5: Nick Maciel, Engineer & Founder of Cadversity, an innovative product design agency that became profitable within the first month

[paris_vega]: welcome to the first customers podcast today we've got nick masel with us from adversity [paris_vega]: nick where are you from man [Nick Maciel]: i was actually born in raised just outside boston and currently lived there still so [Nick Maciel]: all my life [paris_vega]: okay awesome and growing up did you sell anything or have a little little business [paris_vega]: or anything like that when you were a little kid [Nick Maciel]: i did actually that's that's a great question when i was what was my first [Nick Maciel]: gig i was seven i had a lemonade stand for half a summer and then [Nick Maciel]: i got very tired and very hot so that's why it only lasted [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: for half a summer and then [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: when i was nine i ended up creating newspapers for my local street and it [Nick Maciel]: was a combination of like learning how to form at i would do like comics [Nick Maciel]: i would do cross words then i would actually add news articles and i would [Nick Maciel]: just print them [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: use up all of my parents ink and paper and i would sell them for [Nick Maciel]: a buck piece to all of my neighbors on the street then that was pretty [Nick Maciel]: much it that was my only sales experience when i was a kid [paris_vega]: awesome all right that was basically your first job [Nick Maciel]: i guess you can say so yeahehwell maybe chores in the house [paris_vega]: okay and then what was your first job for like another business after that [Nick Maciel]: my first actual job i was a badger and cashier for a small local chinese [Nick Maciel]: restaurant and at the time [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: i think i was before the adjusted minimum wage think i was making like eleven [Nick Maciel]: bucks an hour i'm [paris_vega]: and how many businesses would we say or projects things to raise money and [Nick Maciel]: ye [paris_vega]: earn money in different ways did you get into before your current project [Nick Maciel]: yeah so i ran to serious businesses before my current agency both of which i [Nick Maciel]: exited in college [paris_vega]: okay cool [Nick Maciel]: a [paris_vega]: and why did you start this business that yo're in now adversity [Nick Maciel]: so i call it kind of a vendetta or revenge plot the reason being is [Nick Maciel]: because you know what we do at adversities we is we supply turnkey designs product [Nick Maciel]: designs completely bespoke to entrepreneers and other engineering firms and we do it for a [Nick Maciel]: fraction of the price and a fraction of the time compared to something like [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: a traditional consultant firm or freelance in platforms the reason i say it's a in [Nick Maciel]: debt right so i had actually done free lancing myself in this arena while i [Nick Maciel]: was in knowledge to make you know to make money and the experience was extremely [Nick Maciel]: prohibitive was a large glass ceiling between myself my clients um i [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: it was very difficult to understand project vision without like any sort of dedicated fulfillment [Nick Maciel]: system on these platforms and i was also underpaid and you need to monet is [Nick Maciel]: your account on these platforms in order to win proposals [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: on contracts so because of those negative experiences i wanted to start this agency for [Nick Maciel]: other contractors [paris_vega]: okay so can you remember the moment [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: you decided to start your own business and what was that what were you going [paris_vega]: through what were our thinking about [Nick Maciel]: yeah so to start my first or to start evers [paris_vega]: adversity [Nick Maciel]: yeah so i remember watching a bunch of videos about the impending recession as you [Nick Maciel]: get to hit us and looking into different business models that would be sustainable and [Nick Maciel]: of course identifying my nice which is in the engineering space it's the only thing [Nick Maciel]: i'm goin at all i'm able to sell within right uh and consistent advice from [Nick Maciel]: my mentors and from what i was seeing in the line was that an agency [Nick Maciel]: is the most sustainable business model to start with [paris_vega]: ah [Nick Maciel]: little to no accolade a little to no cash reason being is because you're providing [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: a service up front so it's really easy to package our service and sell [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: and then you can invest in automations and other systems to grow the business a [paris_vega]: yeah how long did it take you to to launch once you decided to start [paris_vega]: the business [Nick Maciel]: so i decided to start actually in may of this year so it's a new [Nick Maciel]: business and then i didn't form the l c until september and i wasn't operating [Nick Maciel]: until october so it's [paris_vega]: well [Nick Maciel]: pretty new [paris_vega]: yeah that really new yeah and when you were when [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: you got the l l c you were starting actually go after business how did [paris_vega]: you launch [Nick Maciel]: yeah so the way that i launched is i did some pre marketing a little [Nick Maciel]: bit of organic and hit advertising up front and then i also opened an immediate [Nick Maciel]: referral system where basically i provide and this is still public i provide commissions to [Nick Maciel]: people that publicly refer people that want things to be designed right and [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: so generating that hype enabled [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: actually myself to learn first client within the first wee um and it was basically [Nick Maciel]: published the website launch out all the ads on a scheduler and just just run [Nick Maciel]: word of mouth for the first week or [paris_vega]: cool [Nick Maciel]: glorious [paris_vega]: and [Nick Maciel]: but effective [paris_vega]: yeah how many customers do you have now that since launching if you don't mind [paris_vega]: sharing [Nick Maciel]: yep so all of our clients right now are fixed fee which means they'll come [Nick Maciel]: to us with the specific project and we'll work with them once and then we [Nick Maciel]: do have recurring relationships [paris_vega]: got [Nick Maciel]: but [paris_vega]: you [Nick Maciel]: to date we've worked with since the begin october we worked with twelve clients [paris_vega]: awesome and what's your role at the business [Nick Maciel]: so i'm owner and operator right so i have a administrative assistant who runs kind [Nick Maciel]: of the nittygrity of things and which i always recommend new business owners to have [Nick Maciel]: to out sore and i have a remote software developer for an apt that we're [Nick Maciel]: developing for fulfillment and in addition to that i've got contractors and sales people but [Nick Maciel]: what i do is i generate appointments i'm always working on improving or marketing or [Nick Maciel]: advertising and i'm the actual touch point when you get on a sales call to [Nick Maciel]: you to speak with the client [paris_vega]: cool can you talk a little more about the problem that your business solves for [paris_vega]: your customers [Nick Maciel]: yeah absolutely so you know i think that this is a case where this problem [Nick Maciel]: isn't exactly on the front of people's minds is not something that they think they [Nick Maciel]: have but we're certain that they haven't you know if you've ever had a shower [Nick Maciel]: thought right if you've ever been at the dinner table and you watch shark tank [Nick Maciel]: right unless we will watch shark we've all had these cool ideas for some thing [Nick Maciel]: that we would make right no matter how crazy it is but it's always come [Nick Maciel]: short of just a goofy conversatio right but [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: i think that for those of us who decide were serious about creating a physical [Nick Maciel]: product we then have to navigate a very saturated v c investor space that requires [Nick Maciel]: a lot of equity dilution and a lot of money [paris_vega]: hm [Nick Maciel]: to be raised up front for prototyping and that's simply not the way you can [Nick Maciel]: prototype designs [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: and get first spins of manufactured products out for a tenth to a fifth to [Nick Maciel]: a tenth of the price of trying to raise around with eventual capital firm and [Nick Maciel]: go through the weeds of that of that system of that situation so we want [Nick Maciel]: to empower people to launch their own market ready shelf ready products any idea that [Nick Maciel]: they that they have in mind [paris_vega]: well okay [Nick Maciel]: m [paris_vega]: and so talk a little more about why you think that problem exists or what [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: what causes that problem or disconnect [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: for people [Nick Maciel]: yeah i think most people dive into entreprenership and end up doing things that they [Nick Maciel]: dislike because it might cash flow or it might make [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: sense in the market so most entrepreneurs are are very software focus right most entrepreners [Nick Maciel]: that try to develop a product nowadays it's a digital ascent it's a digital product [Nick Maciel]: and here i am [paris_vega]: oh [Nick Maciel]: saying it doesn't matter where you come from whether it's from a marketing perspective or [Nick Maciel]: a software a service or whatever industry you're looking to plug into you are capable [Nick Maciel]: with no technical knowledge of developing a bespoke physical product that can be sold to [Nick Maciel]: the market [paris_vega]: wow so your helping people get things started getting actual physical products launched [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: um m how many people [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: do you think there are like [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: how big of the market do you think that there is for this how often [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: do you think people have this problem [Nick Maciel]: yeah that's a great question i think the market is i think the opportunity rather [Nick Maciel]: is obtainable for almost anyone and the reason i say that is because when i [Nick Maciel]: have conversations with people from walks of life about what we do it's a rekindling [Nick Maciel]: of some of these ideas that they've had for stuff that they would make or [Nick Maciel]: stuff they've thought of before right and these are generally creative people right so if [Nick Maciel]: you're a creative person maybe you wanted to star project in your garage whatever it [Nick Maciel]: is but you just don't have access to the technical aptitude the resources the money [Nick Maciel]: et cetera to get it consulted out and to get it actually brought to market [Nick Maciel]: for me it's it's you know quite personal because my first business i was product [Nick Maciel]: based in the utility center and i didn't have this kind of resource to propell [Nick Maciel]: me to the point where i could be investable and i had this resource i [Nick Maciel]: would have been investable and i was never business oriented in the first place i [Nick Maciel]: just decided to nose dive into product development oh [paris_vega]: yeah that's awesome [Nick Maciel]: this could liberate you know in my mind this is the kind of umaffordable and [Nick Maciel]: efficient system that could liberate like think about like a forty five year old father [Nick Maciel]: of three kids right uh isn't happy in his job right and is just really [Nick Maciel]: creative um you know anaesthetic person and has these chool ideas for these products but [Nick Maciel]: just doesn't have the capital time or the knowledge to actually implement them and sell [Nick Maciel]: them we try to help [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: that person [paris_vega]: okay all right and how would you help somebody like that can you go into [paris_vega]: a little more of the process that you can share about [Nick Maciel]: yea [paris_vega]: how you help people what works and what doesn't work [Nick Maciel]: so we have an automatic quoting system basically you can upload whatever you have napkin [Nick Maciel]: sketches all the way up to formative computer ated design drafts whatever you have for [Nick Maciel]: your idea and then we quote out automatically you receive an email with a preliminary [Nick Maciel]: invoice i'll quote it in your name with an n d a assignable nd a [Nick Maciel]: within three or five minutes and you can hop on a book and call to [Nick Maciel]: negotiate terms and price or you can initiate the signature on the envoys directly the [Nick Maciel]: reason why that's beneficial is because you can get started today and the cost that [Nick Maciel]: we have completely undercut market we are about twenty to thirty five per cent the [Nick Maciel]: cost of hiring out a traditional engineering [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: consulting firm for the same design level work yeah and we while we