Steve G.

Mobile Fun Box — A bootstrapped business idea to containerize entertainment for rent. I can see a bootstrapped $10k investment to yield $200/day minimum passively for each of these fun box bookings. The premise is simple: Step 1: Purchase a second-hand trailer for 3-5k. Step 2: Equip the trailer with used game consoles or other entertainment items at a 3k budget. Step 3: Brand your trailer with fun & exciting visuals. Step 4: Go to your local neighbourhood and find the larger family household via census data and start door-knocking to place your first orders. Step 5: Create amazing Mobile Fun Box social content and grow locally as a viral sensation. Watch the full episode and get inspired with more viral ideas like this on: Spotify - https://lnkd.in/gsv-w3r8 Apple Podcasts - https://lnkd.in/g5GYbryt YouTube - https://lnkd.in/g8CPT26U --- Joshua & I might keep on doing these podcasts whenever our schedules align. DM us if you're around Toronto and want to guest in an episode to share some cool ideas that you too don't have the time to pursue yet.

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How to save your agency $20-40k/m in costs (by hiring A+ players at 10% of the cost) I ran this exact playbook and saved an agency ~$700k/yr in costs - They had great sales and revenue numbers - But, they had no profit and loads of debt Why? - They had a 100% onshore US team - They couldn't afford to pay them - So they took out loans and debt So we conducted a TEAM AUDIT Q: "Which roles need to be onshore?" A: Account strategists Q: Which roles are not account strategists? A: Media Buyer, Ops Manager, Community Managers EASY - For his media buyer, I introduced him to multiplymii - For his ops manager, I introduced him to go carpathian - For his community manager, I introduced him to cipher HC. All of these companies staff offshore talent from different regions. All have been vetted by me and have clients working with their talent. All of them have more cost effective options. Words of caution 1. Offshoring IS the solution for this founder, but I did warm him, it wouldn’t be as easy as hiring a vendor and then he’ll be immediately successful. 2. Letting go of employees is hard, but when there are no margins, you have to do it. 3. Not every hire works out. Working with an agency mitigates this from happening and sometimes they’ll staff until you have a successful hire. If you need help finding any type of role for your business, connect/dm me and I’ll introduce you to someone I trust.

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TikTok’s Gen Z stereotyping is holding you back from making $$$$$$$. How many times do I have to say it - TIKTOK IS NOT A KIDS APP. The 45-54 year old age group made up 67% of conversions for one of our clients last week… That was over 86K in revenue 🤯🤯🤯 While TikTok does have a huge community of young people, that does not mean that older audiences don’t use and LOVE TikTok - and they are usually the highest converting age group! 📸: A video from one of my favourite TikTok creators jaadiee aka Gramps with over 28.2M views... #tiktokmarketing #tiktokads #tiktokagency 'We Know Social' 🐐. We have a proven track record of building brands through comprehensive creator marketing strategies and then scaling through paid social adverts. Currently have availability in Q3 2024 for brands looking to win on TikTok 🥊 

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Everyone wants to sell LEGOs and Nike on Amazon But there is massive profit waiting in underrated products Here are 3 of my favorite "boring" products to sell recently: People are lazy and will pay more just for it to show up at their door Which creates opportunities for sellers like us to have crazy profits Lots of these are also underrated because they tend to buy expedited shipping: 1. Faucets and home improvement Seems weird until you walk the aisles of Lowe's with the SellerAmp app You'll be surprised at what you'll find profitable Talked to someone last week who did $40k his first month with this 2. Auto parts The most boring products often do great on Amazon People already know what they need so they sell well Oil filters have made me great money But always watch to make sure you aren't buying off-brands, can be tricky in auto parts 3. Gardening Summer and fall are obviously great for these products Check out the demand for pickling & harvesting supplies It's crazy how profitable some of the items get If you're not sure how to break into these new categories, try this It's exactly what I do every time I'm sourcing a category or brand that I have never spent much time on before: https://lnkd.in/g4UEmc_4 Selling name-brand items like those helped me escape the 9-5 life Sometimes it's the least expected products that sell the best It just takes one thing... hard work :)

