- First of all, you’ve got to understand it before you give it to a VA. How many hours is it going to take a VA when you could’ve just done it yourself in two hours.
Jack Butala: We have a podcast coming up that’s this exact topic. Why would you- There are certain tasks that you need to hire a VA for and there’s certain stuff you need to do yourself.
Jill DeWit: Right. Correct.
Jack Butala: I’m not going to give it away, but I bet you can guess what I think about data.
Jill DeWit: Exactly. Thank you.
Jack Butala: I think we answered that.
Jill DeWit: I think we did also. What’s this show about?
Jack Butala: What is it about? Oh. How much time does it really take to start up a company.
Jill DeWit: I don’t know, a week. Two weeks.
Jack Butala: Oh my god. We-
Jill DeWit: Let’s think. This is good, how long has Land Academy taken?
Jack Butala: You know, I’ll tell you. I look back on any company that I’ve started or purchased actually, and how much time it actually takes to become successful and cash flowing and sit back in your chair and say “okay” You know, it’s a long time.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: How much time does it take to get cash flow coming in with our specific model? In a week. If you do everything right, a week. If you do everything wrong, a month?
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: Everything, for me, starts as a side business and you really kind of see as it goes. Is it really going to replace your main income? With our program, with the Land program specifically and how we provide the data, we just take all the headaches out of it.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: Can you imagine if you started this and you didn’t know where to get anything?
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: If our competitor- Forget about our competitor. Other people talk about the concept and some people like us tell you exactly what to do.
Jill DeWit: Well you know what I think about?
Jack Butala: How we do it anyway.
Jill DeWit: I look at it this way. We are almost like a franchiser. We are actually helping people start their own versions of what we do with their own name on it and everything. We’re giving them all the equipment. It’s like a pizza place. We’re telling them where to go buy the pizza ovens, how much to spend.
Jack Butala: Oh my gosh you’re right. I never thought about it that way.
Jill DeWit: All the secrets. Here’s what your logo should kind of look like. You know, dream it up. We’re also-
Jack Butala: You need a website.
Jill DeWit: You need a website.
Jack Butala: Here’s where to go to get it.
Jill DeWit: It’s a whole road map or checklist or whatever you want to call it. That’s kind of what we’re doing right now. I know the topic is really how much time does a startup take, but …
Jack Butala: Right.
Jill DeWit: I’m watching some of our members and, man, they’re up and running pretty darn fast. It’s weeks to months that they are turning a profit and … When do you think you’re safely out of the startup phase?
Jack Butala: Well for land- To buy and sell land. I would say you’re out of the startup phase when, and there’s a moment for everybody who works by themselves now- Or for themselves. You’re sitting at your desk at work like, “You know what, this is not what I should be working on. I have so much other stuff to do on my side business, I really need to- I probably could make 70 or 80 thousand bucks if I get these deals complete.”
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: You have that kind of warm feeling. It’s happened to me several times in my life.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Jack Butala: That’s when I think the startup is over. It varies for everybody.
Jill DeWit: Right. Okay that’s cool.
Jack Butala: It’s just a round about way of saying “Please don’t quit your job”, Don’t do that. You’ll know when it’s ready.
Jill DeWit: Right. Well part of it is, I was thinking ahead before we met, I had to spend some time on this before we did this show. I’m thinking-
Jack Butala: You put some thoughts together before we did this show?
Jill DeWit: I do before every show. You make it sound like I come rolling in …
Jack Butala: What happened.
Jill DeWit: … From a nail appointment with a latte in my hand, and my hair windblown from the top down. I just roll in and put a headset in and go.
Jack Butala: That’s exactly what happens.
Jill DeWit: That’s not exactly what happens. I do spend time-
Jack Butala: I do all the work. You come in and you’re like an actress.
Jill DeWit: I do spend time on the topics.
Jack Butala: You look good, you sound good, and then we turn the mics off and you turn around and leave.
Jill DeWit: Okay, more than half of that is true, but …I do spend some time on- You make it sound like I spend no time. I do spend some time on the topics and I have come up with some of these, but …
What I was thinking before this is it’s important to, when you’re doing this and you’re in startup mode. How much time do you have to commit? You need to really think about that, plan it out. Of course the more time you commit, the faster it’s going to go. If you are single and have no kids and no pets and a little one bedroom apartment-
Jack Butala: In your parent’s basement.
Jill DeWit: You have your day job. When you’re done with your day job and you race home and you dive into this, you’re going to get there a lot faster. That’s just a fact. That’s okay. Dating will come later, don’t worry.
Jack Butala: What if you got a job that- You know, when I was in college I always looked for a job, I had a job at a coffee shop. I got there, I had to open the place. It was like 5 o’clock, 4 o’clock in the morning. Once it was open and there we’re a lot of customers I just sat there and did my homework.
Jill DeWit: I’m sure that happens.
Jack Butala: What if you had a job like that and just worked on a side business?
Jill DeWit: I would look for a job like that.
Jack Butala: Yeah, me too. That’s what I mean, especially if you’re living in your parent’s basement or on your buddy’s couch or something.
Jill DeWit: What if you’re somewhere and all you have to do is answer the phones? When you’re not- You know, you just answer the phones. Maybe you’re just, something like that. That’s not crazy.
Jack Butala: Yeah.
