النص 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:04.519
Hello, and welcome to the Shift podcast show powered by
2
00:00:04.599 --> 00:00:07.919
Strategic Collaboration Network. I am Justin Cohene, your host for
3
00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:10.880
the segment, and today we have Eric Stevens, franchise owner
4
00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:11.880
of I nine Sports.
5
00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:13.599
Nice to meet you.
6
00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:16.399
So, why don't you tell us a little bit about
7
00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:17.480
nine Sports?
8
00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:18.280
Yeah?
9
00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:22.800
So, I nine Sports is a local youth sports league.
10
00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:26.079
We serve kids from three to seventeen years old, different
11
00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:30.280
variety of sports, all throughout Frederick and Carroll Counties in Maryland.
12
00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:34.159
We are our goal is to help kids succeed in
13
00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:36.679
life through sports. So we want to help kids really
14
00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:40.240
fall in love with sports, enjoy the game, get a
15
00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:42.719
lot from it, want to come back and play again.
16
00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:46.880
As a sports fan myself growing up playing all kinds
17
00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:52.119
of sports, I think that is quite admirable. So, based
18
00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:55.920
on my research, you spent fifteen years leading a public
19
00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:59.520
safety team on Maryland State highways, which is about as
20
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:02.600
far from from running a youth sports franchise as it gets.
21
00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:05.439
So I'm wondering what was the moment you decided to
22
00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:08.040
make that leap and what did that transition look like?
23
00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:13.280
Yeah, great question, and actually currently still serving in that
24
00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:16.920
capacity as well. So kind of doing a dual role here,
25
00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:23.640
but so that that capacity, I lead a big team.
26
00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:27.439
I have about thirty team members on that side in
27
00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:30.719
that business as well, about the same of my online
28
00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:34.640
sports team. And I feel that people management is something
29
00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:38.640
that I'm great at and then I enjoy doing kind
30
00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:42.159
of So that's that's where that began. That began as
31
00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:44.879
a job, any old job that I hoped would turn
32
00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:48.439
into a career, which it did and was fantastic, but
33
00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:52.439
it didn't didn't really fulfill the need that I had
34
00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.640
to kind of give back to my community, work with kids,
35
00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:59.680
do something that I loved, was really passionate about, and
36
00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:03.319
I kind of just happened into the I nine Sports franchise.
37
00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:09.439
My my daughter was turning three years old and was
38
00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:13.520
of age to get into her first, you know, experience
39
00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:17.400
with youth sports, and we looked around for I nine
40
00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:21.080
Sports because we had previous experience with it in a
41
00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:24.879
different town where we lived and really enjoyed it, so
42
00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:26.520
we wanted to put her in that program.
43
00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:29.520
Specifically, we were pretty new to Frederick.
44
00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.479
County, Maryland at the time, and we looked around and
45
00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:36.240
found that there was no IN nine Sports franchise here
46
00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.199
and in Frederick County actually didn't even know it was
47
00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:41.759
a franchise, just knew that it wasn't here in Frederick
48
00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:45.240
County or kind of disappointed. But the more we looked around,
49
00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.479
we found that it was a franchise and it was
50
00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:52.560
fairly you know, decent is in terms of a buy in,
51
00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:55.280
you know, it wasn't was it ridiculous buy in to
52
00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:58.039
kind of get started with the franchise. And my wife
53
00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:00.919
and I both grew up in sports and sports and
54
00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:02.759
kind of looked at each other and thought, you know,
55
00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:04.639
could we do is this something we could do as
56
00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:05.479
like a side job?
57
00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.319
You know, could we could we do that? You know?
58
00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:09.719
And would it be fun? Would we enjoy it?
59
00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:11.919
And you know, we talked it over and we went
60
00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:15.520
through some some meetings of course, and and uh, you know,
61
00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.199
we we went all in. And here we are five
62
00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:19.840
years later, and we've had a blast of it.
63
00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:23.319
I'm sure everything has paid off as well as you
64
00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:28.439
could hope it has. So I see, I nine is
65
00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:34.159
a fun first no tryouts, no riding the bench kind
66
00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:36.639
of league. I want to ask you how did that
67
00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:39.960
philosophy line up with what you'd already seen and believed
68
00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:43.360
from your past coaching at AAU level sports.
69
00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:45.360
Yeah, so pretty different.