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It took us nearly 5 years to break $1 million in CUMULATIVE revenue at Barrel. It's a miracle we didn't throw in the towel during that time... If you look around on social and believe everything you see, it sounds like breaking $1 million a year in sales is a piece of cake. Or "scaling your agency" is just something you can quickly do in a few weeks. Maybe for some, but my own experience tells me it's much harder. And that it can take a bit of time for things to click. My co-founder Sei-Wook Kim and I were young and naive when we began the business. We made all kinds of mistakes and were too shy and insecure to seek out mentors or learn more about the business side of running an agency. But we loved the challenge of making things for our clients, regardless of what they could pay. We made websites, did branding, created ads, printed brochures, and whatever else our clients needed. By 2009, when we did $245k in revenue. I had friends from my investment banking days making more in a single year on their own. Sei-Wook and I paid each other just enough to make our respective apt rents and afford utilities and groceries. Money was always tight. But we still marched on, enjoying the work, hating the work, getting stressed out by clients and by each other, working and working. Little by little, our knowledge and skills expanded, we started to field a team, we started to have a network, and we started flashing signs of confidence. 2011 was a breakout year, we crossed $1 million in revs for the first time in a single year. It wasn't that we had a great year, it was that nearly five years of inputs began to pay off. With Barrel Holdings, Sei-Wook and I are working to accelerate the growth of our agencies. Vaulted Oak and BX Studio surpassed $1 million in revs in their 1st and 2nd years, respectively. They avoided many of the mistakes we made many years ago. I also know that some agencies, like Bolster and others to come, may have slower starts, but if we focus on the right inputs and persevere, good things will happen. To those starting their own agencies, I admire your courage and braveness to give it a go. Some of you may experience meteoric starts. Some of you may take a while longer to see success. Either way, keep focusing on the inputs, delivering for your clients, and growing as a person through learning & experience–good things will follow.

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How I added 823 Ideal clients to my network in 6 months. (Most B2B CEOs neglect this) I ghostwrite for 6 Gaming CEOs Coached 10+ CEOs. 1) Helping them make money 2) Free up time for family. Make money, Make Babies and all that. EVERY SINGLE ONE was neglecting this fact. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲. "LinkedIn was built as a networking and job platform 1st." What does this mean for you as a business owner: 99% of people here are real. You can see their job title and company. You can filter through them! ALL FOR FREE. LinkedIn gives you 100-150 connections a week. Yet most founders I speak to neglect this. Those that did? Do 5 or so a day (LOW VOLUME) Do 100 a week but it was random. (LOW QUALITY) Hear me out. If you post founder led LinkedIn content. You are hoping it gets picked up by the algo. The algo is pretty good, you will get some inbound. But if you are a small business. Imagine you could "force" your ideal clients to see it? Absorbing your content and start conversations. Well you can! 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲: 1. Build a list of 500-1000 ideal clients (Sales Nav and Apollo) 2. Manually (or auto) BLANK connect to 20-30 a day. 3. Thank all connections and wish them a wonderful day. Above cost to you: 1. 4-8 hour task to build list that lasts you 2-3 months 2. 10 min a day or about $70/m when automated 3. 10 min a day (can also be automated, but I don't) We just finished 1st month of DMs done for you for a client. 𝗦𝗮𝗦 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 - 731 connections sent to Ideal clients - 212 connections accepted (roughly 30% as is predicted) - 89 conversations started - 4 Meetings to be booked (said yes, finding time) - 11 meetings booked That could be your first month too (they had 1600 followers when we started) How much is an ideal client meeting worth to you? Enough motivation to do your homework. Todays homework menu for founders: A/ Schedule the above tasks in your diary. B/ Tell your BD team to do it on your account. C/ Pay me and the Phokou Digital team. Just promise you will pick one. Otherwise no more complaining about low leads at expos. Please, it gets old <3 Ramble Harry out ✌️ P.S What happens after connect? DM me and I will send you my DM playbook :)

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Tom Bilyeu (who sold Quest Nutrition for $1 billion) put his finger on this important issue around monetizing online audiences. Not understanding this will lead to low monetization… In his words, you’ve got to sell in a straight line. That is, the thing you are selling should be closely related to the content. In his example, when he switched from mindset/high performance related content to world affairs, he couldn’t sell to any of his 2 million followers. I had a similar experience back in 2016  when I interviewed venture capitalists and tried to sell Conversion Rate Optimization services. Surely, venture-backed companies seeking high growth would want high conversion rates. It didn’t work. Alex Hormozi and Ben Heath (Facebook Ads Expert) also learned the same lesson. After hanging out with Mr. Beast, Hormozi tried to go broad (health, relationships etc) His videos got more views but monetization dropped significantly. And when Ben Heath tried ‘how to make money online’ content vs. Facebook Ads mastery, which is what he is known for, monetization slowed. Sell in a straight line. Happy first new work day of the year! #monetization #conversionrateoptimization #influencers #ecommerce

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Here’s why free product seeding will still work in 2025... Influencer Rates are going up. Nothing can beat the cost of your COGS in exchange for a post on IG / Tik Tok. It's the most EFFICIENT way to generate content and attention. How are you measuring ROI from influencers?

