If you don’t want to read it, you can watch this video.
Today we’re going to talk a about how to build a business you are proud of. We’re going to talk about the difference between a business and a hustle. Let’s get into the meat of the matter.
What is a business? A business is something that makes money whether you are there or not. If your hustle does not fit that criteria and you’ve got to always push and grind and hustle to make money, you don’t have a business. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s very different.
We do have a hustler here. She has to get to the airport, but first she’s going to tell you about her hustle.
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Verlyncia explains what she does.
What I do outside of Hustler’s Kung Fu is a lot of reselling. I am currently putting together a line of clothing that’s going into production which is kind of intense. I don’t know any other business besides clothing.
Everything I have done in the past revolved around retail in some shape or form. I sold luxury goods at Gucci. All I know is clothes. I know how to sell clothes. I understand clothes. I use eBay. I use Depop. I use this app for men called Grailed. They sell contemporary clothes. It is a really nice platform for men. We sell a lot there.
In terms of my hustle, I’m going to give you some information about what my typical day looks like. I wake up at about 8am or 9am and do all the work I’m supposed to do in operations for Hustler Kung Fu. Then I come in here and do the live stream.
It was Human Resources at one point, but now it’s the live stream. After that, I’ll shoot product that we’ve got or extra inventory. I’ll put the product descriptions up on eBay or Depop sometimes, depending on what the product is.
The majority of it is going up on Grailed. I have to make sure the product descriptions are there and that the items are priced accordingly. After that, I make sure the overhead is met.
Then it is time for me to package and ship out all the sales before I fly out on the weekend to do other things. When I went to Los Angeles I went sourcing for fabric and looking for one-offs. I also look at production and things online.
There are a lot of things I’m learning. I’m not doing it all by myself. I have partners. It’s been an intense trip. My days are kind of crazy. So, it is a hustle. It’s not really a business because it can’t function on its own.
I sell higher-end contemporary brands. The price point starts around $200. And goes up to $1000 or $2000. That’s basically what it is. The one-offs are rare. They are things I might have picked up in other companies. I travel a lot.
If I go to Hong Kong, I pick up things. There are things that are only produced in Asia that you’ll never see in the states. If I get something rare, I know for a fact I’m going to turn a profit on that.
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Glendon continues.
Life gets crazy with these live streams. We had some technical difficulties. Sometimes weird things will happen. The sound will say, “I don’t want to work today.” It’ll happen.
Let’s get back to talking about a hustle versus a business. A hustle can turn into a business. I’ve done it before.
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Question: (for Verlyncia) Do you buy in bulk wholesale?
Answer: I buy wholesale. When I buy wholesale, I’m not getting it from China. I’m getting product from going to trade shows like Agenda, Magic and Vegas in August and February. Sometimes I might also go to Long Beach. Additionally, I carry regular brands like the ones you find in Barney’s and Bergdorf’s.
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Question: (for Verlyncia) Do you have a website?
Answer: Not right now. I will share that with you when I get the website up. As of right now, the stuff is on Grailed and eBay. On Grailed, my items are posted under lilvee37. On eBay, our stuff is under haygar337. The stuff I’m carrying is one season older. I’m able to get clothes at a deeper discount than wholesale because I have established relationships. I have a presence in the fashion industry. It’s a little different when you have strong relationships. You can finesse things a little bit.
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A lot of people are getting into hustle mode and creating a hustle business or a lifestyle business. Many of them are struggling. They can’t figure out why. You’ve got to understand what you’re doing before you create it.
What do you need to do to turn a hustle into a business? I’m helping someone right now turn a hustle into a business. It’s a struggle because as a business owner, you are in a position of delayed gratification. You’re always waiting to get your money.
You’re going to need a legal structure too. For hustlers, you have to go “on the books” to become a business. This is scary for some people and slows your money down. The person I’m helping who has built a multi-million-dollar hustle has run into all kinds of problems. For instance, they had cash to buy a house, but the owners would not sell it to them because of the “cash factor.” They wouldn’t do it because they thought it was crazy stuff.
For those that plan on buying a house, you need two years of tax returns. Even if you’re paying cash, they want verification from the bank that you pulled it out of the bank.
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Question: How do you market junk removal?
Answer: Craigslist. If you’re trying to get scaled up really fast, use Craigslist. To build a marketing machine, you need to be on Angie’s list and Craigslist. You need referrals.
Question: How do you find paying customers for a Pharmacy Technician trade school?
Answer: If you want to sell that stuff, you have to become an authority in that niche. Pat Flynn did a blog about lead certification. That’s “green” energy and “green” buildings. He did a blog and passed the test, then created a digital product. That’s how he created his claim to fame. You’ve got to do something like that.
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Question: How do you determine what percentage of your money should go into marketing your business?
Answer: Market as hard as you can for free before you spend any money. This is why. You’re out there spending money on ads and you don’t know your customer. You’ve never talked to your customer. You don’t know what they like. Creating an ad that will convert well will be pretty hard until you have some feedback to use.
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