of course [Nick Maciel]: are more we have a higher price ticket than like a free lancing platform where [Nick Maciel]: you hire someone out in a foreign country for a couple bucks an hour right [Nick Maciel]: we provide [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: secure vetted contractors that are professionally licensed engineers across the country and we provide a [Nick Maciel]: relationship between the contractor and the client through calls et cetera so you're really going [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: to take ownership of your product vision but you don't have to put in any [Nick Maciel]: of the leg work yourself to get the design fulfilment out [paris_vega]: got it are there other companies that that do this same kind of thing are [paris_vega]: you guys [Nick Maciel]: similar [paris_vega]: the only ones or what's the competition look like [Nick Maciel]: yeah similar so a lot of the competition traditional consulting terms right you can hire [Nick Maciel]: out engineers that are on w two full time engineers to turn over your design [Nick Maciel]: and then continue to pay down the road for new revisions manufacturing testing et cetera [Nick Maciel]: in house and then there are also competitors that ist in the free lancing space [Nick Maciel]: there is a platform called cad crowd and people can go on and create a [Nick Maciel]: profile and submit a project as a auction contest where a bunch of design contractors [Nick Maciel]: that have profiles on the other side of the platform can submit their designs and [Nick Maciel]: then you select a winner from the pool the reason why i feel like maybe [Nick Maciel]: you're going to this next but the reason why i feel like that platform specifically [Nick Maciel]: is problematic because you're pushing out a limited amount of content and then asking a [Nick Maciel]: bunch of people to kind of a tack et from angle that doesn't have a [Nick Maciel]: full level of understanding of the project vision and scope and where you want to [Nick Maciel]: take that idea how does it relate to your business how does it relate to [Nick Maciel]: your play line in the future and on top of that your i always said [Nick Maciel]: you get what you're paying for so your paying pennies on the dollar but you're [Nick Maciel]: you know you're getting random college kids submitting their designs to your you know for [Nick Maciel]: your prototype son [paris_vega]: yeah okay [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: um [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: what do you think your biggest win has been since since youve launched [Nick Maciel]: our biggest win so far has been the consistent positive testimonies from our clients and [Nick Maciel]: the consistent positive testimony from our contractors so the contractors that work with our agency [Nick Maciel]: have all they always say like where has this been they've always told me where [Nick Maciel]: where has it been a lot of them came from the free lancing platforms that [Nick Maciel]: i used to work on as well once [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: again underpaid under served had to monetize there proposals yeah and then on the clients [Nick Maciel]: side we've just only received m extremely positive reciprocal feedback on the design deliverables and [Nick Maciel]: the quality of the work turned over and you can view our testimonials at free [Nick Maciel]: cat quotes dot common or website [paris_vega]: free cad quotes dot com [Nick Maciel]: cad quotes [paris_vega]: yea cool and so have any products become [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: kind of market successes [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: where they've actually gone on to sell or has [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: has there been enough time for someone to actually get something developed and then start [paris_vega]: making sales or starting the commerce side or how [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: do they go to market [Nick Maciel]: yeah so because we've been in operations for two and a half months nothing has [Nick Maciel]: been fully ramped to the production scale however we do have a client that we [Nick Maciel]: developed a car elimination machine and wash down machine for and they have completely constructed [Nick Maciel]: the prototype that we designed for them and they're running testing now and then [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: they're goin [paris_vega]: cool [Nick Maciel]: to determine the amount of through put they get and from their move into production [Nick Maciel]: so exciting [paris_vega]: awesome all right now let's get into your first customers [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: started with zero customers now you have some customers [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: so what happened there in between how did you get that very first [Nick Maciel]: ah [paris_vega]: customer [Nick Maciel]: yeah really honestly not sleeping much and sprinting as many parallel marketing activities is possible [Nick Maciel]: so it's a combination [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: of a few things i use linked in sales navigator which allows me to establish [Nick Maciel]: meaning for relationships prospects um i also use email collection tools and a c r [Nick Maciel]: m which has allowed me to establish an email list of subscribers we have a [Nick Maciel]: blog and a news letter that ties into that that also gets prospects engaged and [Nick Maciel]: in addition to that umfacebook marketing instagram linked in and twitter both paid and organic [Nick Maciel]: um and we're currently oft we're always constantly optimizing our as dream so we both [Nick Maciel]: pay money and work for free to gather new prospects [paris_vega]: okay so do you remember the very first [Nick Maciel]: yah [paris_vega]: paying customer that you got [Nick Maciel]: yes yeah that was [paris_vega]: and [Nick Maciel]: actually [paris_vega]: how did you get them specifically [Nick Maciel]: that was a direct referal so for me as expected [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: most of our upfrontclients would be through referals and [paris_vega]: oh [Nick Maciel]: word of mouth be we're a high ticket service based agency usually that's how it [Nick Maciel]: goes because one of the things that we're always doing is changing our value offer [Nick Maciel]: and changing our advert i sing around that because as i mentioned at the beginning [Nick Maciel]: of this call [paris_vega]: ah [Nick Maciel]: people have thought of great ideas but they didn't realize that it was a problem [Nick Maciel]: that our society is structured in such way that it's prohibitive to develop such ideas [Nick Maciel]: so you [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: for my business i have to communicate how someone with a little extra cash to [Nick Maciel]: spend can really change the course of the rest of their life through our agency [paris_vega]: cool and so those referrals that you got for your very first customers [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: was [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: that a result of building [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: your network previously previous businesses you're involved in or explain a little bit about that [Nick Maciel]: so completely dissociated from my previous businesses but it's definitely because of the network i've [Nick Maciel]: established i've always been very active particularly on linked in the engineering space so [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: always developed posts that have absolutely nothing to do with selling my business or value [Nick Maciel]: content by establishing that those [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: i was able to have clients in trust with their project so [paris_vega]: and so those very first [Nick Maciel]: ah [paris_vega]: clients would you say they were result of the content marketing that you were doing [paris_vega]: or was it like [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: relationships that you had made like [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: previous customers or just this is the part that i really like to go deep [paris_vega]: into because this [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: is that critical step for everybody who's starting something and they've got zero [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: customers and they're wanting to get that first one [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: so that's why i keep drilling in on this one part because it's really interesting [Nick Maciel]: yep [paris_vega]: the specifics about that [Nick Maciel]: for me it was all about relationships front that's the only reason i would have [Nick Maciel]: been able to profit in my first month and i would say generally speaking that [Nick Maciel]: if you don't establish yourself as a trustworthy leader your industry and continue to grow [Nick Maciel]: that trust then just be prepared like you can succeed equally in terms of client [Nick Maciel]: acquisition just be prepared to pay a lot of money to do so [paris_vega]: so you either have to have the reputation [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: the audience kind of the thought leadership [Nick Maciel]: yep [paris_vega]: or you have to pay [Nick Maciel]: to get the audience [paris_vega]: for leave generation [Nick Maciel]: exactly [paris_vega]: add campaigns okay how old are you [Nick Maciel]: i am twenty two [paris_vega]: twenty two and you were able to establish yourself as enough of a leader that [paris_vega]: seems pretty quick man how long do you think [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: it takes somebody to establish themselves enough to have the kind of network that you [paris_vega]: have [Nick Maciel]: i think well it's certainly on a time scale basis it takes years rather than [Nick Maciel]: weeks [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: but but for everybody it's different now i think i struggled in the beginning to [Nick Maciel]: find my voice on social media right which i think [paris_vega]: sure [Nick Maciel]: most people do because they try and figure out a combination of the two of [Nick Maciel]: okay what do i actually enjoy posting on and what is like my natural voice [Nick Maciel]: that engages people right and sometimes [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: those can but heads so you kind of have to test different things and figure [Nick Maciel]: it out but no i'm still not like satisfied with where things are and i [Nick Maciel]: guess that's just [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: a motivating actor yeah [paris_vega]: so you said you were part of two businesses before this right [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: you were doing all this during college or did you start when [Nick Maciel]: eh [paris_vega]: you were in high school [Nick Maciel]: yeah so in high school i was total [paris_vega]: oh [Nick Maciel]: mechanical engineer robotics nerved total just [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: full out technical didn't really expand my skill beyond that my first venture into entrepreneur [Nick Maciel]: ship was my freshman year in college and the only reason i got into it [Nick Maciel]: was because i met some friends that were in that space that dragged me into [Nick Maciel]: it and i really mean [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: drap uh i [paris_vega]: uh [Nick Maciel]: ended up [paris_vega]: uh [Nick Maciel]: running through the pitch competition on my university and we ended up winning the school [Nick Maciel]: wide pitch competition [paris_vega]: wow [Nick Maciel]: and so for me [paris_vega]: ye [Nick Maciel]: that was like glimpse into okay maybe i have some some something i'm cut out [Nick Maciel]: for that goes just beyond the technicals product development um and [paris_vega]: oh [Nick Maciel]: so that's where it all started [paris_vega]: and what school was that [Nick Maciel]: northeastern in boston for [paris_vega]: awesome [Nick Maciel]: those who don't know yet it's across the bridge from m i t harvard [paris_vega]: okay cool [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: so you got through two businesses now you're on your third and you're you're still [paris_vega]: in college right [Nick Maciel]: i'm in grad school so i'm in my last [paris_vega]: grad school [Nick Maciel]: i'm in my last semesrograd school and it's completely [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: remote so [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: it affords me the time to the majority time to focus on building my business [paris_vega]: awesome you're getting after it man [Nick Maciel]: yeah thanks [paris_vega]: it's [Nick Maciel]: trying [paris_vega]: inspiring to see [Nick Maciel]: trying [paris_vega]: all right so you launched this new business adversity [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: you're hustling putting stuff out working the marketing funnel and you may have been talking [paris_vega]: to different potential clients and then there's a day when you get your first payment [paris_vega]: in some form right [Nick Maciel]: yep [paris_vega]: some point that first customer paid tell me about that moment [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: i wish i could sit here and tell you that it was [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: grandiose and [paris_vega]: hm [Nick Maciel]: a big you know fist in the air [paris_vega]: oh [Nick Maciel]: celebration but [paris_vega]: there's [Nick Maciel]: it was [paris_vega]: your third time around so you're used to this by now i guess [Nick Maciel]: well actually so and clarifying you know this being my third time around is uh [Nick Maciel]: it's it highlights the fact that the fact of trial in air and [paris_vega]: hm [Nick Maciel]: this is the first business where i've sacrificed [paris_vega]: ye [Nick Maciel]: lot like where i'm truly truly truly passionate enough to sacrifice things that otherwise would [Nick Maciel]: be healthy for me um [paris_vega]: got you [Nick Maciel]: and learning a lot of lessons to that when i received my first check pay [Nick Maciel]: check for the agency it was honestly a little bit numbing i was very happy [Nick Maciel]: i was very grateful [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: i was very grateful [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: but for me it was not a validation commensurate to amount of sleepless nights i [Nick Maciel]: put into structuring you know the funnel the automation systems and [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: hiring out and just preparing you now building the business so what does get [paris_vega]: so [Nick Maciel]: me [paris_vega]: you knew there was a lot to come this was just the beginning [Nick Maciel]: exactly [paris_vega]: when you got that first payment it's [Nick Maciel]: but [paris_vega]: like [Nick Maciel]: what does [paris_vega]: of course we need this first one and this is just the first step of [paris_vega]: many that we need to get to to make this all worth it [Nick Maciel]: exactly but what does get me high is clientreferrals sorry client testimonies positive client testimonies [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: that will get me far more excited the impact than the money really because to [Nick Maciel]: me [paris_vega]: because [Nick Maciel]: it's like [paris_vega]: i guess the money starts the project [Nick Maciel]: exactly [paris_vega]: and then that show that that kind of gives confirmation that what you're a you're [paris_vega]: adding value if you get a testimonial [Nick Maciel]: yeah and to that point right especially on the v b side our clients have [Nick Maciel]: money to spend so for them it's just a number and so when that cover [Nick Maciel]: ation is quick but when the long conversation is about the quality and the feedback [Nick Maciel]: right that's really where the emotional [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: conversation happens and where you can wear where you you can see the impact of [Nick Maciel]: the business [paris_vega]: okay and is the business growing the way you would expect it to be at [paris_vega]: this point you said you're two months two or three months in [Nick Maciel]: it is growing the way i expect it to be it's not growing the way [Nick Maciel]: i want it to be it's a it's [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: because yeah because things are not enterprise level yet the works right now but [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: it's like one month will do a certain amount and then and it's only even [Nick Maciel]: these three months yet so like we made more in october than we did in [Nick Maciel]: november but we're slat to make more in december and the trend is lineally increasing [Nick Maciel]: from october to december it's like there's not enough historical data to be like oh [Nick Maciel]: you know crack [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: three right [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: but i would say the revenue is good like it's especially good for the first [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: quarter of a year so yeah [paris_vega]: yeah you said you were profitable the first month [Nick Maciel]: profitable the first month [paris_vega]: yeah that's amazing a lot of businesses [Nick Maciel]: i appreciate [paris_vega]: never [Nick Maciel]: it [paris_vega]: never see [Nick Maciel]: i [paris_vega]: that [Nick Maciel]: had [paris_vega]: happen [Nick Maciel]: to be [paris_vega]: ever [Nick Maciel]: i had to be and the reason i had to view was because i had [Nick Maciel]: i had actually drained my personal bank account for this business so i had to [paris_vega]: you [Nick Maciel]: be [paris_vega]: were [Nick Maciel]: profitable [paris_vega]: all in [Nick Maciel]: i was on yeah [paris_vega]: got a lot of skin in the game here [Nick Maciel]: yep [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: yep [paris_vega]: all right what tactics would you say have been the most effective with these first [paris_vega]: clients that you've gotten [Nick Maciel]: yeah you want to get really creative i would say extraordinarily creative about everything surrounding [paris_vega]: my [Nick Maciel]: the sale so like i feel like a lot of people can sell right but [paris_vega]: hm [Nick Maciel]: for me it was learning about how to upsell the service how to cross sell [Nick Maciel]: the service how to split test the marketing target different audiences to change the value [Nick Maciel]: offer to make it more attractive calling friends and family members to give me their [Nick Maciel]: extraordinarily randomized sample of advice on how to improve things which going back to the [Nick Maciel]: drawing board talking to investors that were not even interested in the business to get [Nick Maciel]: their feed back like basic you have to almost treat it like a coloring book [Nick Maciel]: treat your business like a coloring book and just get really creative [paris_vega]: okay if you had to start over today even though you're still early would you [paris_vega]: launch differently at all would you focus [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: on one aspect as far as the marketing the sale side of it going after [paris_vega]: that that new customer [Nick Maciel]: i said [paris_vega]: would you do anything differently if you had to do it over even though you're [paris_vega]: only three months in [Nick Maciel]: yeah i'd be more aggressive [paris_vega]: really [Nick Maciel]: i'd be more aggressive with prospecting because [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: i've reached a point now where i'm like i have have a two hour time [Nick Maciel]: slot every gale day other than the holidays of course because time with family is [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: important but [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: two hour time lot every day where i close my blinds and grab a coffee [Nick Maciel]: and i literally don't stop deming people and emailing and cold calling and [paris_vega]: wow [Nick Maciel]: the reason i didn't do that in the first month is because of fear i [Nick Maciel]: still hate cold calling like i still hate getting on the phone with somebody i've [Nick Maciel]: never [paris_vega]: oh [Nick Maciel]: talked to before um but i realized i had to do it to get my [Nick Maciel]: name out there so either that or spend thousands of dollars in marketing and just [Nick Maciel]: like throw [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: random things out so um yeah i just would have been more aggressive an aggressive [Nick Maciel]: is [paris_vega]: wow [Nick Maciel]: like a harsh word but like there's no other word i can think of you [Nick Maciel]: know it [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: so would that mean more just more hours assigned to that activity [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: specifically [Nick Maciel]: more hours assigned [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: specifically to prospect like i would do all [paris_vega]: wow [Nick Maciel]: of these like glorious glimmering structural work on the business and the automations and stuff [Nick Maciel]: that didn't need to happen because i've done most of it pre launch so i've [Nick Maciel]: always just kind of been dancing around the thing i've been most afraid of and [Nick Maciel]: i [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: had to have a serious [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: conversation with myself and tell myself like you care about this too deeply already so [Nick Maciel]: you have to do the one thing in the business operationally that you're most terrified [Nick Maciel]: to do because it will actually [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: get you to like the way i think about it is if [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: call a thousand people a day and nine hundred and ninety nine people reject me [Nick Maciel]: and one person signs that's more business than me not calling anybody and getting zero [Nick Maciel]: for the week [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: so that's just where i'm at [paris_vega]: oh [Nick Maciel]: and i trust the process because for me it's like i know the quality of [Nick Maciel]: our contractors work i know from the testimonials we have so far what we provide [Nick Maciel]: to the market is extraordinarily valuable and i'm confident in that so for me it's [Nick Maciel]: just a matter of time of as soon as it's like splitting the head off [Nick Maciel]: of hydra so for every like one for every one positively it could be two [Nick Maciel]: referrals right [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: yeah all right well man we've made it through the chunk of the [Nick Maciel]: m [paris_vega]: questions i think i got a good understanding [Nick Maciel]: m [paris_vega]: of how you got your first customers and now i just [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: want to run through a few rapid fire questions and then let you get back [paris_vega]: to prospecting [Nick Maciel]: awesome rapid fire here we go i've actually never done this before [paris_vega]: all right [Nick Maciel]: so [paris_vega]: and [Nick Maciel]: i should [paris_vega]: so [Nick Maciel]: be fun [paris_vega]: okay just you can kind of answer yes or no or you can go into [paris_vega]: a little bit of the details if you want but i'm jus goin to ask [paris_vega]: you about different tools and whether or not you use them [Nick Maciel]: awesome [paris_vega]: in your sales marketing funnel [Nick Maciel]: we [paris_vega]: all right let's start off with just a couple of prospecting tools clear bit [Nick Maciel]: no [paris_vega]: zoom in foe [Nick Maciel]: no [paris_vega]: okay a few c r m tools monday [Nick Maciel]: yes but not for this business i've used it [paris_vega]: okay okay hub spot [Nick Maciel]: yes but not for this business [paris_vega]: sales force [Nick Maciel]: yes but not for this business [paris_vega]: pipe drive [Nick Maciel]: ah [paris_vega]: okay all right move on to some cold outreach tactics well wait for c r [paris_vega]: m tools do you use anything for this business for like a c m [Nick Maciel]: yeah mail champ has been extraordinarily [paris_vega]: really [Nick Maciel]: helpful yes [paris_vega]: add that to my list [Nick Maciel]: it is not by [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: any means a technically avid [paris_vega]: ah [Nick Maciel]: c r m but for [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: the purposes of structuring work cloths and automations it really does get the job done [Nick Maciel]: in my opinion [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: yah [paris_vega]: and when you were saying automations earlier were you meaning that you spent a lot [paris_vega]: of time on marketing automations [Nick Maciel]: h [paris_vega]: like setting up your funnel where it was just this nice well oiled [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: kind of re targeting funnel or were you saying other parts of the business you [paris_vega]: were focusing on optimizing [Nick Maciel]: i got the funnel done in in about a week to a week and a [Nick Maciel]: half spring but this is more in terms of the the systems of emails quoting [Nick Maciel]: follow up testimony testimony ask et cetera [paris_vega]: okay cool all right let's move on to some cold outreach [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: tactics you've answered some of this already cold calling yeah [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: said yes to that cold texting [Nick Maciel]: no but i'm trying to get into s [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: m s [paris_vega]: all right cold email marketing [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: cold d ms [Nick Maciel]: yes [paris_vega]: all right which platforms do you usually cold d m somebody on [Nick Maciel]: cold ms so taplio for linkedon is really solid you can structure your sorry that's [Nick Maciel]: for linkedon posting that's completely separate thing [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: tweet hunter for twitter is extraordinary you can [paris_vega]: really [Nick Maciel]: set up yes you can set up these these things called autodms basically you create [Nick Maciel]: a value value content like a notion or some other system or like a p [Nick Maciel]: d f attachment whatever it is and then you pre schedule the tweet and then [Nick Maciel]: in the audio dem structure you can select what the criteria for a prospect that [Nick Maciel]: they have to go through if they visit your page so it can be like [Nick Maciel]: re tweet they must be following comment and then you can put that in the [Nick Maciel]: copy of your your wet and then basically it's an you can think of it [Nick Maciel]: as like automatic affiliate market because basically [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: um if someone [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: engages with your post then they get the value content that they are looking for [Nick Maciel]: in their dim that establishes a cold relations put [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: them but just inherently by the fact that they [paris_vega]: it's [Nick Maciel]: had [paris_vega]: awesome [Nick Maciel]: to re tweet to get the content now person b and c and d and [Nick Maciel]: so on and so forth [paris_vega]: i just recorded a podcast [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: yesterday with j k melina from tweet hunter [Nick Maciel]: you spoke with j melina [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: no kidding are you serious [paris_vega]: that's [Nick Maciel]: use like an inspiration [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: he's an inspiration to me [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: yeah he's awesome [paris_vega]: yeah he's his episode is not coming out till next month but but yeah [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: that's crazy that you mentioned that [Nick Maciel]: that's incredible [paris_vega]: all right what about cold snail mail post cards letters kind of stuff [Nick Maciel]: no no i would say that's just not not my niche if i was doing [Nick Maciel]: like real estate [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: that old probably make more sense about that [paris_vega]: right it's interesting [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: because i've seen some of those services start to be advertised like there's kind of [paris_vega]: this kind of circling back or this kind of second wave of like the digital [paris_vega]: version of the physical post cards they've kind of automated and digitized a lot of [paris_vega]: the things that are possible to where you can do all more at scale and [paris_vega]: targeted [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: but it's still the old school mailing i haven't missed with it myself but [Nick Maciel]: yeah i think the cost for acquisition is too high compared to digital advertising [paris_vega]: probably so [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: all right now let's move into paid out reach adds that kind of thing going [paris_vega]: back to old school one more time physical bill boards [Nick Maciel]: o [paris_vega]: oh ah i always like to ask that one because sometimes we'll talk to clients [Nick Maciel]: i would [paris_vega]: at [Nick Maciel]: be [paris_vega]: my [Nick Maciel]: in [paris_vega]: agency [Nick Maciel]: a lot of [paris_vega]: who [Nick Maciel]: debt [paris_vega]: still [Nick Maciel]: if that was [paris_vega]: bill board advertising right [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: right high dollars for those impressions [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: influence our ads [Nick Maciel]: no [paris_vega]: right facebook adds [Nick Maciel]: yes lots of it [paris_vega]: instagram [Nick Maciel]: we tie that to our mid ads [paris_vega]: yeah google search adds [Nick Maciel]: but i got to get into that next [paris_vega]: okay and kind of related but you tube video ads [Nick Maciel]: um i'm mainly focusing on the personal branding and leveraging shorts and then eventually building [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: the audience the subscriber based to then start selling um and i've actually been more [Nick Maciel]: mostly successful on instagram with that but i'm not going to sell until i hit [Nick Maciel]: like my philosophy is don't sell until you hit your first hundred because you want [Nick Maciel]: to establish trust with your audience and then sell your own products and then the [Nick Maciel]: third tier would be work with brands but for any like other solo printers out [Nick Maciel]: there that's how i would recommend [paris_vega]: cool [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: all right podcast adds [Nick Maciel]: oh no no [paris_vega]: linked in ads [Nick Maciel]: uh yes but not paid just organic [paris_vega]: okay tiktok ads [Nick Maciel]: no i don't think that will ever [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: it's not the platform [paris_vega]: really [Nick Maciel]: yeah and the reason i say that is just because i mean there could come [Nick Maciel]: a point where we run an influence program i can't let me not put [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: myself in a box it's just it's the [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: furthest out right now i would say [paris_vega]: right [Nick Maciel]: or [paris_vega]: because i could see based on the target audience you were talking [Nick Maciel]: ye [paris_vega]: about it seemed [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: pretty broad [Nick Maciel]: its broad [paris_vega]: kind of a general interest [Nick Maciel]: it's [paris_vega]: kind [Nick Maciel]: broad [paris_vega]: of anybody [Nick Maciel]: but i can [paris_vega]: who [Nick Maciel]: tell [paris_vega]: had [Nick Maciel]: you [paris_vega]: an idea [Nick Maciel]: yeah so there's the target audience right and then there's the interest profile who actually [Nick Maciel]: follows [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: through right the interest [paris_vega]: got [Nick Maciel]: profile [paris_vega]: you [Nick Maciel]: is not in their twenties i can tell you that [paris_vega]: h [Nick Maciel]: it's late thirties early forties has the largest interest profile and this is why i [Nick Maciel]: mentioned to you like the dad of three kids who wants to build something [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: but hasn't able to sorry [paris_vega]: cool [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: when how many dads are on tiktok be [Nick Maciel]: there's [paris_vega]: good [Nick Maciel]: probably [paris_vega]: to [Nick Maciel]: a few [paris_vega]: get a break down [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: oh all right what about different re targeting tools um other than the add platform [paris_vega]: are using anything [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: outside of that like visitor q or anything else [Nick Maciel]: no no but i need to get into [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: that so [paris_vega]: all right and where do you post your organic content do you have your own [paris_vega]: website that you post on [Nick Maciel]: so i don't post on my my own website our organic content [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: so we have the blog on our website we have the news letter through email [Nick Maciel]: but then we do organic facebook linked on twitter instagram scheduled three times per week [Nick Maciel]: and then we run paid out to school our