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12 LinkedIn posts, 28 days = 42,413 Impressions. 2,220.2% increase compared to the previous 28 days. I ghostwrite for C-suite executives in sports. The opportunity is there for people operating in sports to get more out of LinkedIn. And it’s been a good start for this client. Trial and error in testing different post formats. Learnings taken from the previous 4 weeks ↳ Which will now help shape the next 4 weeks. It’s also allowed us to further shape the tone of future content. LinkedIn works. Can I guarantee success? No one can. I just help you do more by simply giving you a (consistent) voice. So, if you: → Have a brilliant product / service → Sell into the sports industry → Have a brilliant story to share ↳ And want more out of LinkedIn Send me a message. I’ll walk you through the exact process used to achieve these results. And show you how LinkedIn can work for you too.

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“🚀 How My Client Made $8K in Just 3 Weeks While Working a Full-Time Job! 💼 Imagine hitting $8K in under a month while working only 3 hours a week. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not! My client did exactly that—and here’s how you can, too. These 4 keys to success are game-changers for anyone wanting to break into the fitness coaching industry without sacrificing their time or current job: 1️⃣ Find a Mentor: Success leaves clues. A mentor who’s already walked the path can help you avoid costly mistakes and guide you step-by-step so you get results faster. 2️⃣ Treat Your Business as a System: To succeed, you must think beyond just fitness sessions. Set up automated systems for client acquisition, sales, and follow-ups to save time and scale your business effortlessly. 3️⃣ Speed of Implementation: The faster you take action, the quicker you see results. When you learn a new strategy, implement it immediately. Don’t wait until everything is ‘perfect’—progress beats perfection every time! 4️⃣ Schedule Your Day Hour by Hour: If you want to grow your business while managing other responsibilities, you must be intentional with your time. Plan your day in blocks, dedicating specific hours to tasks that move your business forward. Consistency is key. Ready to take the leap and transform your side hustle into a full-time income? Let’s chat about how you can start making this happen—your future self will thank you!

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$13 MILLION. That's how much revenue Instagram has generated for my business -- without spending a dime on ads. Her First $100K now has over 2 MILLION in its Instagram community (without buying ads or followers.) I’ve inked influencer deals with Dell, Hulu, ELF Cosmetics, Four Seasons, Canva, and more. I’ve been invited to tour the New York Stock Exchange, to exclusive dinners with high-profile entrepreneurs, even to the Eras Tour… all because of Instagram. I use Instagram to make money AND make an impact every single day. If you're ready to build an authentic Instagram profile — without burning out or counting likes — I've got you covered. Join my Instagram growth workshop bundle for only $77 (price increases tonight!) I'm teaching ALL my Instagram growth strategies. No, Instagram isn’t dead. You just need me to help it come alive. https://lnkd.in/gukaSFj2

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If your studio’s making less than $25K a month Your problem is pretty simple… (You’re not marketing effectively) If your studio’s doing less than $60K a month Your problem is pretty simple… (You’re not marketing to scale) And, if your studio’s cruised past $80K a month Well, your problem is still pretty simple… (You need a marketing strategy that keeps you growing) Whatever your problem is… We'll have an answer in our FREE 3-Day Studio Grow Live Conference 9/30 - 10/2! Starting MONDAY. We’ll be live from 12pm-3pm ET. Come hang out! -------------------------------------------------- ✅ HOW TO JOIN: → Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/eCEQQZHY #boutiquefitness #fitness #fitnessindustry #fitnesstrends #digitalmarketing #innovation

