0 (2s):
Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation? JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network. With great shows like Goal Digger. Today, we'll be breaking down the value of time to drop these value bombs. I have brought to Ben White into EOFire Studios. Ben is a guy who has a passion for life and adventure, especially skiing. He runs a paragliding school in a home concierge service, which are both on fire. And today Fire Nation, we'll talk about getting the word out on your business. We'll talk about cold hard cash, we'll talk about concierge life and so much more when we get back to thinking our sponsors.

0 (44s):
Is this your year? Visit thrivetimeshow.com/eofire to see how Clay Clark's business coaching helps thousands of entrepreneurs to dramatically increase profitability. It's month to month and less money than hiring an average minimum wage employee. Schedule your free consultation today at thrivetimeshow.com/eofire. Being Boss hosted by Emily Thompson is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network and is an exploration of what it means and what it takes to be boss as a creative business owner. One recent episode on the Five Tips for Better Work Life balance is a must. Listen. Listen to Being Boss wherever you go. Ben say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

1 (1m 33s):
What's up Fire Nation? I'm Ben White and something about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Probably that I don't feel like I have to bend to the whims of every customer. And I think something that's super undervalued is learning how to fire the customer,

0 (1m 52s):
Fire nation, fire your customers when they deserve it. Because guess what? Yes, this is your life, this is your business. You're an entrepreneur to run your train. And we're talking about the value of time today and I can tell you I value time at such a high level. I know Ben does as well And we're gonna be talking about some really cool things around this topic. But before we do our backstory, Ben, and I mean you and me, our backstory is so cool. I want to talk about it so you start. Cause I think it'd be funny cause I think you and I have, you know, potentially slightly different memories because you know, of course we all kind of have revisionist history of how things work.

0 (2m 33s):
But tell me your memory of our first meeting.

1 (2m 37s):
My now ex-girlfriend and I, we were skiing in Shaman and we're at the spot on the run and we were kind of like, oh this is a really pretty spot, like maybe we should take a selfie. And then we heard these guys speaking English and we said maybe they'll just take our picture for us and that'll be a little better than a selfie. And so I got to meet John and his buddy from Maine in the national habitat and they took our picture and then we skied the rest of the day together, got lunch and basically for the rest of the week while John was in France right before I posed to my girlfriend, she would go to work and then I would hang out with John and his friends. And so that's how we got to know each other.

0 (3m 19s):
Well I will tell you in this case, revisionist history is basically identical on both sides of the equation. And it's kind of funny Fire nation cause he, he says ex-girlfriends, he he, he proposed with, by the way a gemstone from the mountains of shaman. Am I saying that correctly? What, what exactly was it?

1 (3m 37s):
There are a select few mountain guides in Shaman who have crystal collecting licenses and they're allowed to harvest crystals from Mount Blanc. And so the ring that I gave her has a Mount Blanc crystal collected from Mountain Guide made by this amazing sweet lady named Marin in Downtown Showman. And it kind of, the ring looks like kind of like Mount Blanc in in the metal band and then it's got like the stone kind of underneath that. And so it kinda looks like the glacier. It's pretty excellent. I think

0 (4m 12s):
Excellent is the word I would use as well. Such a cool thing. It makes my, my ring that I gave to Kate seem so lame and so pathetic and so lacking of story but that's, that's for another day. But no, it's exactly the kind of story I wanted to share right now Fire Nation because you know, here I am in Shaman France on my bachelor week, my bachelor party that I had and for a whole week where I wanted to go skiing, you know, I wanted to focus on skiing, not the whole kind of drinking aspect of things. So I wanted to have an active bachelor party with my buddies and you know, there we were day one, me and my brother-in-law Justin are just skiing and you know, this couple comes out to us and like, like Ben said, asked us take the picture we did and struck up a conversation, jumped on the lift line together and now have become friends and now he's on Entrepreneurs on Fire.

0 (4m 57s):
And one cool thing I actually want to share that was super cool is that, you know, as a para glider, he's like, Yeah, I'm about to to jump off this cliff over here. Do you guys wanna wash him? We're like, heck yeah. And so I have one of the coolest videos from my trip is him skiing right past me off of a cliff and I mean how many thousands of feet are you in the air above the Shaman Valley? Do you have any idea about what that was?

1 (5m 22s):
Probably about 4,000 feet of vertical. And so it was kind of nice to fly down.