70
00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:49.280
Uh. And I've and I've coached all levels right from AAU,
71
00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:53.240
high school stuff, lots of rec stuff, you know. And
72
00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:58.759
I'm not a huge fan of AAU and travel sports,
73
00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:03.199
and I'm a huge fan of competitive sports, but at
74
00:04:03.280 -->
Load full transcript
00:04:07.000
the right age and at the right time, I think,
75
00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.800
in kids' lives, right, so I think, you know, I'm
76
00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:14.280
pushing I'm in my forties, right. So growing up, I
77
00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:18.519
was a basketball guy, basketball kid, and if you played AAU,
78
00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:23.040
you were absolutely elite. Uh and you belonged typically in
79
00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:27.240
that realm. And nowadays they're slapping that name on just
80
00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:33.879
about every league, and you're seeing rec level athletic kids
81
00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:39.160
and teams pay thousands of dollars to travel cross states
82
00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:43.560
and and uh kind of you know, their parents are
83
00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.240
playing paying hundreds of dollars just to get in to
84
00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:50.279
watch them, you know. And and I think it's become
85
00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:53.399
a little bit ridiculous in my in my opinion. And uh,
86
00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:57.839
and I'm a huge fan of, especially at the young age,
87
00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:07.879
doing rec level sports or local travel competitive sports that
88
00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:10.959
that don't come with a high price tag, but come
89
00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.680
with teaching the kids a love for the game, educating
90
00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:19.800
them and just not being a money first league, right,
91
00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.879
so I known is very different from that, and that's
92
00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:27.399
what I love about it. I love being an experience
93
00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:30.639
that can be a first for many kids just to
94
00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:33.600
help them harness a love for the game, because if
95
00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:37.959
their first experience doesn't go well and it's overly competitive
96
00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:41.079
for a five year old kid who's never touched a
97
00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:43.959
field or never touched a ball, it could turn them
98
00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.600
off for the rest of their life. And and that
99
00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.800
would be extremely unfortunate, you know, for a kid who
100
00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:53.000
just didn't know any better and just having into the
101
00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:57.040
wrong league or the wrong coaches hands and was put
102
00:05:57.040 --> 00:05:59.680
in a bad predicament. So I love being a league
103
00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.639
where kids can come of all skill levels. And don't
104
00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:04.720
get me wrong, it's not all first homors. We get
105
00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.079
some really competitive kids in there, and we actually have
106
00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:12.720
some divisions that will label as competitive for those who want,
107
00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:16.120
you know, more competition or a higher level of competition.
108
00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:20.000
And it's very inclusive and I love that about it.
109
00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:25.600
I really do agree with your take on really the
110
00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:29.920
pressure that kids and really parents sometimes might feel if
111
00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:33.800
they're dumping so much money into these sports that they're
112
00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:37.079
seeing their children play. I think that can certainly lead
113
00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:41.600
to more negatives and positives. I think that can genuinely
114
00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:44.600
ruin how the kid sees the sport and if they
115
00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:50.079
even want to play the sport anymore. So I was wondering,
116
00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:55.120
there's a big difference between being a great coach, because
117
00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.240
it certainly sounds like you are, and running a business.
118
00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.120
So I'm asking, what's the prise you the most about
119
00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:04.759
the ownership side of things and what skills have transferred
120
00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:06.199
better than you might have expected.
121
00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:08.319
Yeah, that's a good question.
122
00:07:09.480 --> 00:07:13.759
So the coaching aspect that absolutely love, that's the easy part.
123
00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:18.240
The stuff that surprised me or that I wasn't prepared
124
00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:22.560
for is just so random. I turned into a weather
125
00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:26.319
man over the night, which I wasn't prepared for. So
126
00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:29.319
every day of the week, I'm checking the weather and
127
00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:32.279
I'm trying to determine is this okay for a three
128
00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:34.279
year old to be out there playing t ball? Is
129
00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:37.279
this okay for any you know, light rain? You know,
130
00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:40.160
this is okay for soccer, This is okay for football,
131
00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:43.360
but we can't play out or basketball, you know, And
132
00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:47.800
so the weather, you know, the NonStop worrying and checking
133
00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:51.000
of the weather is probably the biggest thing I didn't
134
00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:55.680
account for. And one thing that I probably did account
135
00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:00.199
for but not quite as drastic, is just the the
136
00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:05.480
the feedback from the parents being just so all over
137
00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:09.759
the place, and sometimes it's you know, you have to
138
00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:14.040
be able to accept that everybody won't be totally pleased.
139
00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.759
But if the majority of the feedback you're getting as positive,
140
00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:20.800
then you're probably heading in the right direction. But there's
141
00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.399
always going to be one parent that thinks it's not
142
00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.920
competitive enough, and one parent that thinks it's too
competitive,
143
00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:29.920
and one parent that thinks you shouldn't have played in
144
00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:33.759
ninety five degree weather, and another parent that thinks you
145
00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:37.559
shouldn't have canceled in light rain. You know, it's, you know,
146
00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:39.000
so that kind of stuff.