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When a trend forecaster says a trend has 27,526% growth YOY when it actually has zero growth in Ugc and negative 3% in search and you pay that company thousands of dollars a month I think it should be called out Especially since just 4k are searching & exactly one person posted in 60 days We need better forecasting tools since commerce runs on trends True story - this summer we predicted a very specific trend to a top retailer - even backed up with 52 pages of extremely granular data points around community on 10 platforms But they dismissed it flat out One of the leaders said she must be too old b/c she had never even heard of it Yesterday it was announced as the #1 TikTok fashion trend of the year I'm dedicating an entire chapter in my book to it of course The most fascinating part? We saw it coming in enough time even for the mass retailer to get on board... They could have had the most wonderful BFCM season of all Creators aren't just dropping content anymore - they're strategically creating LEGO blocks for their communities to play with That hit sound? It was designed to be remixed That viral makeup transition? Built to be recreated with thousands of variations That dress trend we predicted? Not a single retailer has it below $350 Talk about an opportunity! Mass fashion buyers can't afford to wait until trends hit their mainstream radar anymore By then, the production timelines alone will put them two seasons behind the community momentum See $1.77T inventory distortion Just wait until creators deploy AI agents And wait until we do too :) Unlike the clunky tech transformations of the past that needed years of infrastructure, new AI tools are letting creators rapidly prototype + iterate They're using AI outputs not as final products, but as creative springboards - raw material for the next wave of community-driven evolution This is what the decade looks like - a constant flow of intentionally remixable content, where the original is just the 1st domino in a much bigger creative cascade Success in 2025 won't be about the original post - it will be the tsunami of derivatives it spawns The savviest creators are thinking about remixability b4 they even hit record They're asking: How will my community transform this? What pieces can they sample? What trends can they blend this with? Here's the wake-up call for mass fashion: stop swallowing trend reports whole Start demanding raw data When someone claims a trend is exploding, ask: Show me the actual search volume by platform Show me the UGC and engagement metrics Show me the real community adoption rates Show me the conversion data B/c betting millions on production runs based on a trend that's actually just 4k searches + 1 active creator? That's not strategy, that's lighting money on fire When the world's most followed woman on TikTok generates less than 70k in revenue, something's broken in how we measure influence + trends #thegreatfashionreset

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Optics. There's something out there for every need, and every budget. The question is this..."How does a 'budget friendly' optic stack up against the more expensive counterparts?'. Do you really need to spend $300-$600 on a Red Dot when there are less expensive alternatives? Will the Budget Friendly models hold up as well? What about the glass, clarity, ruggedness...are they tough enough to buy once? Well, we're going to be putting a bunch of Price Conscious Optics to the test and pitting them up against their High Dollar Counterparts. The War For Your Dollar is Heating Up...we want to make sure you don't get burned.

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2 months ago my team spent $16k on ONE Reel from a creator. Yes $16,000 Was it worth it? Well here's what it generated: 3.3M Views 70k Likes 220 comments CPM's = $4.84 Now would I recommend everyone do this? No. This is for a large 9 figure brand. Size of your brand matters. But if your brand has ZERO brand awareness, it will be an investment to build that. #influencer #DTC #Growth #Marketing

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How to get to $10K/month: 5 Steps 1) Sell a replicable service @ $100/month 2) Sell it again 3) Gain the confidence to sell that service for $200/month 4) Have patience with the baby steps. Stick with it. Keep selling. 5) Ignore 'overnight successes'. Stick with what works.

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"Get the f**k off my listings or I'm going to shut your account down."  The VP of Marketing was yelling at me on the phone.  Here is my confession: The year was 2016 and I was reselling 20k a month of this one supplement. I was buying their supplements on Ebay and flipping them on to Amazon.  I sold 300k in one year with this strategy via FBA.  Problem was this brand hated me. I wasn't adding any value.  I didn't realize it at the time, but I was likely selling old, expired, and in some cases stolen products.  Then my account got shut down for 4 months because of a few customer complaints.  This came 3 months after leaving my job to sell FBA full time and 10 days after having my second child.  I wanted to build a business that would support my family and that I could be proud to share with my kids.  The next 12 months I spent picking up the pieces and building a company that would really bring value to brands. Fast forward 8 years and we have had the chance to work with over 40 different Amazon agencies and 160+ brands to help them solve their 3p seller and MAP pricing problems online.  Now you know why we are so good at what we do.  What is your business origin story?

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Want an apartment in Miami? A trip to Aruba? A new Porsche or Lamborghini? Goli Nutrition wants you to have all of them. This graphic is their incentive structure for TikTok Shop and it is... OUTRAGEOUS Goli has become the top seller on TikTok Shop generating OVER $7 million a month on the platform. Outside of their normal commission structure, they have created a suuuper viral reward structure with all kinds of wild gifts and cash milestones What's the takeaway here? If you are verry confident in your LTV, you can really get clever with how you think about incentives on TTS Creating a massive viral demand from creators. If you're not... I would be very cautious in pursuing a path like this as it could prove to be very unprofitable. Clearly this is working for them, if I were them, I would be publishing reaction videos from all their top creators receiving their prizes to show it's real and people are winning. I'd be interested to see if it can be replicated, what are your thoughts?

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