Jill DeWit: You could be working on your side business. Wouldn’t that be hilarious? That’s so funny- You’re the receptionist and the next thing they know you split and you open up the- You rent the office next to them or something funny.
Jack Butala: Right.
Jill DeWit: It’s so- You business is now off and running.
Jack Butala: Right.
Jill DeWit: I think it’d be hilarious. My other thought about this is, thinking about a start up and timing. Do you have a good game plan?
Jack Butala: You have to plan everything out.
Jill DeWit: You really need to have goals, monthly goals.
Jack Butala: Neither one of us are “Let’s wait and see how this happens” kind of people.
Jill DeWit: It’s true.
Jack Butala: I really think you’ve got to plan everything out.
Jill DeWit: You do.
Jack Butala: I don’t think over plan, but take a piece of paper and put some roman numerals on it and say, step one is- We do that. I do that in cash flow in the Land education program for you. All the typed up materials and stuff are in there too.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: I still think you need to write it down for yourself. Your version of it. Don’t you? Like writing notes for a class.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: You’re interpretation of it.
Jill DeWit: What we’re really good at too is reassessing often. As things are working, “okay, that stays. That’s moving forward, you do that. This is not working, I’m going to dump that and swap this.
Jack Butala: Is there anything about our little startup that we’re in right now where you’re saying, “Oh my gosh, we’ve got to stop doing that. I really misjudged that, that was a bad idea.”? Like in Land Academy specifically.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, you know what, I actually have one.
Jack Butala: The counterpart is, is there anything where it’s like “Oh my gosh, I overlooked this. This is awesome, everybody loves it.”
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: What are you’re two?
Jill DeWit: My one that I overlooked in the beginning, which we all teach and tell everybody now ahead of time be ready, is social media.
Jack Butala: Oh, you know, I overlooked that too, Jill.
Jill DeWit: I did not fully understand-
Jack Butala: I don’t know why because it works so well.
Jill DeWit: -the value of social media.
Jack Butala: It worked so well with LandStay, and it always has.
Jill DeWit: I know.
Jack Butala: I don’t know why we overlooked it for Land Academy. I did too.
Jill DeWit: I know. I’m still beefing up. If anybody listening is a social media pro, I’ve tried to hire that. I can’t even hire that, it’s something you have to learn. We’re building it up.
Jack Butala: I just got done- I’m sorry, and what’s the good one? The flip side.
Jill DeWit: Oh, what’s the good one that- What was the question again? What, something that worked really well and I had no idea.
Jack Butala: Yeah, like you didn’t, you know. Exactly.
Jill DeWit: That worked really really well and I had no idea … Word of mouth.
Jack Butala: Yeah.
Jill DeWit: Word of mouth … How do you say that. We’ve grown organically-
Jack Butala: Yeah.
Jill DeWit: -without trying, and it’s just a wonderful result I think of who we are and what we do and what we teach. I didn’t- That’s saved me in other ways, because I’ve got plenty of members and customers and everything because of that. What’s yours?
Jack Butala: I by leaps and bounds, I had no idea the effect, the positive effect that a success plan would have. That was maybe your best idea ever.
Jill DeWit: That’s a good one.
Jack Butala: I’m giving you 100% credit on that.
Jill DeWit: Thank you.
Jack Butala: What happens is, Jill is on the front line. She talks to customers and potential customers and stuff all day. They ask her stuff. Well, that’s how we came up with Data to Doorstep, because everybody was saying, “Oh, how do I get the data? Where do I get the data?” And then we would tell them, “Go over to First American Title, and call this guy, and tell him that Jill and Steve sent you, and get the data.”
Everybody was coming back and saying, “This guy doesn’t understand. The salesperson doesn’t understand that I’m Land Academy.” I would have a weekly call with this guy. His name was Teeg I think, or Teag. I don’t remember. I’m telling- She’s- Jill’s kicking me out of the desk.
Jill DeWit: I know, I am. I’m like, “Don’t throw anybody under the bus!”.
Jack Butala: Yeah. He just didn’t get it.
Jill DeWit: No, and they just didn’t get it. That’s okay. He didn’t understand what our needs were for our people.
Jack Butala: He doesn’t understand- The vast majority of people were calling in, that call him, as a salesperson. Buying tickets for houses.
Jill DeWit: He thinks we’re all a referral. Right.
Jack Butala: Which by the way, you can use our data for that too.
Jill DeWit: Exactly! I was just going to say the same thing.
Jack Butala: We’re going to launch that program too.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, the broker program. It’s coming.
Jack Butala: Success plan. It was a- Success plan if you don’t know, is our little community. It’s a website. Successplan.com. Where all of our members, there’s a free are and a paid area where our members collaborate.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: It’s an online community.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: We talk about buying and selling land, everything from “Hey I need a photographer in Colorado” to “I’m stuck on this part downloading data, can you please help me.”
We have people- Jill and I have hired people, and we’re in there all the time answering questions.
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Jack Butala: Success Plan for me, was- I developed it. I did the site myself, I did it in three days while Jill on vacation, literally. It worked out great. Along the lines of actor’s talent thing.
Jill DeWit: Thank you. Thank you. Here’s my other thing about start up and how much time a startup really takes, is, have you planned for issues, because, “Everyone everyone everyone”, to quote my friend Steven here.
Jack Butala: No, it’s more like this. Everyone everyone everyone, stop stop stop. This is how this is going to go.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
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