147
00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.480
Yeah, I know, it's hard to make a bunch of
148
00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:44.919
people happy. So I can understand how it might not
149
00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.519
be easy for you, especially maybe when you were first
150
00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.399
starting those kinds of task. I'm sure you just wanted
151
00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:52.440
to make as many people happy as possible.
152
00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:53.000
Absolutely.
153
00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:57.559
Yeah, So I understand that you were involved with the
154
00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:01.279
Harlem Wizards events and you we're raising over thirty k
155
00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:04.639
year for local nonprofits through a single annual event. I
156
00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.720
think that's super impressive. I'm wondering how that partnership came
157
00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:11.360
together and what you might have learned about using sports
158
00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:12.639
as a fundraising vehicle.
159
00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:14.320
Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah.
160
00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:19.240
So one of our biggest things before our first league
161
00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:22.279
ever started, as the you know, we initially started up
162
00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.200
our business, we started a nonprofit at the exact same
163
00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:27.519
time because we knew that there were going to be
164
00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:30.120
some kids that wanted to get involved in our youth
165
00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:32.639
sports franchise that wouldn't be able to afford it, and
166
00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:33.960
we wanted to be able to help.
167
00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:35.840
As many families as possible, So.
168
00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:39.039
We started a nonprofit and all we do is raise
169
00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:41.600
funds for that nonprofit. We don't ask any of the
170
00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:43.799
parents to contribute to this because that's not part of
171
00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:47.360
our mission. But we raise funds for this and we
172
00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:49.440
pay for as many kids as we can to get
173
00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:52.840
involved in youth sports throughout our community. So we were
174
00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:57.120
raising you know, a couple thousand a year through donating
175
00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:00.320
all of our proceeds from our concession stand that we
176
00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:03.519
run at our games. My mom is the person that
177
00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.679
runs all the concessions and she volunteers their time and
178
00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:09.320
it's fantastic. So we donate all of our funds there,
179
00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.519
but then we had formed a partnership with the Harlem
180
00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:16.639
Wizards to host one annual event that would just be
181
00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:19.360
an awesome, fun event in the community that we could
182
00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:23.159
then carry more funds over to that nonprofit and put
183
00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:26.759
more kids in sports who couldn't afford it. So that
184
00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:30.000
we got involved and we had something like fifteen different
185
00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:36.279
schools involved, local politicians and former athletes and Principles would
186
00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.480
come play on Team Frederick against the Harlem Wizards. We'd
187
00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:42.000
have an amazing night, and then we'd be able to
188
00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:46.000
raise you know, close to a little over thirty thousand
189
00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:49.399
dollars each year, which we shared with other local nonprofits
190
00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:52.720
like the Boys and Girls Club and City Matrix so
191
00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:55.279
that they could continue on their missions as well.
192
00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:59.799
I think what you're doing for the community is absolutely brilliant.
193
00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:05.159
So public safety work does have pretty clear metrics, such
194
00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:10.039
as response times, outcomes, incident reports. I think youth development
195
00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:12.799
is certainly a lot harder to measure, So I'm wondering,
196
00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:15.240
how do you know when you're actually making a difference.
197
00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:18.879
Yeah, that's a good question, right, So.
198
00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:25.960
Definitely harder to measure, but you know, being so being
199
00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:28.200
on site is one, right you can always be on
200
00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:32.720
site for everything. But if you are, it's pretty clear
201
00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:37.720
from the reactions the look on the kids' faces, the
202
00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:41.480
enjoyment is there. Right, you can see it in their faces.
203
00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.960
You can see that the You know, it's not just
204
00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.519
about the kids either, it's about the parents, right, So
205
00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:50.000
we want the kids to have a great experience, but
206
00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:53.000
if the parents don't share that sentiment, they're not going
207
00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:55.399
to sign the kids up again. Right, So we have
208
00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:58.679
to cater to both the child and the parents, and
209
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.279
there's different ways that we can do that.
210
00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:00.559
Right.
211
00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:04.200
So, catering to the child is simple. It's making it fun,
212
00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:09.399
it's making it easy. It's making them enjoy being out
213
00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:12.159
there as well as gain something from being out there,
214
00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:14.919
like gain the knowledge of the sport. So they want
215
00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:17.919
to come back. Right, If it's only about gaining knowledge
216
00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:19.600
and they don't have any fun with it, they're not
217
00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.720
going to want to come back. But if they only
218
00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:24.159
have fun and they don't gain any knowledge on the sport,
219
00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.039
the parents might think it was too childish or not,
220
00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:29.960
you know, not good enough for what they pay for. Right,
221
00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:32.279
So you got to hit both metrics. But then from
222
00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:35.480
the parents side, the more we can make it convenient
223
00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:37.759
for them, the better and the more that they'll want
224
00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:39.759
to come back. That's the way we see it, and
225
00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:42.200
that's the way we operate our U Sports franchise. So
226
00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:47.720
convenience and youth sports doesn't typically go in the same sentence, right,
227
00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:51.200
So most parents think youth sports is everything but convenient
228
00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:55.360
because they're running all over town for games and practices
229
00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.799
and they've got different kids in different sports, so it's
230
00:12:58.919 --> 00:13:02.960
very complicated on their work life balance, their schedules, their
231
00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.320
their jobs, the kids schooling.