0 (5m 26s):
Wow. And I mean I'll probably have to post that video actually now that I'm thinking about it in the show Knows Page Fire Nation. So go to the show knows page for this episode to watch that video of Ben skiing right past me off of what essentially is a 4,000 vertical cliff and just serenely circling and gliding down to the town of Shaman, which is piss picturesque in and of itself. It's unbelievable. And we had some great times together. We actually went to a glacier together. I took one of the coolest or he took one of the coolest photos of me, me that I've ever had, which was jumping up in the middle of the glacier and kind of doing one of those DAFs. It was, it was an awesome, it was an awesome trip overall. And all of this to say fire nation, you never know what being nice, what being kind, what having a conversation with a fellow human being is going to lead to.

0 (6m 14s):
Now he's probably coming down to Puerto Rico to visit and you know, I'm sure our friendship will extend going forward here. Now getting back to the value of time, I wanna talk about getting the word out about your business, Ben, because it's so tough these days with everybody running for everybody's attention. What do you do to get the word out? What do you do to advertise?

1 (6m 37s):
I have two businesses, one of them I teach paragliding and I don't have to get the word out so much. That one's very simple. The other one is a home concierge service. And that one's really tricky. When people want to learn how to fly paragliders, they look up paragliding school or they ask their friend, Hey, do you know a guy who teaches paragliding? And they find me a, a home concierge service is a different story. Very, very few people are looking up a home concierge service or a a part-time personal assistant. Some people are, but ultimately my service is co nobody really knows what it is. And it's a double edged sword. I do get to talk about it one on one with people, which is a really good time to educate the customer or a potential customer, but also that's not scalable.

1 (7m 25s):
And so to get the word out about my concierge service, I have to advertise and it's usually through my own social media channels, individual services that I can render and package into one. So it, there'll be house cleaning, car detailing, window cleaning, light duty, landscaping pickup and delivery, ski and bike tuning. I have to advertise for five plus different avenues and that starts to get kind of tricky but it's, it's a good fun challenge. And

0 (7m 56s):
So what have been some of the unique ways that you've really been able to get the word out? Like is there a specific thing you're like, wow, I didn't know that was gonna work and it did. Or just something you're like, okay that's cool cause that really worked. Like talk, talk to us about some specifics.

1 (8m 10s):
I had no idea how powerful Instagram story pulls would be and I'm at the point where I've pretty much tapped out my own personal audience but throwing up on Instagram, a very simple in my story poll saying who wants house cleaning and making the options, I would love that. Or I will do it next month and boom, all of a sudden I have lead qualified leads generated and I can reach out directly to them through Instagram direct messages and say, Hey jld, thanks for responding yes to my story. How can I get you set up with house cleaning? Do you have any particular needs you want met?

1 (8m 51s):
And away we go and I can bang, bang, bang, you know, how's cleaning, car detailing, ski tuning three of those in not very long and then get some, get some results from it. But I've done that too much and so now I'm looking for the next thing.

0 (9m 5s):
Always be looking for that next thing fire nation. But those Instagram polls would definitely be something that you can look into because hey, you've probably haven't exhausted your audience at this point. Now speaking of that, you know, you're always looking for that next thing to continue to build your business and to lead the life that you want, which is traveling, having experiences, adventures. So I wanna talk about cold hard cash. Do you have cash problems?

1 (9m 33s):
Yes, at the bootstrapping startup stage. I definitely do. Couple of my people, they went out and did some landscaping and house cleaning yesterday, but I had to pay another guy who did some handyman work kind of in an emergency style. And so we're not talking big numbers here, but guess what? The cash reserves were a little bit depleted and then after doing some internal projects it's like, hey guys, you're gonna have to wait a couple of days to get paid and they're okay with that. But yeah, definitely bootstrapping has, its ch it's, it's really fun. It's very rewarding when it goes well. But it, it can be a little lean at times, but that's okay.

0 (10m 9s):
Well that's what I love about having you on the show right now is that, you know, we interview entrepreneurs who are on fire and in my opinion, you're leading an on fire life when it comes to experience and adventure and traveling and freedom and doing what you want, where you want bootstrapping, you know, and you're still, hey you're here, you're talking to me right now. You've obviously got food in your belly at some level. I mean you're still making it happen and not everybody you know is making 5, 6, 7 figures a month right now. So I know a lot of people listening are resonating with you in this bootstrap situation you're currently in. So before we move on, what do you wanna say to those people in Fire Nation right now who are like you bootstrapping and a little cash strapped?

1 (10m 51s):
Feed yourself first, but you got this. Oh my gosh, you got this. Like it'll, it's gonna be okay.