organic adds are more [paris_vega]: cool m [Nick Maciel]: happy go lucky relate to the customer on a less [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: sales basis and then our pay dads or together it's [paris_vega]: okay cool all right are you considering something like read it [Nick Maciel]: oh once again i put that in the tiktok box um [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: we could post there [paris_vega]: ah [Nick Maciel]: i just in terms of the cost for acquisition i really think facebook takes to [Nick Maciel]: win for our nice i really think [paris_vega]: okay [Nick Maciel]: it [paris_vega]: and [Nick Maciel]: does [paris_vega]: is it like like lead for ads [Nick Maciel]: it's leformads with a conversion pickle that runs though a funnel [paris_vega]: cool all right so you've kind of answered all the rest of them like pentre [paris_vega]: snap chat product hunt medium cora [Nick Maciel]: also i just want to stress that if anyone's watching this podcast that they should [Nick Maciel]: definitely contact me [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: with creative ideas for legion and marketing [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: just because like [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: my my entire educational back and it is engineering so starting [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: starting this business i would like to think that i have some marketing acumen necessary [Nick Maciel]: to generate the believes that we have but it's not [paris_vega]: hm [Nick Maciel]: optimal and i'm always always learning eighty percent of [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: my time spent throughout the day every single day is on some sort of course [Nick Maciel]: or learning system so [paris_vega]: wow [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: well it sounds like you got a pretty good funnel going um [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: and it's it's almost a matter of budget as far as the paid side of [paris_vega]: it it's [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: like you can only [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: scale so many platforms you know if you're [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: doing a dollar a day on [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: a hundred platforms [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: that kind of less [Nick Maciel]: like [paris_vega]: impact than [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: a [Nick Maciel]: like [paris_vega]: few [Nick Maciel]: my [paris_vega]: focused platforms [Nick Maciel]: my burn rate is high my burn rate is super high and that's [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: just because it's early things are early so [paris_vega]: yeah but if you've got the time [Nick Maciel]: yet [paris_vega]: on the other hand or the resources to post the organic content in more places [paris_vega]: that are free [Nick Maciel]: m oh [paris_vega]: that have a potential audience than [Nick Maciel]: yeh [paris_vega]: it seems like you might be leaving some money on the table on those but [Nick Maciel]: true [paris_vega]: again being pressed for time [Nick Maciel]: yeah to your [paris_vega]: it's [Nick Maciel]: point [paris_vega]: always [Nick Maciel]: like [paris_vega]: a judgment [Nick Maciel]: if i [paris_vega]: call [Nick Maciel]: were to advertise laterally across every platform you mentioned and utilize all the tools sure [Nick Maciel]: i'd probably get more volume but i also [paris_vega]: hm [Nick Maciel]: don't have the human capital right now to achieve that [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: so we're just [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: focused on like [paris_vega]: the organic side either [Nick Maciel]: yeah we're just focusing on optimizing our current systems um [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: and then once we have like a one point five x revenue multiple which should [Nick Maciel]: be in like next month rough the following february that's really when we can start [Nick Maciel]: taking lumps out and investing in new software and and hiring out so [paris_vega]: cool well this has been awesome and [Nick Maciel]: ah [paris_vega]: i think we've gone through everything we need to go through here really [Nick Maciel]: ah [paris_vega]: inspiring to hear [Nick Maciel]: oh [paris_vega]: how you're you're pushing so hard and growing relatively [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: fast man [Nick Maciel]: i [paris_vega]: i [Nick Maciel]: appreciate [paris_vega]: know it's [Nick Maciel]: it [paris_vega]: not where you want it to be but but being profitable already [Nick Maciel]: it never [paris_vega]: is [Nick Maciel]: is [paris_vega]: amazing [Nick Maciel]: right it never is right [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: but [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: i appreciate [paris_vega]: but [Nick Maciel]: it [paris_vega]: the profit things incredible especially these days with the way the economy could be going [paris_vega]: you know [Nick Maciel]: i [paris_vega]: profits [Nick Maciel]: just want to [paris_vega]: definitely [Nick Maciel]: mention to [paris_vega]: a bigger issue [Nick Maciel]: about the economy i just want to briefly mention [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: is this important right there's two [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: things right so if we look at the business side right if you're [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: an engineering business or you're trying [paris_vega]: m [Nick Maciel]: to develop a technical startup you're going to have to lay off people probably within [Nick Maciel]: the next year as things are trending and so to out source have to out [Nick Maciel]: source your product design reliably that can be a very daunting thing that's where we [Nick Maciel]: come in right and then also on consumer side um it's the great resignation it's [Nick Maciel]: the great resignation people are leaving their jobs people re getting laid off people are [Nick Maciel]: going to continue to be fired and so the best time to start your passion [Nick Maciel]: project would be now so we like to think that we can physician ourselves as [Nick Maciel]: a thought leader in the recession space and hopefully give people [paris_vega]: oh [Nick Maciel]: a tend [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: our hand out and help people that need it so [paris_vega]: cool [Nick Maciel]: yeah [paris_vega]: everybody go talk to nick adversity and get some products launched [Nick Maciel]: let's do it [paris_vega]: yeah [Nick Maciel]: and thank you so much ferris it's been a pleasure [paris_vega]: yeah thank you