232
00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:05.639
YadA YadA.
233
00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:10.720
So what we have been able to accomplish we our
234
00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:13.840
franchise is set up so our practices are right before
235
00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:16.679
our games on game day, so there are no weekday
236
00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:19.759
practices right the games, right practice right before the game
237
00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:24.240
on Saturdays, typically on Saturdays, unless it's volleyball, then we're
238
00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:28.279
midweek stuff. But having the practice in the game on
239
00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:32.120
the same day makes the sport much more convenient for
240
00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:34.200
the parents because now it's just one day a week
241
00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.240
as opposed to you know, several days a week. And
242
00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:40.440
then on top of that, most of our locations that
243
00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:44.240
are outdoors for fall and spring seasons, summer a little
244
00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:47.159
bit as well. We'll host multiple sports at the same
245
00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:50.519
venue at the same time. So we'll have football, soccer,
246
00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:53.519
t ball all set up at one location. So if
247
00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:57.480
you have numerous kids
playing numerous different sports, you can
248
00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:02.120
come one stop shop on low location practice games.
249
00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:02.519
All the same day.
250
00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:04.799
You could have three different kids playing three different sports,
251
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:06.960
get it all in and one day and still have
252
00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:10.480
your weekdays to cook home cooked meals, do homework, et
253
00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:11.519
cetera during the week.
254
00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:15.440
So that's a great answer. I think that you and
255
00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:18.120
the team you work with has made it just about
256
00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:21.639
as convenient as humanly possible to make sure as many
257
00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:25.679
people are satisfied. So I do have one final question
258
00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:29.200
for you. For someone who was a passion for community
259
00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:32.919
work and is thinking about the Innine sports franchise model
260
00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:34.799
as a way to act on it, what do you
261
00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:38.240
wish you had known before signing on? Oh?
262
00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:39.399
Sorry, I say that one more time.
263
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:43.840
So for someone who has a passion for community work
264
00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:47.399
and is thinking about the Innine sports franchise model as
265
00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:50.320
a way to act on it, what do you wish
266
00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.639
you had known before you had signed on to nine.
267
00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:55.159
Well, that's a good question.
268
00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:59.480
I'd say there's not a ton I think we figured
269
00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:00.960
it out a lot along the way, and I think
270
00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:02.960
I think we had to. I think we learned a
271
00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.600
lot by figuring it out on our own, and it's
272
00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:09.039
going to be different for everyone. I would say one
273
00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:14.279
thing that when new potential owners reach out to me
274
00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:18.159
and ask the same question, one thing I tell them
275
00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:21.639
that I'm glad we did is keep our.
276
00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:23.679
Day jobs in the meantime.
277
00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:28.480
Right that for that first couple of years of of
278
00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:32.559
most businesses is a bit of a struggle, right. It
279
00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:36.919
is a full time, you know, career, It is a
280
00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:42.759
full time job, but that income piece is tough those
281
00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.039
first couple of years, right, So you have to you
282
00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:48.240
have to kind of you gotta love it, and you
283
00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:50.639
got to have some income coming from somewhere.
284
00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:50.960
Right.
285
00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:57.960
But aside from that, I think that you you got
286
00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:01.440
to research your community. You got to see what the
287
00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.399
needs are in your community, figure out where you can
288
00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:08.960
best serve, figure out where the gaps are and how
289
00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.399
you can how you can help fill those gaps. And
290
00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:15.519
that's that's probably the thing we've been best at.
291
00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:16.000
I think.
292
00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:20.879
I think that's great knowledge for anyone who's listening, if
293
00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:23.720
they are interested in something like this, I would one
294
00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:28.279
hundred percent be listening to everything Eric is saying. And Eric,
295
00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.440
I just want to thank you for your time. I mean,
296
00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:33.759
you had some amazing insight today and seriously, everything that
297
00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:36.279
you said was valuable and I would just like to
298
00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:39.159
say thanks for everyone that tuned into the shift. For
299
00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:43.200
more information about Strategic Collaboration Network, go to the website
300
00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:47.919
www dot strategiccnetwork dot com. Thank you for your time, Eric,
301
00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:49.279
Thanks Justin.
302
00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:50.600
I appreciate it. I have a good one.
303
00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:51.600
Thank you you too.