0 (10m 58s):
Fire nation, it will be okay. Take our word for it and we have a lot more to talk about when I get back from feeding myself first by thanking my sponsors. Are you ready to grow your business now? What if you could learn the proven systems and processes that have been used to grow thousands of multimillion dollar success stories at thrivetimeshow.com/eofire. See how Clay Clark's proven business coaching has helped thousands of entrepreneurs to increase profitability dramatically. Clay's proven business coaching program is month to month and less money than hiring an average minimum wage employee. Sound too good to be true? Go to thrivetimeshow.com/eofire to see thousands of documented success stories because Clay only takes on 160 clients.

0 (11m 40s):
He personally designs your business plan for you. Then Clay's team of talented designers, videographers, web developers, workflow mappers and accounting coaches will help you implement that proven plan. See thousands of verify success stories and schedule your free 1 0 1 13 point assessment with Mr. Clay Clark himself today at thrivetimeshow.com/eofire. Knowledge will not attract money unless it is organized and directed through practical plans of action. Get your proven plan and schedule your free 13 point assessment today at thrivetimeshow.com/eofire. As an entrepreneur, you want tools and software solutions that will help you scale and grow. And we know that scaling a business is unique.

0 (12m 20s):
So flexible apps and integrations that can scale with you are critical. But finding tools and software solutions that will help you scale and grow without adding a layer of confusion and overwhelm to your business, that's a challenge. Maybe you finally found a great software solution only to realize that it could take weeks or even months to implement and now you're seeing hidden costs that pop up like consultants or having to hire new teams to help you manage your platforms. That's not cool. Wouldn't it be nice to have flexible apps and integrations that can scale with you? Great news. That's why there's HubSpots. HubSpot scales with your business so there's no need to add another point solution or switch to an overly complex system from your first hire to your first million and beyond.

0 (13m 4s):
HubSpot is impossible to outgrow. Learn how HubSpot can help your business grow better at hubspot.com then we're back and you collect a lot of information about people so you can actually anticipate their needs. How do you store this info and when it comes time, how do you access it

1 (13m 24s):
Right now? Bootstrap stage, I keep all of it in some Google sheets and so people's house information, like if they get house cleaning and car detailing from me, then I keep their square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms if they get car detailing from me. I keep their year, make and model how often they like these things, what their favorite type of coffee is. That way if one of my people are inbound, you know, house cleaners, they can be inbound and we can get 'em a cup of coffee just the way they like it. Super extra little personal touches. But yeah, right now it's all Google sheets and I am in the process of of choosing a crm leaning towards HubSpot, maybe Salesforce, it's kind of 50 50 right now, but yeah, it's a lot of Google sheets and I access it by knowing my way around them and writing out really important, really as specific as I can instructions to my assistant.

1 (14m 23s):
And she's wonderful.

0 (14m 24s):
Well, since they are today's sponsor, I gotta give a personal shout to HubSpot. I mean they're obviously so much better than Salesforce and Salesforce. Hey, if you wanna start sponsoring the show, reach out. But I'm gonna be honest, HubSpot's taking your place right now for sure make it happen. So I love this fire nation because what this is telling me is that yes, Ben is bootstrap, but what he's doing is he's making sure that he's maximizing every opportunity from every client. He's keeping track of the dates when they might need, you know, know some additional service or a repeat in the service cause a certain amount of time has gone by. He is building a very valuable database. Are you doing the same? Are you collecting data? Are you being efficient and effective with what you have?

0 (15m 5s):
Because when you are hand to mouth, when you are bootstraps, when you are a little cash straps, every dollar counts. And once you make it, hey you can slack off a little bit like me now and just working on one day a week. But until then you've got to remain focused. Cause believe me, I was working seven days a week long, long hours per day every single day for a long time and I was making the most of every opportunity like Ben is as well. And I wanna move into the concierge business. First off, what the heck is a concierge business in a concierge in general? And does the concierge do anything other than just take care of people's chores?

0 (15m 49s):
And yes, Fire Nation, I like seeing the word concierge.

1 (15m 53s):
So that's a great question. I I'm not even really sure if concierge service is the right term for what I do, but I named it concierge service because I had the idea, I thought, okay, I'm naturally a people person, I like to connect people and I absolutely really do not like it when one of my friends says, It's been a great day of skiing, but I gotta leave at one o'clock to go. It could be fill in the blank, right? Clean the house, meet a contractor for a bid, it could be anything like that. And I just, I wanted to solve that problem and I thought, okay, why can't we have the hotel front desk in single family homes?

1 (16m 36s):
And so I took the hotel front desk, which is often can be referred to as a concierge, right? You can walk up to the, the hotel concierge and say, you know, here's the keys to my Porsche, can you get it detailed and take my suit, get it dry cleaned, and then recommend me an Italian restaurant, a nearby. And I thought, why can't I just put that into single family homes? And that way my friends, they can go skiing and all their stuff can get done and they don't have to end their day skiing. And so that's basically what I do. And so what that in reality looks like is people ask for house cleaning, landscaping, those are the two main revenue drivers.

1 (17m 16s):
And then a little bit of car detailing, window cleaning and pickup and delivery, ski tuning. But those other three, those are the, the new customer creators. And so if you know a little bit about sales, it's kind of like, once we have this relationship, why can't I sell you something else? Why can't I connect you with another person that I know who does a really great job and make the magic happen?

0 (17m 41s):
Fire Nation, at the end of the day, it's all about making magic happen. And I want you to kind of take a step back right now. Now, Ben and I want you to take the microphone, take the stage so to speak and realize that we're talking today about the value of time. What is the overarching message that you want to get across to Fire Nation about everything we talked about here today in accordance with the value of time?

1 (18m 7s):
We never ever get that back ever. It's by far our most valuable resource, even more valuable than oil at the end of the day, right? Well, at the end of our lives, right? We can probably imagine relative and they're laying on their, their deathbed and going, You know what, it's been a good time with you. Or, you know what, I wish I had spent more time with you. And the simple math is most people work about a 2000 hour working year, right? That's 50 weeks of work, 40 hours a week. So if you're making a hundred thousand dollars, then your time is worth 50 bucks an hour.

1 (18m 48s):
And if you can find a service that is less than $50 an hour or maybe a little more, but doesn't take time to get, then do it absolutely. Because you can get another dollar tomorrow, but you'll, you won't have today again, ever. And cutting your ski day short or your fishing day or whatever you like, cutting your ski day short to not spend quality time with friends and family is kind of a waste. But we do have to do it sometimes in real life.

0 (19m 17s):
Fire nation, real life is real life and sometimes real life does take over. And something that we haven't talked about today is, hey, pay the bills first. Pay the bills first. Because you know what, you've gotta keep going in this world and making things happen. But I just love when I see and meet people like Ben who are just out there living life, being free, you know, not slaving away at some corporate job that they hate or going into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to get some degree that they hate or some, you know, law or medical degree that they end up miserable for the next 40 years anyways. They're just out there enjoying and living their version of life. I love that. I respect that. And if I could do it all over again, I'd be doing that at a younger age than I got to.

0 (19m 57s):
I've I've made up for it, believe me, over the past, you know, decade or two for sure, I've had my share of adventures, but man, oh man, I, you know, man, we just don't get time back for any way, shape or form. So, Ben, give us a way to connect with you. Fire Nation wants to learn more about what you have going on. Maybe we can replenish some of your Instagram followers that, you know, you can kind of go back to those nice Instagram poles and also any call to action you may have. And then we'll say goodbye.

1 (20m 23s):
Thanks a bunch. My Instagram handle is @benwhiteskis, like Ben Franklin White, like the color and skis, k i s That's what I my favorite thing to do. And then my website is whitecloudconcierge.com. And if you want, you can fire me an email through the email contact form and I'd love to hear from

0 (20m 42s):
You. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you've been hanging out with the most and you've been, been hanging out with BWS in j LD today. So keep up the heat, head over to eofire.com, type Ben in the search bar. His show page will pop right up. Check out his Instagram, @benwhiteskis, check it out. It's a very enjoyable Instagram. I will say, being a follower myself, he really keeps things interesting. He, it's not just pole after pole, believe me, there's some really cool content on there. He, he keeps it fun. He has, he has a good way of producing that content. And one more time, Ben, what was that website? whitecloudconcierge.com.

0 (21m 21s):
Thanks for asking , Ben. Thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute your brother and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to Ben for dropping value bombs on today's episode in Fire Nation. Over the last decade, I've interviewed more than 3000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, and I created a revolutionary 17 step roadmap to your financial freedom in your fulfillment. I put it all into my first traditionally published book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, personally endorsed by Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuck. The Common Path to Uncommon Success is the step-by-step guidance that you need to achieve the lifestyle of your dreams.

0 (22m 4s):
Visit UncommonSuccessBook.com and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Is this your year? Visit thrivetimeshow.com/eofire to see how Clay Clark's business coaching helps thousands of entrepreneurs to dramatically increase profitability. It's month-to-month and less money than hiring an average minimum wage employee. Schedule your free consultation today at thrivetimeshow.com/eofire. Being Boss hosted by Emily Thompson is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network and is an exploration of what it means and what it takes to be boss as a creative business owner. One recent episode on the Five Tips for Better Work Life balance is a must Listen.

0 (22m 44s):
Listen to Being Boss wherever you get your podcasts.